Bergen County Department of Health Services encourages parents to learn the four most important factors in preventing tooth decay in children: fluoride, oral hygiene, regular dental visits, and limiting sweet, sticky snacks.
Healthy habits such as daily brushing and flossing are key ingredients to dental health. Cleaning infant’s gums with a soft, damp washcloth or clean gauze pad after each feeding establishes hygiene as a pleasant, daily routine.
By age one, parents should use a soft toothbrush and a dab of toothpaste to clean their child’s teeth. This is an optimum time for the first dental visit. Not only have several of the baby’s primary teeth come in, but these visits also help acquaint the child with dental procedures.
General dentists and pediatric dentists, who specialize in care of children, can help parents familiarize children with the dental office. As a result, fewer children experience anxiety towards dental care.
Dentists also educate parents about preventing dental diseases. For example, parents are instructed in the care and development of their child’s teeth and in prevention of baby bottle tooth decay. This serious condition is preventable, and is caused when liquids containing sugars, such as milk or juices, are left in the infant’s mouth for long periods of time. For this reason, an infant’s bedtime bottle should contain only plain water.
Sugar, however, is not the only food that that causes cavities. Complex carbohydrates such as cereal and chips also contribute to dental decay. The solution is to have children brush more frequently.
Fluoride is another important factor in reducing tooth decay. According to a CDC survey taken in 1992, New Jersey ranks 49th nationwide in the percentage of residents whose drinking water is fluoridated. Only 16.2 percent of New Jerseyans receive adequate levels of fluoride, while New York City, Connecticut, and Philadelphia provide their residents with optimally fluoridated drinking water.
Fluoride is a mineral found in foods, water, toothpaste and supplements. Whatever the source, this mineral is stored in the body on teeth, in dental plaque, saliva, and soft tissues in the mouth. Dental plaque produces an acid that causes teeth to lose minerals. This process, called demineralization, is the start of a cavity.
Fluoride reduces demineralization and promotes remineralization, in which dental enamel is restored and reinforced to make it stronger. In effect, fluoride “heals” cavities in the early stages of development.
Brushing and mouth rinses are two ways to apply fluoride. Children should use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste containing fluoride for brushing at least twice daily, particularly at bedtime. Additional cavities can be prevented after age six with the use of daily fluoride mouth rinse. A fluoride treatment is also part of a regular dental check-up.
The county health department’s Regional Dental Health Program conducts fluoride mouth rinse programs in schools throughout northern New Jersey. Participation in this program can result in a 35 percent reduction in tooth decay.
For more information call the Bergen County Department of Health Services Regional Dental Program at (201) 599-6159. Residents may also log on to the health department website at www.bergenhealth.org/dental for an interactive children’s game on dental health.
