How many children have appointments with dentists? Every summer, pediatric dentists are always extra busy. Parents who are confused often complain to the dentist: “We urge our children to brush their teeth every morning and evening and rinse their mouths after meals, but why do they still have rotten teeth?” “Why do my children’s teeth become crooked after they change teeth when their milk teeth are neat and tidy?” “Children’s dental care is not as simple as some parents think, not only need to fight a “protracted war”, but also need to take early precautions.” Many children see the dentist to treat dental disease, but prevention is actually more important than treatment. A study shows that for every$1 invested in oral prevention,$10 can be saved in treatment. Caries and the complications it causes, common oral diseases such as abnormal tooth development, and poor oral hygiene habits not only damage oral health and are detrimental to a child’s ability to project a good personal image, but may also affect general health. Parents, do you know the focus of oral health care for each age group of children? Do you know what questions to ask when you see the dentist? Brushing every day can’t completely offset the “negative factor” of tooth decay. When Xiaomeng was two years old and saw the dentist for the first time, the doctor discovered the “small black spots” hidden in the teeth. “The child started to clean her teeth with gauze before she grew up, and after she grew up, she brushed her teeth in the morning and evening and rinsed her mouth after meals, why did she still have caries?” Xiaomeng’s mother always thinks she is a model student of dental care, and she feels aggrieved about the problems of her child’s mouth. “There are many factors that cause children’s dental caries, such as the infection of caries-causing bacteria, the influence of diet and the sensitivity of individual caries, etc. Many aspects should be taken care of. Although letting children brush their teeth every day and rinse their mouth after meal will reduce the risk of caries, it cannot completely offset the negative factors of caries in feeding. Although some children do regular daily teeth cleaning, brushing itself cannot remove the pathogenic bacteria from the mouth. Some children have an acidic and sweet diet, and may not always remember to rinse their mouth thoroughly after eating snacks and fruits. “Yogurt with good nutrition and good taste is the favorite of small babies, but not brushing teeth after drinking it will often become the “accomplice” of caries. Preschool children usually brush their own teeth, but if the brushing action is not in place and time is not enough, the effect of teeth cleaning will also be reduced. “Parents should not wait until oral diseases such as dental caries occur before taking their children to the hospital to mend the situation.” A wiser approach is to target dental care for each age group and see the dentist regularly to learn the key points of dental care for this age group. For example, infants and toddlers should focus on developing dental cleaning habits and should see a dentist within one year of age. Preschoolers should correct bad oral habits, such as lip biting and finger sucking, early. School-age children should have a good “ugly duckling period” from the loss of milk teeth to the eruption of permanent teeth, prevent sulcus caries and avoid dental trauma. Around the time of adolescence, in addition to early treatment of malocclusion, it is necessary to start a lifetime of dental care issues, that is, the prevention of gingivitis, periodontitis. Different ages, oral health care focus on different 1, infancy (0 ~ 3 years old): 1 year old to see the dentist From birth to three years old, the biggest change in the child’s mouth from toothless to teeth, parents should pay attention to the correct way of feeding, while cultivating the habit of taking the child to the dentist regularly. “Babies are not yet 1 year old, they don’t understand the doctor’s instructions at all, and some may not have teeth yet, so why do they need to see the dentist?” “I use gauze dipped in water to wipe my child’s dental bed, isn’t that enough?” Zhao Wei points out that it is indeed not enough. Babies should see a dentist within one year of age. In addition to early oral health status assessment, the main purpose is for the doctor to communicate with parents and to carry out oral health knowledge. Parents should have proper feeding practices. They should pay attention to feeding hygiene and also pay attention to their own oral hygiene to avoid spreading pathogenic bacteria to their children. After the milk teeth erupt, don’t let the child hold the bottle with sweet milk or sweet drink for a long time, especially not to sleep with the bottle, otherwise it will cause infant caries, commonly known as “bottle caries”. Some parents, especially grandparents, like to chew food to feed their children, or put the pacifier or spoon into their own mouth to test the temperature, these are inappropriate. Because the oral cavity is an open bacterial environment, saliva exchange will lead to the spread of bacteria to the child, and the earlier the cariogenic bacteria is transmitted to the child, the more likely it will become the dominant flora, the more likely the child will suffer from caries. 2.Preschool children (3~6 years old): finger sucking, lip biting and tongue spitting should be changed At the stage of 3~6 years old, children have basically erupted the complete row of milk teeth. Parents should pay attention to help children quit bad oral habits, and find out the dental caries timely treatment. Babies love finger sucking, lower lip biting, tongue spitting, which look very cute, but in fact are all bad oral habits, which may cause maxillary protrusion, narrow arch, crowded teeth and other oral and jaw deformities. Parents should promptly persuade or go to the hospital as early as possible to help their children quit through appropriate orthodontic methods. Children in the preschool stage have a high incidence of caries in the milk teeth due to a richer diet. “Many parents think that the milk teeth always have to be replaced, and if they are bad, they are bad, do they still need to be treated? This view is wrong.” The doctor points out that there are four major hazards of milk tooth caries. First, it causes the child’s toothache, gum, facial swelling, even high fever and other systemic symptoms. Secondly, it is likely to affect the development of permanent tooth embryo, and directly affect the eruption form and arrangement structure of permanent teeth. Third, in serious cases, it may hinder the child’s jaw and facial development. Fourthly, it will affect the child’s diet and nutrition intake, such as reluctance to eat vegetables containing more fiber and meat that needs to be chewed, resulting in poor eating habits such as partial eating and affecting the normal growth and development of the whole body. For children who have the tendency to suffer from caries, it is recommended to receive dental fluoride coating in hospital, which plays the role of caries prevention by slowly releasing fluoride ions through fluorine protective varnish, and is usually recommended to be coated regularly every 3~6 months. 3.School age (6~12 years old): Don’t bump permanent teeth and close the sockets early The biggest change of the child’s mouth is tooth replacement after he/she goes to elementary school. At this stage, the child’s 20 milk teeth will be gradually replaced with 28 permanent teeth. Tooth replacement is a physiological process, the normal order is that the milk teeth first loose and fall off, and then the permanent teeth erupt. If the permanent teeth erupt before the milk teeth fall out, the newly erupted permanent teeth often cannot enter the dental row smoothly, resulting in misalignment of permanent teeth. “The characteristics of school-age children are that they are active and easily injured. Prevention and treatment of dental trauma is one of the priorities during this period.” Zhao Wei pointed out that teeth are non-renewable hard tissues, and injuries that result in bleeding gums, cracked teeth, broken teeth, loosening and displacement should be seen immediately at the hospital. When participating in sports activities and games, playing impact sports such as basketball and soccer or racing sports such as roller skating, wearing sports protective braces can effectively reduce the chances of dental trauma. Another important task of school-age oral health care is to avoid sulcus caries. The sulcus point gap on the surface of molar teeth is the area of high incidence of caries. “Sixth-aged teeth are the earliest permanent molars, which are also the most prone to caries and even premature loss, so it is important to protect the first permanent molars of children. By applying a layer of adhesive resin, the sulcus of teeth can be filled to make the tooth surface smooth and easy to clean, protect the enamel from the erosion of bacteria and metabolites, and enhance the anti-caries ability of teeth. 4.Adolescence (12~18 years old): prevention and treatment of gingivitis, orthodontics is the right time. The teeth of adolescent children have completely erupted, so pay attention to the prevention and treatment of gingivitis. If the teeth are not aligned, orthodontic treatment should be carried out in time. Due to changes in sex hormone levels during puberty and plaque buildup, adolescents are more likely to develop gingivitis, which manifests itself as bleeding gums when brushing teeth and biting hard objects, swollen gums, and bad taste in the mouth. The most effective way to prevent gingivitis in adolescents is to properly brush the teeth to remove plaque. When conditions such as bleeding gums occur, it is important to go to the hospital for treatment such as dental cleaning to stop the progression of gingivitis. “Children seeking orthodontic treatment for malocclusion are advised to first consult a pediatric dentist for oral health status assessment and oral health education. The orthodontic process, if not synchronized with good oral health care, can easily lead to decay and even orthodontic failure.” Zhao Wei said that usually at the age of about 12, the milk teeth are completely replaced with permanent teeth. If there are teeth misalignment and other occlusal deformities, can be orthodontic in this period, easy to achieve good treatment results. In the process of orthodontic treatment, it is necessary to pay special attention to oral health care to avoid the situation that the orthodontic teeth are aligned but the mouth is full of caries. Children undergoing orthodontic treatment should brush their teeth after every meal to remove plaque and retained food debris, and it is recommended to choose orthodontic toothbrush and interdental brush to clean teeth.