Why Do Parents Need a Dental Health Guide For Children?

Parents know that it is important to care for their children’s teeth; however, many parents aren’t always sure about how to do this. A lot of parents have questions about when they should start brushing or when their children need to visit a dentist, for example. There are also parents who don’t know what dental care products they should use with their children or how to use them properly. These are all quite valid concerns.

The answers to these questions and more can be found in a dental health guide for children.

Parents can find dental health guides for children in a variety of locations—in parenting books, parenting magazines, online websites, and doctor and dentist offices. It is important to remember, however, that any dental health guide for children is only as trustworthy and legitimate as the person who wrote the guide. Anyone can write and publish a dental health guide; however, parents should take care to seek out a guide that has been written by a qualified dental professional. You can find legitimate dental professionals with our find a dentist page. Each dentist has a profile that you can look at to ensure they are a qualified professional.

There are some guides that have been authored by dentists--or members of the American Dental Association (ADA) or the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD). Dental health guides for children that have been written by any of these professionals are much more likely to be complete and accurate than those that are written by laypeople.

In any dental health guide for children, parents should be able to find some key pieces of information:

• When to take a child to the dentist for the first time
• When to begin brushing the child’s teeth
• How to begin brushing the child’s teeth (and/or gums)
• What toothpaste to use with children
• How and when to use dental floss with a child

Most dental health guides for children are fairly universal in that they tend to agree on most of this information. This isn’t always the case though, especially with the first issue. The ADA and the AAPD are not in agreement about when it is essential to take a child to the dentist for the first time. The ADA believes that all children should visit a dentist no later than their first birthday, whereas the AAPD is a little more lenient, allowing parents to wait until the third birthday. Other than this, though, most dental health guides will provide nearly the same information.

Dental health guides for children also address the issues of fluoride and sealants. Fluoride is necessary for teeth; however, too much can lead to stains on the teeth. Guides usually address how to approach this problem.

A sealant is a plastic coating that can be placed on the teeth as early as age 5 to protect the teeth’s grooves. Some dentists approve of this; some do not. Most guides will speak to this issue.

It is generally a good idea to read through a few dental health guides for children to get a good sense of what is being said—just to make certain that nothing is missed. Some guides are not as well-written as others, so this can be a wise idea.