Parents across the board are adamant about keeping their children healthy, a big piece of which is oral health. Parents want to keep their children’s teeth strong and clean but there are many misconceptions around a few key points that we discover when patients come into our dental offices.
“I encourage my kids to drink juice because it’s healthy…”
It is recommended to have two servings of fruit per day to maintain a healthy diet. Most adults think that fruit juice is a great alternative to fruit but in all reality, it isn’t the best alternative for your teeth. Juice is high in sugar and therefore it increases tooth decay and the potential to form a cavity if the teeth aren’t brushed good enough. If your children drink juice choose either sugar-free options or make sure they brush their teeth a little extra afterwards!
“Baby teeth aren’t important. They’ll just fall out in a few short years!”
Primary teeth (also known as baby teeth) are important for multiple reasons. First and foremost, learning to keep up on oral health from a young age will create life long habits. Cavities and infections can form on baby teeth and therefore can affect the adult teeth growing underneath. The baby teeth help with spacing for adult teeth and a child’s six-year molars can move and potentially block the growth of adult teeth. Good dental health habits that are started at a young age is a necessity for healthy teeth.
“Chewing gum will give my kids cavities!”
Most dentists are okay with children and adults chewing sugar-free gum! It’s proven that chewing gum increases saliva flow which helps wash away food particles. Just make sure children don’t swallow the gum!
“It’s more important that my kids’ brush when they wake up than at night”
While brushing your teeth in the morning is important for fresh breath we find that it is more important to make sure children and adults brush every night! Brushing at night removes the plaque and food particles from the day and keeps them from sitting and rotting your teeth all night long. It is recommended to brush your teeth twice a day at least.
These are just four of many misconceptions that are out there. Always check with your dentist to see if what you hear is actually true.
