Preventing Tooth Decay in Your Toddler—the Easy Way

As the parent of a toddler, you're undoubtedly busy (and quite possibly exhausted!) Whilst dealing with your toddler's boundless energy, it can be hard to make time to monitor their teeth quite as closely as you might want to. Fortunately, if you educate yourself about the prevention of tooth decay in toddlers, you'll be able to keep your toddler's teeth healthy without any extra stress. Here's how you can prevent tooth decay in your toddler—the easy way.

Ban the Night Bottle

One of the leading reasons for tooth decay in toddlers today is the use of bottles and sippy cups at night. When your child drinks from bottles and sippy cups, the liquid within comes in direct contact with their teeth—and this can lead to decay quite rapidly. This is especially dangerous at night because your child won't brush their teeth again until morning, allowing bacteria many hours to erode the tooth enamel. 

If you feel that you must give your child a bottle or sippy cup at night, have them finish the contents and then brush their teeth once more before bed. If you feel that your child needs to keep their bottle overnight for soothing reasons, switch the milk or other liquid out for water. However, the goal is to banish the bottle or sippy cup as soon as possible. 

Strike the Sugar 

Whilst there's no doubt that kids love sugar, you don't have to allow it to be a major part of their diet. Sugar is the main cause of tooth decay in toddlers today. Whilst most parents think of sugar as sweets, puddings, and ice lollies, it can be found in other places too—including juice and milk.

The key to avoiding sugar may be satisfying the craving for sweet flavours through more natural means. Offer your toddler fruits like melon, apples, grapes, or oranges rather than sweet cakes or candy bars. When it comes to beverages, opt for unsweetened juices—or ideally for water. This way, your child won't feel deprived and their teeth won't suffer from sugar exposure. 

Track the Time

One of the easiest ways to prevent tooth decay in toddlers is simply to keep track of their brushing time. Your child should brush twice a day, for two minutes each session. You can use special toothbrush brushing apps or even a simple kitchen clock to keep track of the time. 

By making sure that your child brushes the full time each session, you're helping them banish the bacteria that cause tooth decay. As your child leaves their toddler years, they will eventually be responsible enough to brush for the proper time all on their own.

As you can see, there are several easy ways to help your child avoid tooth decay. Put the plans above into practise and see your kid's dentist regularly now to have a toddler with healthy teeth in the future.

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