There are so many great parenting articles out there, we’re launching a new feature that highlights some of the best ones! If you’d like to submit a link to an article that you’d like to see featured on Hellobee, please email us at submissions@hellobee.com.
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The New York Times had an eye-opening article about the rise in cavities amongst preschoolers that require general anesthesia for treatment.
[D]entists nationwide say they are seeing more preschoolers at all income levels with 6 to 10 cavities or more. The level of decay, they added, is so severe that they often recommend using general anesthesia because young children are unlikely to sit through such extensive procedures while they are awake.
Cavities have been on the rise because of:
[E]ndless snacking and juice or other sweet drinks at bedtime, parents who choose bottled water rather than fluoridated tap water for their children, and a lack of awareness that infants should, according to pediatric experts, visit a dentist by age 1 to be assessed for future cavity risk, even though they may have only a few teeth.
And because some toddlers dislike tooth-brushing, some parents do not enforce it.
After reading this article and thinking about the prospect of Charlie going under general anesthesia, we became extremely diligent about brushing his teeth. It’s embarrassing to admit, but we hadn’t been as strict as we should have been. Luckily Charlie likes brushing his teeth, and we’ll often do it 3-4 times a day now. We also switched to Tom’s of Maine Children’s Toothpaste with fluoride, over the nonfluoridated Earth’s Best toothpaste we had been using now that Charlie is able to rinse and spit. Since we never give Charlie juice and he’s been drinking boiled tap water since he was 6 months old, at least we’d been doing something right!
Has your child been to the dentist? How diligent are you about your child’s dental care?
hostess / hostess with the mostess / 21079 posts
Yikes! I won’t be taking LO to the dentist until she’s 2. This was the recommendation we got from our pediatric dentist.
I brush my LO’s teeth (all 7 of them) + her gums once a day. I really need to start brushing them in the morning too though!
persimmon / 1319 posts
Wowza! That is alarming. :(
Mr. & Mrs. Bee, why do you boil your tap water for Charlie, out of curiosity? My biggest concern about tap water is all the hormonal chemicals like synthetic estrogen that make it into our water… I feel like that is a big reason why girls are starting puberty earlier and earlier.
GOLD / nectarine / 2431 posts
Oh my goodness. I have bad teeth to begin with so when we have kids I’m going to do my best to make sure their teeth aren’t as bad as mine were.
admin / honeydew / 8436 posts
@daniellemybelle: we actually make a korean barley tea and refrigerate it. koreans drink it as water. if we weren’t drinking that tea, we’d probably use a filter like the brita.
i don’t know much about synthetic estrogen in our water, but i stopped using plastic as much as possible, don’t eat canned food (the lining can have bpa), and eat organic meat/produce because it has been associated with early breast development in girls.
hostess / papaya / 12451 posts
I think we’re good about it. Been brushing twice a day since she got her first tooth. Now daycare has instituted teeth brushing as well so that is three times a day. I took her to the dentist at 15 months and will be going every 6 months.
GOLD / honeydew / 8436 posts
I drink TONS of bottled water now! Well, crap! Guess I need to start investing in a bpa free water bottle and a brita filter…. =\
GOLD / pomegranate / 3178 posts
Our last pediatric dentist visit was life-changing for LO. She loves brushing a lot more and even flosses too. She reminds me to floss sometimes :) putting toddlers under for dental treatment has always scared me. some dentists also put kids in strait jackets … how scary is that?! I think it’s a good idea for kids to go to the dentist early and to also see their parents go to the dentist and take care of their own teeth too.
nectarine / 2519 posts
Love this feature – you always post such great, thought-provoking articles!
cherry / 207 posts
@_@. I have a friend whose 3 year son was just like the boy in the article ans that shocked me into stopping milk consumption at bedtime and being extra vigilant teeth brushing twice a day. But she who hates fruits or sweets refuses to use toothpaste. That said, I better take LO to the dentist soon.
persimmon / 1340 posts
I had tons of cavities as a kid. I want to take my LO in at about a year and a half. I’ve heard everything from a year to two years old is good. I saw a documentary about mercury at the dentist office. Of course my dentist said it’s not true but still, I want to find a dentist with only a few chairs instead of 10 to lessen the exposure.