Dirty Little Secrets: Your toddler will get cavities

Your toddler may get cavities. 

Toddlers get cavities.  Really.  When my son developed a white spot on his front tooth, I made sure to brush it extra well and called a dentist.  At the dentist's office, which was hard, no 3 yr old wants to be held down for x-rays or mouth inspection, the dentist gave me a blistering look "Your toddler has a serious cavity between his front teeth."  I felt like the worst mom ever and said as much.  Her dismissive response was "Well, among some populations you see a lot more toddler cavities." 

Some populations?  Some populations have worse toddler cavities? What and who are those people?  I began to surf the web, hitting up every mother message board and talking to every mother I know.  Whatever my dentist's snotty out look, I learned that "some populations" means all toddlers can get cavities.

Some dentists blame nursing, or bottle feeding before bedtime.  But the truth is very, very simple.
Some toddlers are prone to cavities.
Some toddlers are not. 
Be vigilant about brushing and flossing and start early when their teeth first come in.

The best you can do for your child is to brush and floss your child's teeth after they finish eating for the day before bed, yes, including after that last bottle of milk.  And if you can brush and floss after every meal all the better. 
You can also limit straight sugar, i.e. lollipops and other candies.

BUT, even if you do that your toddler may still have cavities.  Because some toddlers are prone to get them anyways.  Even toddlers with perfect dental hygiene get cavities.

 

Relax and hope you have good dental insurance.

Comments

[cosmetic dentists in san diego]

Dental structure of babies or toddles is very important, thats why we need to give them a proper hygiene. thanks for the post.

-heather-