Taking Care the Baby Teeth

Oleh shinta lestari pada Selasa, 12 Januari 2010
Seputar Tips

Way before the first tooth has erupted, we should already started the habit of cleaning our baby's mouth by wiping their gums after each feeding.  Once the teeth begin coming in, the care continues as part of the habit that our child needs to follow as part of their routine.  

Many parents think baby teeth aren't important because they're eventually replaced by permanent ones.  But these first teeth preserve the spacing for the permanent ones and help baby chew and talk.  If they're not care for properly, they can decay, leading to a gum infection called gingivitis, which can affect the spacing of permanent teeth.

The key to establishing good brushing habits is starting an oral care program early.  When they are still a baby, you can use thimblelike, soft rubbery devices (they fit over your index finger) for rubbing off excess food and brush their teeth with.  But as they get older, brushing their teeth could be quite a hassle.  They wouldn't let your finger go inside their mouth, turn their heads away, tightly close their mouth or even bite your fingers when they go in.  As they get older and can hold a toothbrush themself, they wouldn't let you do the brush but they cannot yet do the job themselves properly.  So, what do we do?


Taking Care of Baby Teeth

 


1.  Make it Fun!
Make it as a fun activity rather than a chore which must be done.  

2.  Include them in your daily routine
Do the activity together, so your child knows that you're doing it too.  A child loooveess to mirror what their parents do!  If s/he sees you do it, s/he will want to do it too.

3.  Let them "brush" their own teeth
One fun method (and quite effective) is allowing your children to brush your teeth.  You should laugh a lot and make it a fun activity.  Then allow them to "brush" their own teeth.  While they do it, tell them that you're showing it to them first and they can finish it off.  Sometimes, I even ask my daughter to also "brush" her favorite doll's or the rubber duck's teeth.

4.  Teach them how to spit
Kids just love playing with water.  That's why I sit my daughter in the sink when she does her routine.  I'm still teaching her how to spit correctly (she still ends up swallowing the water first then act like she's spitting, but she's getting there!).  But the fact that she's allowed to do it during this activity is a fun thing for her, so it makes her eager to do this routine.

5.  Make it a habit
Children is a product of habit.  If you have this as a routine thing to do and involve yourself during the process, they will start doing it themselves.  Since I always let my daughter sees me brushing my teeth before bed then ask her to brush her teeth too, now she asks to brush her teeth before she goes to bed (or whenever she sees toothbrush!).  

I myself still have a long way till my daughter can really learn how to brush her teeth on her own correctly, but we're getting there.  At least she knows that it's not something she should be dreaded for and it's a fun activity for her with her papa or mama. 

19 Komentar
chandramalini January 19, 2010 8:38 am

terima kasih tipsnya...saya juga pusing nich, anak saya susah banget kalau di suruh sikat gigi. saya sering paksa kadang dianya sampai nangis gitu. tapi gimana kalau ga sikat gigi, saya takut giginya lubang.

Mommy Bri January 14, 2010 12:43 pm

seeepp... thanks yah, kl gitu odolnya ga usah dulu deh, biar disikat pake baby tbrush dan air aja

shinta lestari
shinta lestari January 14, 2010 8:48 am

@dhi - thanks! sebenernya dari bayi pun udah mulai sikat 'gigi'. tapi karena giginya belom ada, yah, sikat gusi aja. jadi ngebersiin mulut & gusi dari susu, etc. pake yang rubber itu. dulu sih gue biasanya paling sehari sekali aja, pas mandi.

kalo giginya udah ada, kalo cuma 1-2 sih, masih bisa pake rubber itu, kalo udah banyakan bisa pake baby toothbrush nya. kalo emang gak ada odol untuk bayi yang aman untuk ditelen, mendingan ga usah pake odol dulu aja.

Mommy Bri January 13, 2010 10:42 pm

Artikelnya bagus. Sebetulnya umur berapa sih disarankan mulai sikat gigi? Aku dah biasain anakku si Bri liat kita sikat gigi tiap pagi. Dia sampe ikutan komat-kamit saking serius nontonnya.

Aku beliin baby tooth brush (3 set) yang masih berupa rubber untuk dibawah umur 1 thn dan sikat gigi dgn brush mungil buat nanti kalo dia udah umur setaun. Di tempatku ga ada baby's tooth paste, jadi dikasi odol biasa sedikiiit aja. Tapi ya udahannya jadi ditelen. Nggak papa ya? Atau mendingan jangan pake odol dulu?

shinta lestari
shinta lestari January 12, 2010 8:02 am

@thalia - wah iya good idea kayak gitu. biar dia liat airnya ya? tar praktekin deh. thanks, thal!

@riaandiani - iya ia, naia sama lah kayak davina, masih belom bisa spit, bingung ama konsep itu. tapi naia sih gak pake nyembur, tapi numpahin gelas ke badan, serasa lagi mandi. haha..

@ninit - thank you! alhamdulillah dia emang lagi pinter makannya nih. mudah2an terus..

@fitria - wah noora udah umur berapa? mudah2an tips nya berguna, pake fun activities... termasuk pura2 sikat gigi boneka2nya.. hehe..

@rrraisha - ih kok tau aja sih mama satu ini? iya jadi kalo sikat gigi, naia mesti pegang sikat gigi tangan kanan, odol tangan kiri. tiap sikat gigi masuk mulu, mesti dicocolin dulu di odolnya.. hahah! duh belajar flossing tar aja kalo giginya udah banyak. sekarang baru 8 yang di depan, tapi lagi ada 12 nongol berbarengan. dududu..