DENTAL CARE FOR TODDLERS

How can parents help? It is essential to have good dental hygiene even at an age when there are only very few teeth in the child’s mouth. There are several things which can be done to avoid decay. One of the first is not giving the baby bottles with fruit juice, or sugary solution especially at bedtime. If the child’s teeth and gums are not cleaned, the sugar remains in the mouth and provides a breeding ground for bacteria that can damage the teeth even before they erupt.

Pharmacy customer: Hello. Do you speak English? ?
PTA: Hello. Yes, a little. How may I help you?

My son is starting in kindergarten soon and I’d like to get started with tooth brushing.
I see. How old is your son?

He’s three years and six months.
Correct cleaning and dental care in the early years provides the basis not just for good teeth in later life. I started my two children at around the same age as your son. And they have had few dental problems.

Oh good! An expert in children and tooth brushing! What do you recommend?
Well, you can basically start cleaning the teeth when the first tooth appears. The earlier you start cleaning teeth and gums, the earlier children get used doing the cleaning.

Can I use toothpaste?
As soon as children can spit out toothpaste and not swallow it, you can use it. We have special toothpaste for children. It has a very small amount of fluoride in it. To be on the safe side, you should always put it away out of reach when you are finished cleaning.

Why can’t I use my toothpaste?
Well, there’s nothing against using adult toothpaste but you should use a very small amount, the size of a grain of rice. You see if your son gets too much fluoride, there is a danger of him getting dental fluorosis. This causes the teeth that later emerge to be covered in white specks. And you wouldn’t want that, would you?

Certainly not! What about toothbrushes?
We have these soft-head toothbrushes, which are ideal for the sensitive teeth and gums of small children.

Good, I’ll take a few of those.
That’s a good idea as you should replace them every six weeks or so to avoid the build-up of bacteria, and also if the bristles become bent they won’t clean so effectively.

 I see. Thank you. Is there anything else that I need to be careful about?
You should make sure that your son really spits out the toothpaste. A lot of children get to like the taste of toothpaste.

What about visiting a dentist?
I visited the dentist when my children both reached the age of about four, so in your son’s case in about six months would be ideal.

Okay, I’ll make sure to think of that! I am lucky that I came here! Thank you so much for your help.
No problem. You are more than welcome. Goodbye!

Bye!

VOCABULARY
toddlers Kleinkind, Knirps
primary teeth erste Zähne
erupt hervorbrechen
cheeks Wangen
cranky mood schlecht gelaunt
decay verfaulen
sugary solution zuckerhaltige Lösung
gums Zahnfleisch
breeding ground Nährboden
sensitive sensibel
bristles Borsten

Den Artikel finden Sie auch in Die PTA IN DER APOTHEKE 09/14 auf Seite 54.

Catherine Croghan, Lecturer in English and native speaker