ORAL HYGIENE

As an old saying goes “Prevention is better than cure”, it is always wise to maintain your oral hygiene to prevent any kind of damage to the teeth. 

Now the question is how to maintain a proper oral hygiene to protect the teeth from damage? Well let us see how it is.
How would a well maintained teeth look like?

• Your teeth will be free of plaque and debris
• Your gums do not bleed when you brush, indicates they are infection free.
• You are free from bad breath.              

These are the major signs indicating you are maintaining a proper oral hygiene. But how to achieve is the major concern. Here are few instructions:

• Brush your teeth twice a day with fluoridated toothpaste and make a habit of washing your mouth thoroughly after consuming any kind of food.

• Brush your teeth in up-down and circular motion, never brush sideways as this will eventually abrade your teeth, leading to hyper sensitivity.

• Floss your teeth at least once in a day.

• Watch what you eat, avoid excess consumption of sticky and sugary foods. Especially children should avoid taking such foods to prevent tooth decays.

• Eat foods rich in calcium and minerals to build healthier and stronger teeth.

• Visit your dentist every six months to get a thorough dental check up as it is always wise to detect dental problems at the earliest stage and get appropriate treatment done.

• Children should be taken to a dentist as a rule of thumb “first visit at the first birthday".

• Parents should start brushing their child's teeth when their first tooth appears. Use a soft brush and a non-fluoridated tooth paste. Children of age five and above can use fluoridated tooth paste as permanent teeth starts erupting at this age.

Now that we have the basic knowledge of maintaining oral hygiene, let us look at the consequences of bad oral hygiene.

• Accumulation of plaque leads to bacterial growth resulting in dental caries.

• Poor oral hygiene leads to gum infection resulting in red, swollen and bleeding gums and bone loss.
• Bleeding gums give bacteria direct access into the blood stream. Certain bacteria stick to the blood cells (platelets) leading to blood clots which increases the risk of heart stroke or attack.

• As oral cavity is a gate way to the rest of the body, the bacteria in plaque can travel from mouth to lungs causing lung infections or aggravating already existing infection. 

             
Maintain a good oral hygiene to lead an overall healthy life

               

INFANT ORAL HEALTH

Infant is referred to a child from 1 month to 12 months of age.

Oral care of infants is very crucial as the bacteria lodges the oral cavity within few hours after birth.

Oral mucosa is the first in the human body where microorganisms are seen to be established soon after the birth within 6 to 8 hours in an infant.

The primary causative factor responsible in initiation of dental caries is transmitted from mother to the infant. These gather a foothold in the mouth immediately after the eruption of teeth.

Eruption of teeth begins at 6 to 10 months of age and completes by 3 years of age, But even before that the oral cavity should be maintained clean.

Oral hygiene practices to be followed : 

• Prolonged Breast feeding, especially throughout the night and sometimes day has been associated with nursing caries.   
• Remove the bottle immediately after feeding.
• Give water after feeding with the bottle and clean mouth soon after feeding. 
• The cleaning activity should be performed after every meal or at least once in a day. 
• The cleaning of gum pads can be started as early as within the first week of birth. Nowadays specially designed for infants tooth brushes, finger cots and wipes are available. 
•  Clean everyday twice after morning and last feed in the night. 
•  Spend at least two or three minutes in cleaning.   
•  Dilute the milk gradually in the bottle and end with plain water. 
• You can start with semi-solid foods by 5-6 months and reduce use of bottle or breast feeding. 
•  Avoid extended use of sugared medicines such as syrups.

Importance of mother’s own oral hygiene is equally important as poor oral health of the mother can affect the health of the fetus and the new born.

Poor maternal periodontal health increases the potential for pre-mature low birth weight of babies and high caries level in the mother result in an equally high level in the child.

                  Start it at the earliest to maintain a healthy oral cavity of your child !!!!