Newborn Dental Tips You Should Know For Healthy And Strong Teeth

Having a baby is a blessing. It can be a lot of work to care for your baby but as long as they are happy and healthy, you’ll feel the same. A huge part of caring for your baby’s health is learning how to care for their teeth as they start growing them. Many new parents find it challenging to understand what they should do when their babies are teething and how they can properly care for their dental health. Here are some tips that can help you care for your baby’s tiny teeth and making sure they grow healthy and strong.

Source: Parents

Clean Their Gums Gently

Babies take some time before they start growing their first couple of teeth. However, that does not mean that you shouldn’t start caring for their dental health from day one. The easiest way you can do that is by gently cleaning your baby’s gum with your clean fingers and some water. It is essential that you ensure your hands are squeaky clean and that you rub the gums ever so swiftly and gently so that you do not end up hurting your child. Make sure you repeat that process on a daily basis, preferably after they have finished breastfeeding or having their bottle so that you can remove any milk residuals that can lead to bacteria forming in the baby’s mouth.

Using a Baby Toothbrush

Once your baby starts growing their first tooth or couple of teeth, you can buy them their first baby toothbrush and smoothly clean their teeth with baby toothpaste. As mentioned by the professionals at KuteKeiki.com, if your baby is still under a year-old and developing their first set of teeth, you can start brushing their teeth with no toothpaste and just water for a few months. As your baby starts growing older, you can start using a toothpaste that is made for toddlers and children which should be low on fluoride. Steer clear from adult toothpaste and any dental products that are not specifically made for newborn babies as they can be incredibly harmful to your child at such a young age.

Source: pixabay.com

Keep Away From Sweetened Soothers

When your newborn starts teething, they might start reaching for their soothers more than ever. If they are irritated by their teeth growing and start refusing the soother, do not be tempted to sweeten the soother in any way as it might badly affect their dental health. Many parents tend to dip the baby soothers and even pacifiers in sweetened water on sugary juices to get their babies to use them for longer. While babies might like that, it is not very healthy for them, especially as they start teething. It would be better to keep the soothers as they are and maybe even change them every once in a while to offer your newborn something new to use without harming their gums or baby teeth as they are in the making.

Regularly Clean Bottles

Baby bottles can play host to numerous types of bacteria if not cleaned regularly and vigorously. As most newborn bottles would be filled with breast milk or baby formula, bacteria can start accumulating quickly and harming your baby’s dental health if you do not do something about it. It is essential that you clean any used bottles after use each time and that you do not let the baby use any bottle that can be contaminated. Make sure you do not test the temperature of the milk with dirty hands or even on your lips as you could end up transferring harmful bacteria to your child’s mouth yourself.

Source: Parents

Avoid Bottles in the Baby’s Bed

Many parents tend to give their newborns a bottle to feed on right before bed and sometimes they leave them to sip on that bottle as they fall asleep. This can be incredibly harmful to the baby as it would mean milk would stay stuck in the gums for long periods of time and quickly form bacteria. You can feed your newborn before they go to bed but you would need to make sure you take the bottle with you on the way out. It would be wise to rinse your baby’s mouth after bottle feeding even if they do not have any teeth at that point.

Gradually Limit the Use of Pacifiers and Sippy Cups

All newborns use pacifiers and sippy cups up to a certain age. However, they can be harboring all kinds of bacteria even if they are cleaned regularly. If you are keen on your baby growing healthy and strong teeth, then make sure you limit their use to pacifiers, sippy cups, and anything that they can put in their mouth and leave in the open air for harmful bacteria to live. It can be challenging at first but with time your newborn would get used to the limited use of pacifiers and sippy cups and their teeth would grow healthy and strong.

Source: Dr. Brown’s

Do Early Dental Checkups

It probably goes without saying that the key to maintaining healthy dental growth in babies is by keeping regular tabs with your dentist. As soon as your newborn starts teething, do not shy away from booking an appointment with your dentists and taking your baby for an early checkup. This would allow you to stay on top of things and ensure that every single tooth your baby grows comes out healthy and that your baby would rarely ever struggle with dental problems.

Dental health is a big concern for many parents, especially those who are new to the game of caring for a newborn. It can be challenging at first to try and figure out how to care for your baby’s dental health if they are just starting to grow their first couple of teeth. However, the key to healthy and strong teeth is regular dental hygiene using trusted and gentle baby products, as well as regularly visiting the dentist. If you have any concerns regarding your newborn’s dental health then you should quickly seek a dentist’s professional advice as they would be able to help you care for your baby’s teeth effectively.

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