Parents forget that their children’s teeth are vulnerable to bacteria. Just as adults need to care for their teeth, children’s teeth are not left out either.
Dr Iyabo Sofoluwe-Sadare is the principal dentist of SS Dental Clinic Limited which was established in 2003.
Dr Iyabo who is also a paedodontist (children’s dentist) was on WakeUpNigeria to talk about what leads to the damage of children’s teeth.
She mentioned two different damages that happen to the teeth which are: Damage caused by the storage of food in the teeth and the damage caused by taking acidic food.
For the damage caused by the storage of food in the teeth, she explained that a lot children eat and don’t brush which invites bacteria to feast on the stored food.
“Children eat and food is stuck in their teeth, some of them don’t want to brush. What happens is that bacteria eat the food stored in the teeth and create an acid. How long this acid stays in the teeth devours and damages the teeth.”
On the other hand, she emphasized that acidic food also dissolves and damage the teeth structure.
She went on to advise parents to make extra efforts to help their children brush their teeth. She affirmed that some children don’t want to brush their teeth but there are ways to make it fun using special tooth brush and paste for children.
She also added that children also have mouth odour because they don’t brush at night which is necessary, and some don’t brush their tongue well which leaves the food decayed in the mouth.
She ended that parents can bring their children’s consciousness to getting teeth care from tender age and that children can start getting care from age one.
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