Dental and health topics are talked about frequently in the United States and it seems that the do's and don'ts change on a daily basis. We all know that we should see a dentist every six months for preventative care because that hasn't changed for many years, but what about your children? Teeth are easily maintained after they all come in and nothing else changes, but while children grow they need several checkups to ensure long lasting healthy teeth. What happens during the first 12 years of your child's life will impact their teeth for as long as they live.

Children begin to get their baby teeth between 3 and 6 months and it's easy to tell when this is happening because of their need to bite. After their baby teeth begin to come in, they can be cleaned by a light rubbing with a wash cloth until they are 1 year old. From 1 to 7 years old, children need a soft toothbrush and a pea sized dab of toothpaste. Dentists recommend that children make their first trip before they are 3 years old, but it's time to make a decision at 1 year. If your child has high risk factors for tooth problems, 1 year is a good time to make your first appointment. High risk factors include; lots of juice, going to bed with something to drink, thumb sucking and most of all... the health of YOUR teeth.

From 6 months to about 7 years, children have their baby teeth and they need to be treated well to last even that long. Fluoride and calcium are chemicals that bonds to teeth and makes them much stronger, but too much fluoride and it can cause teeth to become brown stained. It is essential that children receive the right amount of these chemicals and the only person who can tell you how much is your dentist. Some parts of the country have more naturally occurring fluoride in the water and food supply than other parts of the country and your local dentist will be able to tell you how much your child is getting. Fluoride and calcium are even more important after your child's adult teeth come in between 6 and 7 years old. These are the teeth they will have for the rest of their lives and strengthening them very early on will help protect them until they have children and grandchildren of their own.

Research has always shown that children who don't receive proper dental care early on have tooth problems most of their lives. Not getting enough strengthening chemicals in their food due to malnourishment and lack of dental care has always plagued the poorer sections of the country and the children pay for it. Over half of the country has no dental insurance through their employer and dental appointments can become very expensive if your child needs braces or has cavities. One solution to this problem is a dental discount program. In one of these programs, dentists offer big discounts to their patients in exchange for cash payment. These programs cost less than $20 a month but they can cut the cost of braces in half. Other portions of the population may get assistance through Medicare and Medicaid, but lots of people will have to just suck it up and pay out of pocket.

New advances in mouthwash and toothpaste can allow you to whiten your teeth or strengthen them from the inside, but children have no idea what they need and don't need. It's up to us as parents to see to their health and dental and provide them with long, happy and productive lives. When our children have children of their own, most of these dental do's and don'ts will have changed. Until then, we can only do what we feel is best and what we know works!