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Bad Kid Dental Care Habits

From thumb sucking to wiping their noses on their sleeves. Let's face it - kids have a lot of bad habits. While some of these habits amount to little more than lack of social grace, others can lead to more serious health problems. A few can even result in severe dental problems. Here are three of some of the most serious bad kid dental care habits leading to dental problems in children!

Thumb and Pacifier Sucking

Sure, it isn't attractive when your little one sucks his or her thumb, but child dental care issues (that result from prolonged practice not to mention concerns about the spreading of germs) can be quite serious. Chronic thumb and pacifier sucking could cause the child to have buck teeth, which would require orthodontic treatment down the line. Most children will stop this habit on their own between ages 2 and 4, but there's no guarantee. Try to intervene early on by instructing your child not to continue with the habit. If all else fails, there are certain topical products that leave a bitter taste in the child's mouth, dissuading the behavior.

Going to Bed With a Bottle

So often we imagine babies snuggled up in a crib, clinging to stuffed animals and a bottle. Like thumb sucking, some children tend to suck the bottle while asleep, leading to the same orthodontic issues listed above. What's more, putting any liquid apart from water in the bottle allows tooth- and gum-destroying bacteria to rest in the mouth for extended periods of time. Your best bet is to skip the bottle altogether. If that isn't possible, dilute the liquid a bit more each night with water until all that remains is water.

Swallowing Toothpaste

Toothpaste manufacturers have gone to great lengths to provide consumers with a product that not only fights plaque and gum disease, but also tastes great - sometimes a little too great. Children, particularly young children, are prone to swallowing toothpaste when brushing. It's often the result of using too much toothpaste. The problem? Too much fluoride is ingested into the child's body, causing a condition known as Fluorosis. Fluorosis allows white or brown spots to form on the teeth in severe cases.

This is actually a bad habit that is fairly easy to break. Try spending some time with the child explaining that a pea size drop of toothpaste is adequate and teach them how to brush, rinse and spit like a pro.

Understanding and breaking these habits early will help you and your child establish a good oral hygiene regimen. If you have questions about how to properly care for your child's teeth, or if you think your child's bad dental habits have resulted in harm, schedule an appointment with a kid dentist!

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

Your Children's Dentist - Thumb Sucking

A Most Common Habit: Thumb Sucking

What's the most common thing nearly half of American toddlers do when they're teething and tired, relaxing, sleeping or being scolded? They suck their thumbs!

Thumb-sucking is the earliest and most common habit among children. It's nothing for parents to worry about — unless the habit persists. Only after age four does thumb-sucking threaten to damage children's teeth.

Some thumb-suckers simply rest the thumb in the mouth, sucking only at certain times. Others work at the habit, and can displace teeth severely. If, when you remove the thumb from your child's mouth you hear a "popping," it signals a great deal of pressure on the teeth that may cause an overbite or underbite. If the child is over four, you may want to discuss the habit with an orthodontist.

To help break a child of thumb-sucking, parents should;

• Avoid punishing the child
• Provide play materials to occupy the child's hands
• Keep supervision to a minimum
• Keep the home environment happy

One of the worst approaches is parental pressure — it can have a negative effect. On the other hand, peer pressure often works well, encouraging the child to imitate "grown-up" behavior.

Sometimes an orthodontic appliance can prevent or replace a thumb-sucking habit. Once a child becomes accustomed to the appliance, he or see may no longer interested in thumb-sucking.

The first step is to determine when and why a child is thumb-sucking. Your family or pediatric dentist has had lots of experience. Give them a call — they may be able to help.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.