[Guide] Choosing the Best Toothpaste For Your Child

Parents are always concerned about their children. Right from eating to learning new things, they always want best for their kids. So why not take extra care when it comes to their oral health?

Oral health is as important as the overall health of the body. Being a parent you must understand that it is important for your child to use fluoride-based toothpaste right from the first teeth begins to erupt. The reason behind choosing a fluoride-based toothpaste is that it helps in the prevention of cavities in the mouth and also strengthens the teeth. Besides, you always make sure that you are not going for a toothpaste that comes with whiteners. Such types of toothpaste are abrasive for the baby teeth, which are extremely soft than the adult teeth.

Out of concern for their kids, parents often come up with questions based on how to choose the right toothpaste for them. Here are some tips that would assist you in making the right toothpaste choice.

#1 Parents Must Look For ADA Seal Of Approval Before Buying The Toothpaste

ADA – American Dental Association’s Seal. This is called the seal of approval for various dental and oral hygiene products. You can easily view the seal as it is viewable on the box of the dental products. The ADA seal on the pack ensures that the product has been passed through the ADA’s stringent testing procedures. Hence it is safe for kids.

#2 Always Get A Toothpaste That Contains – Fluoride

As stated earlier, ADA has always recommended using a toothpaste that contains fluoride. Fluoride helps in preventing all sorts of cavities or tooth decay. Fluoridated toothpaste is considered best for cleaning teeth and removing all the residual from the mouth. While your kids are using the fluoride-based toothpaste, make sure that your child spits out and rinses their mouth thoroughly after brushing. This is important because ingesting excessive fluoride can lead to a condition called fluorosis.

#3 Parents Should Avoid Abrasives

Generally, mild abrasives are good for the teeth as they remove debris and residual surface stain. But along with debris and residual, they also remove the tooth enamel. Therefore, you must avoid toothpaste that has abrasives for your children. In short, you must avoid toothpaste that contains calcium carbonate, dehydrated silica gels, hydrated aluminum oxides, magnesium carbonate, and silicates.

#4 Parent Should Get A Toothpaste The Has Enjoyable Flavours

Most of the parents make it a goal for their life to make their kids brush their teeth twice a day. But kids always try to escape brushing. The reason behind it is that they do not like the traditional mint taste of the toothpaste. Sometimes children also say that the mint seems to be a bit “spicy”. Well, kids have their own meaning of the words. In short, they don’t like it. What would you do then? The best way to motivate your children to brush their teeth is by adding flavors that are not too harsh for their teeth. You can get different kinds of toothpaste in the market that has different flavors such as strawberry or bubblegum.

#5 Help Your Kids To Embrace New Cleaning Routine

You might be thinking that you have a toddler who doesn’t have teeth so why should he learn to clean from now? But this is not a valid reason. Even if he is a toddler, make a habit that he cleans the gums and flosses his mouth every day. By embracing good oral habits, you are actually making them learn the importance of good habits. It will benefit the baby teeth of your toddler. Moreover, it will familiarize them with oral care early in their life.

Summary

In the entire article, we have been encouraging parents to buy specific toothpaste only. But why? What difference does it make?

The market is flooded with a wide range of toothpaste brands and you have to be very careful about what they are asking for. Most of the toothpaste brands consist of abrasive ingredients to help remove stains and plaque, fluoride to strengthen the enamel of the teeth and a pleasant-tasting flavoring. But when you compare a toothpaste for adults and kids, you would see that the difference is in the amount of fluoride content, the thickness of the paste, and its flavoring. A high amount of fluoride content in the tooth would destroy the enamel of baby teeth and can lead to a condition called dental fluorosis. Therefore, be wise while choosing a toothpaste for your kid.