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Baby bottle tooth decay or BBTD is a serious condition that is a result of long exposure of your infant’s teeth to liquid that contain sugar. These liquids can include milk, breast milk, formula, juice and any other sweetened drinks. Putting your infant to sleep whether for a nap or bedtime, with a baby bottle containing anything other than water can result in severe and rapid tooth decay. The sugar pools around the teeth give the plaque a chance to produce acid that attacks their tooth enamel.

When babies are born they typically have around 20 teeth partly formed inside the gums. The front two, lower first and then upper, are the first to erupt between 6-12 months of age. By age 3, most kids have a set of 20 primary teeth in their mouths. The American Dental Association recommends scheduling your child’s first appointment between the arrival of his/her first tooth and first birthday.

Mothers Dental Health Did you know that, mothers who have poor dental health could be at a higher risk of passing bacteria that causes cavities to their children?

However, there are many things that can be done to help decrease this risk such as:

• Having regular dental visits
• Daily brushing and flossing
• Having a healthy diet that is low in sugars and starches
• Choosing a toothpaste with fluoride
• Rinsing daily with an alcohol free rinse.
• Do not share eating utensils or things that can transmit bacteria with your children.
• If you chew gum, choose something with xylitol as this can decrease you, and your children’s caries rate.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that all pregnant women obtain dental health care during their pregnancy. According to research done it has linked periodontal disease with preterm birth and low birth weight. Speak with your dentist on ways you can prevent or treat periodontal disease during pregnancy.

According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry at 12 months, your baby is old enough to visit the dentist. Cavities are a common concern with children that is why it is important to take your child to the dentist regularly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one in four children have tooth decay by the time they enter kindergarten. Yet cavities are preventable with proper infant oral care that continues throughout childhood and the teen years.

Even before you baby cuts his/her first tooth proper dental care habits are important to maintain.  Before the first tooth erupts clean the baby’s mouth and gums with a soft damp cloth or an infant toothbrush at bath time.  By doing this it helps to ready your baby for the teeth cleaning process to come. It also remove any additional bacteria in your baby’s mouth.

How to Brush Your Baby’s Teeth: You will want to put your baby on your lap, facing away from you. Brush the teeth from behind, making sure to support your baby’s head. When you brush, focus your efforts between the gums and teeth—that’s the most important area. Consult with your dentist about frequency, and if you should add flossing to your child’s routine.

Once your baby’s teeth start coming in, you may want to transition from the washcloth to a baby toothbrush and a toothpaste. If you do use toothpaste make sure it is still safe of babies.

One example would be Tom’s of Maine’s new toddler training toothpaste which is specially formulated for age 3-24 months and it is safe if swallowed. Once your child reaches the age of two and can spit you may want to transition to another type of toothpaste. Remember that when it comes to toothpaste a small pea size amount is all you need.

Give Cheese As A Tooth Friendly Snack: Instead of a bag of chips serve cheese with lunch or as a snack, especially cheddar, Monterey Jack, Swiss, and other aged cheeses which help to trigger the flow of saliva. Saliva helps to wash food particles away from teeth

Good Food Choices for Good Dental Health

Fruits and vegetables: Try offering more fruits and vegetables as a snack instead of sugary treats. The best type of fruits and vegetables to offer would be those containing a high volume of water, such as pears, melons, celery, and cucumbers.

Limit banana and raisin consumption as these contain concentrated sugar or if you serve these fruits, try to brush your child’s teeth immediately after they are eaten.

I am a little lost going though all the different types of dental insurance plans available online.  What is better to get a dental discount plan or a dental HMO insurance plan

Answer: A dental discount plan will offer you discounted saving on all dental work provided by a dentist that takes the dental discount plan. They will normally start within the next business day of enrollment. That can be very helpful if you have a toothache need.

Since you get a discounted saving off of all dental work done you can get saving for services that are not normally covered under dental insurance plans. Such as Adult braces, Implants, Whiten treatments and cosmetic dental services. For many people that can be a deciding factor for them. With most discount plans you pay for every thing but at a deep discount rate. A dental discount plan is just that a discount plan it is not insurance, therefore not a filed product with the department of insurance.

An HMO dental insurance plan is also a plan were you must choose a dentist in the plan net work. An HMO dental insurance is normally the cheaper dental insurance option which in most cases does not have long term waiting periods, yearly maximum dollar amounts, deductibles or claim forms to fill out. If you are wanting a low cost dental insurance plan an HMO may be what you are looking for.

I have a really good dental insurance plan though work.  However when I go to the dentist they bill me almost as much as my dental insurance company is paying for.  I am starting to think they are billing me the full amount and still sending the claim to get paid by the insurance company.  I never get any of my money back either.

Answer:  It is hard to say with out knowing the total cost of the services render and how your dentist is filing the claims. Some dentist do make you pay the claim in full and leave it up to you to submit the claim to your insurance company for your return premium due you. Where other dentist will try to judge how much you would owe them based on you plan and then submit the claims any differences one way or the other will be adjusted by the dental either by billing you or refunding you. Then too a dentist office could not charge you anything at the time file the claim and then bill you for any remaining premium due them.

So first I would suggest knowing what your total cost are for you dental services. How can you know what your cost is if you do not know the total billing amount. If you still believe the dentist is double charging you and the insurance company. Call your insurance company to verify the facts. See what your insurance company as paid out. Sometimes they pay less then what your are thinking.

If it shows that your dentist is over charging address the issue with the dental office first. Mistakes do happen and you want to at least clear up the matter with little hassle as possible.

Taking Your Child To The Dentist

Question: Why should I take my toddler to the dentist when his baby teeth will just fall out anyway? I just wondering because my parents never took me to see a dentist until I was a teen with adult teeth.

Answer: It is true that our primary teeth eventually, but their health is still very important to our oral health over the long term. Once a baby tooth starts to decay, the bacteria in there, progresses pretty quickly, seeping through the tooth and going to the bone and potentially causing dental infections that can even be fatal. Sure that is the worst consequence. But even if that does not happen, if bacteria lurk in the baby teeth, the enamel for the adult teeth may not be formed properly and they can be permanently damaged.

Should my child see a pediatric dentist?

Question: My son is 18 months of age and I been told he should see a dentist for a regular dental check up. However not sure if he can just go to our family dentist or does he have to see a pediatric dentist.

Answer: This is a common question for parents to ask. For the same reason you do not take your child to your own internist, you take her to a pediatrician. Children are not miniature adults. Their bodies are very different, and so are their teeth. A pediatric dentist has expertise in those differences.

Question: I have a two year old and just wondering about what age should he be able to brush his own teeth?

Answer: It can take many years before a child develops the fine motor coordination need to do a good job at brushing their teeth. Some dentist advises that parent brushes or help a child to brush their teeth until the child can neatly write his or her own name. You will need to use your own judgment but consider between ages 6 and 8 as the time for your child to take on the job of keeping their teeth clean and healthy.

By the time your baby is six months of age, your dentist should assess the likelihood of your baby having future dental problems. This may include a dental exam of the mother and her dental history, as the condition of her teeth can often predict her child’s teeth.  Be sure your child sees a dentist after the first primary teeth appear.

After your first visit, schedule regular visits every six months or as your dentist recommends. Experts recommend that your baby see a dentist no latter then 12 months of age. Babies with dental problems caused by injury, disease, or a developmental problem should be seen by a children’s (pediatric) dentist right away. If these dental problems are not limited to the surfaces of the teeth, your baby should also be seen by a children’s doctor (pediatrician) or your family doctor

Your baby’s first teeth usually begin to erupt through the gums at about six months of age, although the timing will vary among children. All of the 20 primary teeth should come in between the ages of six months and three years.

Your child will lose his or her primary teeth between the ages of six and eleven. Your child’s first permanent teeth  usually erupt behind the primary teeth at about age six. The last permanent teeth usually erupt between the ages of 12 and 21.

It is important to understand that a baby’s dental care really starts with his or her mother’s healthy pregnancy, because baby teeth begin to form before birth. If you are pregnant, make sure to eat a balanced, nutritious diet and get an adequate amount of vitamins and minerals as advise by your doctor. Do not avoid your dentist, sadly too many pregnant women do not go to the dentist and seeing a dentist while pregnant is important. Pregnant women have a higher risk of gum disease and therefore should see their dentist to maintain their oral health while pregnant

Food texture can create issues for your teeth. Sticky substances seem to find their way in-between your teeth and along your gum line. The bacteria in your mouth interacts with the sugars to weaken your tooth enamel. Therefore avoid such candies as toffee and anything gummy (such as gummy bears) If you do eat this type of treat be extra diligent with your flossing and brushing afterwards.

Wine may get better with age but did you know it also ages your teeth? With high acidic content wine start to wear down on your teeth’s enamel almost immediately. Wine also stains teeth and can cause dry mouth.