What is the right way to brush your teeth?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Nguyen Trung Hau - Doctor of Odonto-Stomatology - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Da Nang International General Hospital.
Teaching children to brush their teeth properly is one of the ways to protect and care for their children's teeth that parents should do as soon as their children start teething and when they are more than 1 year old.

1. What are the benefits of brushing your baby's teeth every day?

Helps remove plaque on the tooth surface, keeping the mouth clean. Helps minimize oral diseases caused by bacteria such as tooth decay, gingivitis. Improper brushing creates conditions for bacteria to grow and attack teeth and gums, wearing away enamel and causing sensitivity and tooth sensitivity. Brushing too hard can also affect and damage the gums, causing gingivitis and receding gums.

2. When should you practice brushing your baby's teeth?

When the children have not yet teethed, parents have cleaned the baby's teeth and gums with soft gauze soaked in clean warm water or diluted salt water. With babies from 6 to 12 months old, at this stage, most babies have grown about 8 teeth and molars are in the erupting stage. At this time, it is very important to take care of your baby's teeth and brush them. Because there are many cases where children have tooth decay at this stage, it can seriously affect their teeth, when children have permanent teeth.
From 1.5 years old, babies love to imitate the actions of their parents and people around them, so teaching them to brush their teeth at this stage will help them gradually build a habit of brushing their teeth and accept brushing. and do it well.
When children are between 4-6 years old, in addition to daily brushing habits, parents need to guide their children to brush their teeth properly to protect their oral health in the best way.

3. What time of day does the child brush his teeth?

Parents should build a habit of brushing their children's teeth at least twice a day, after breakfast and before going to bed.
In addition, after lunch or other meals, it is also necessary to brush your teeth to ensure that food does not stick to the tooth surface.
Note, it is necessary to wait at least 30 minutes after eating or drinking acidic foods and drinks, such as oranges, tangerines, or fruit juices. Brushing too early when the acid is still able to affect the enamel layer will make the enamel vulnerable, leading to the risk of enamel destruction. If you can't wait 30 minutes to brush your teeth, rinse your mouth first with water twice to lessen the effect of the acid.

4. Instruct your child to brush his teeth properly

Step 1: Gargle with water to clean the oral cavity. Step 2: Rinse the brush before brushing, then, take a sufficient amount of toothpaste. For young children, the amount of toothpaste is just about the size of a pea. Step 3: Place the brush horizontally and tilted about 45 degrees relative to the gum line, the bristles must be in contact with both teeth and gums. Instruct your child to brush the outer teeth first, including all teeth in the upper and lower jaws by brushing from the top down and from the bottom up, or by rotating the toothbrush. Step 4: Brush the inside of the tooth similar to the outside. Brush all teeth in the upper and lower jaws with an up, down, or circular motion. Step 5: Next, instruct your child to brush his teeth by placing the bristles parallel to the chewing surface of the teeth, then gently bring the brush from the inside out about 10 times. Step 6: Brush the top of the tongue from the inside out with a regular toothbrush or maybe with a specialized tongue brush to remove odor-causing bacteria. Step 7: Clean the oral cavity by rinsing with water so that there is no toothpaste left in the mouth. At this step, parents should remind the children to spit out the foam, because at first, most children often swallow toothpaste. Rinse the brush, let it dry by plugging the bristles up, the handle below.

5. Notes on helping children brush their teeth

After brushing, parents should help children use dental floss to clean between teeth, avoid leaving plaque or food left in between teeth, because this is the main cause of tooth decay in children. Absolutely do not let children brush their teeth horizontally, because this is one of the causes of oral diseases such as gingivitis, tooth decay. Brushing time should be from 2 to 3 minutes. Should choose a baby toothbrush with round, soft, small bristles suitable for the size of the teeth to avoid hurting the gums and to achieve the best brushing effect. You should change your toothbrush at least every 3 months to ensure oral health. If the brush is left for a long time or the bristles have become hard, it will cause a lot of harm to the teeth. Only toothpaste with the right amount of fluoride should be used, in addition, the cream must also contain bactericidal, anesthetic, anti-tartar, sodium bicarbonate, and some enzymes that increase the antiseptic properties of water. foam. Proper brushing of teeth helps protect oral health, avoiding the risk of diseases such as tooth decay, gingivitis, periodontitis, or bad breath that can cause children to lose teeth.
Besides, parents should also let their children go to the dentist regularly at least every 3-6 months to be evaluated by the doctor about the dental condition, helping the baby to have a strong set of teeth.
BSCK I Nguyen Trung Hau has more than 10 years of experience working in the field of Odonto-Stomatology, Dr. Hau especially has a lot of experience in maxillofacial surgery, cosmetic dentistry, Implant implants. Currently, he is a Doctor of Odonto-Stomatology at the Inter-specialty Clinic of General Internal Medicine, Vinmec International General Hospital, Da Nang.

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