Who does not want her baby to have that beautiful smile? Of course, all of us moms want our baby to have those beautiful teeth. Since I was not able to take care of my teeth when I was young (the reason why I don’t have healthy teeth), I want to train my baby to take good care of her teeth at her early age. I want to start with her milk teeth. Although these milk teeth will be replaced by her permanent teeth, it is good to take good care of them since the position or alignment of her milk teeth will determine the placement of her permanent teeth.
I started cleaning her gums from the time she was born with cotton swabs (I don’t use cotton balls since I noticed that the cotton fiber sticks to her tongue). Her first tooth sprouted at fifth month- that’s the time I started cleaning her delicate new teeth and tender gums using a silicone finger toothbrush with Sans Fluo toothpaste (toothpaste with xylitol for babies without fluoride which is safe to swallow). Whenever a new tooth is sprouting, I am applying Xylogel (natural teething oral gel) to soothe her swollen gums.
When she turned one, I switched to fine toothbrush using also the Sans Fluo toothpaste. I noticed that she has perfectly aligned teeth! And I want to maintain those until she grows up. There are times when she does not want her teeth to be brush, so I do the brushing of her teeth with fun (I sing the toothbrush song and sometimes I brush my teeth in front of my baby for her to imitate). Every 3 months I replace her toothbrush and I make sure that it has the picture of her favorite cartoon character for her to enjoy brushing her teeth.
Teaching our children good oral hygiene is so much fun. Healthy teeth are needed for efficient biting and chewing vital in the ingestion of food nutrients. It does not only help them to develop consciousness for their body, it also helps them have confidence and most of all a complete teeth help them with their language development.