Flossing and Fluoride for Your Children’s Teeth

Triangle Pediatric Dentistry is a leading pediatrics dentist in Raleigh and Wake Forest.  The experts there explain that flossing should be a very important part of your child’s oral hygiene regimen. It is very important that these areas where teeth touch are cleaned very well because they are prone to getting cavities if left uncleaned. When the teeth touch together a toothbrush will not reach areas between the teeth.  Any teeth that touch together should be flossed. One product that is very good for flossing a young child’s teeth is a floss holder. Position your child and floss in between all of the teeth that touch together.  This should be done each time your child brushes or at minimum floss after brushing at night.

For young children, it is always best to consult your pediatrics dentist before you begin using fluoridated toothpaste. At our Raleigh pediatric dentistry practice, we recommend that you use a small pea-sized amount of toothpaste to brush your child’s teeth once the baby teeth are coming in. If you are using a small pea-sized amount of toothpaste, then the amount that your child could swallow is minimal. Children should always be supervised to make sure that they are not swallowing a lot of the toothpaste that they use. If your child is too young to understand about spitting out the excess toothpaste, then you can use a damp cloth to wipe out the excess toothpaste.

Fluoride mouth rinses can also be effective reducing cavities in baby molar teeth and other risky spots on the baby teeth chart as well as offering additional protection for children that are at high risk for cavities. If your child had cavities in a primary tooth previously or any of your child’s siblings have had cavities previously then the use of a fluoride mouth rinse can be very advantageous. A very good fluoride mouth rinse to use is ACT. It is very important that only children that will spit out the mouth rinse should use a fluoride mouth rinse.

Flossing and fluoride treatments are important for when your child’s baby teeth are coming in, his or her baby molar teeth and baby back teeth.  Triangle Pediatric Dentistry offers expert advice for children of all ages.  Please contact the practice about an appointment today.