Myths about children’s dentistry debunked by our dentist at Hawthorn Drive

When it comes to ensuring that your children have the best start in life, you may think that this simply involves them having access to good food and attending doctor’s appointments.

Of course, there is more to ensuring that your child stays healthy than these requirements and one thing that many parents overlook due to their concerns or even phobias is the importance of dental care in babies, toddlers and young children.

Just like adults, there is a strong link between the health of teeth in a child and their overall health, meaning if your child has decaying teeth or swelling gums, it is likely to be causing them to feel physically and even mentally unwell.

At Hawthorn Drive Dental Practice, our dentist in Ipswich takes great pride in being able to educate children about the importance of dental care and will always be happy to meet with younger patients and their parents relating to check-ups or other procedures such as orthodontics. We will always aim to make the learning process fun and will never lecture or berate your child, as this is a very unsuccessful technique when it comes to teaching!

So, what are some of the myths that you may have heard about children’s dentistry which may be impacting your child’s oral health? Our dentist in Ipswich debunks 5 of the most common ones below.

Babies don’t need to see a dentist

According to our dentist in Ipswich, as soon as your baby has their first tooth erupt, or by the age of 12 months, they will have to attend their first dental appointment.

This is so our team can assess whether or not the teeth are coming in correctly, or if there are any secondary complications such as persistent ulcers or potential misalignment, which we can detect by feeling the shape of their gums. This will also provide you with the perfect opportunity to ask our team about how you can better prepare your child to care for their own teeth.

Sleeping with a bottle of milk is fine for teeth

This is an old myth which has since been debunked. Simply put, milk contains lactose which is sugar. While we accept that it’s important for your baby to have a drink when they are put down for a nap, we would always advise parents to give their children water in their bottles.

Dental surgeries scare babies

In our experience, no, dental surgeries do not scare babies. If your child has access to and experience attending dental check-ups from a very young age, they are less likely to suffer from dental anxiety. In most cases, babies are curious about what is happening around them and while they may not like a member of our team feeling their gums with a finger, this will get them used to attending and undertaking dental examinations.

Baby teeth aren’t that important

Baby teeth are incredibly important, especially when it comes to the location and erupting site of adult teeth. Baby teeth should naturally fall out when a child is around the age of 11 and if they need to be removed before this due to decay, this can cause issues with dental misalignment when the adult teeth come through. Baby teeth are in essence place markers and will soon be replaced by erupting adult teeth, so any lengthy gap in this process can cause serious issues.

Children don’t need to floss

Of course, children need to floss! While the technique of flossing can be hard for younger children to learn, our team will be happy to show your children how to floss their teeth without cutting their gums, which will keep their teeth and mouth healthy.