Our children are precious to us. Part of taking care of them is taking care of their baby teeth. Here are some pointers for the conscientious parent.

You will have two sets of teeth in your life: deciduous and permanent. Deciduous means that they will fall out at some point. They are most commonly referred to as baby teeth, though they will last for many years after infancy. Your permanent teeth will come in later in childhood. But when we refer to baby teeth, we are talking about the first set of teeth your child will start to develop after th first few months and have up until they are about ten years of age.

Begin to look for your baby’s teeth to come in around the fourth through the seventh month. Before then they will just have shining pink gums. You can get them ready for their teeth by caring for their gums during that time.

Babies will either breastfeed, use a bottle, or use a combination of both. There are some sugars in baby formula and cow milk and so it is a good idea to clean your baby’s gums after eating. Before teeth break the gums, bacteria can’t get at them but it is still a way to keep the area healthy and instill good oral hygiene habits for you and baby.

Use a damp baby washcloth or damp gauze to gently rub their gums. This will feel like something new to baby, so they may try to gum your finger, but will eventually get used to the sensation. Using a cold damp washcloth is also soothing to the baby’s gums when the teeth finally start to break through.

Once their little teeth appear you can still use the gauze or washcloth on a daily basis to keep them clean. Baby will begin to use sippy cups and eat food, so there is more of a chance for food to get stuck and decay in the mouth.

With only two or three teeth spread far apart this is not a major concern, but cleaning each individual tooth is still a way to keep them free from acids that can affect teeth and lead to cavities.

When your baby reaches the year mark, try using a little toothpaste on a baby toothbrush to clean their teeth. They will have more of them in their mouth then. Brush them in the morning and at night. When they can hold the brush, you can teach them to do it themselves.

Only use a small amount that doesn’t contain any fluoride. Baby will not be adept at spitting so they need something that is safe for them to swallow.

As they get older you can use fluoride rinses that show them where they missed spots on their teeth, to teach them to brush better for themselves. It’s better to use that at night so they don’t go to daycare with blue spots on their teeth.

Taking care of baby’s teeth is a part of taking care of their overall health. It begins before they even have teeth by taking care of the gums. Teach them good habits that will last for a lifetime.