Dental Care 2: Thumbsucking, Soothers & More

[Help Me 2 Parent]

Thumbsucking, Soothers & Nursing Bottle Mouth.
In Part 1 of this series, we looked at the early stages of dental care for your children, from before birth to teething. Now, in Part 2, we look at Thumb sucking, Soothers and Nursing Bottle Mouth.

Thumb sucking
Babies get a lot of pleasure and satisfaction from sucking things, including their own thumbs. Most babies will stop of the own accord. You can expect children to have given up sucking by the age of 4 years. Thumb sucking is only a problem when children go on sucking their thumbs after this age as some children may push their teeth out of shape. If you want to help your child give up sucking, remember that sucking makes your child feel contented and secure. Encourage the child to gain comfort by doing other things – perhaps deep breathing, cuddling a toy or focussing on playing with a particular toy.

Soothers
Not all babies need soothers or pacifiers. If you feel that your baby needs a soother, it is important to make sure that it is of the correct design. An orthodontic type is the most suitable. Only allow your child to use the soother when it is absolutely necessary and wean your baby off it as soon as possible. If the child sucks a soother for too lonng, it may have a long term ill-effects on the way that your baby’s teeth grow. Never dip the soother into sugary liquid (honey, jams or syrupy medicines).

Nursing Bottle MouthIt is important to ensure that your chid has a diet which contributes to rather than damages the health of their teeth during infancy. It is importat to realise that as asoon as the child’s teeth appear they are at risk of tooth decay. One of the most common ways in which a child’s teeth are damage is to give the child a bottle containing sweetened liquids after the age of one year, either as a pacifier during the day or at nap or night time.
Allowing the sweetened liquid to pool around the teeth for long periods of time produces acid. This, in time, weakens and eventurally decays the teeth. In sever cases, Nursing Bottle Mouth can develop. It is a condition in which the infant’s teeth are almost completely destroyed. All sweetened liquids, soft drinks, sugared waters, juices, vitamin drinks (even milk) can cause this problem. A similar problem can arise from giving the baby a soother dipped in honey or sugar.
Generally babies will be able to use a cup from 6 months and they can usually be weaned completely off bottles by twelve months.

In part 3, we will look at Diet & Snacks to prevent damage and promote healthy development of children’s teeth.

The Team At Help Me 2 Parent