Start good dental care at a young age

Not-quite-2-year-old Jacob lay back in the chair, looking like a slim, contented Buddha wearing round Tony the Tiger sunglasses. He was preparing to get his teeth checked by the dentist. This was not his first visit and he was completely at ease.
The last time he visited the dentist he had been kicked by one of the miniature horses he was chasing. Jacob has healed from that experience and seems content to let the dentist examine him.
This picture was accompanied by one of granddaughter Emma in an identical pose, wearing identical glasses. Both children had their teeth checked and cleaned. Neither one had any cavities or other problems. Neither acted like the visit was anything out of the ordinary.
When their mother was asked how she does it she replied that Jacob gets only water in his sippy cup for bedtime and Emma gets upset if she doesn’t brush before bedtime. At this rate they will never feel the overwhelming fear I have of dentists.
My first visit to the dentist didn’t occur until I was a teenager with a mouthful of teeth in need of filling or extraction. When I was a child, I was told that brushing was a useless waste of water and toothpaste; that all my teeth were going to fall out anyway, so why waste precious resources? A hot water bottle held to my cheek was my best friend.
The dentists I was finally taken to had very little sympathy for poor white trash and even less of a comforting bedside manner. The experiences were painful and terrifying. To this day I maintain that injected anesthetic does nothing but cause even more pain. Just walking into a dentist’s office and smelling that smell causes my stomach to churn and an almost irresistible urge to flee.
Yet, twice a year I gather my courage and go for my dental exam and cleaning. It doesn’t get any easier with the passage of time. There are still dentists with the same bedside manner as the dentists from my youth. I refuse to give them my hard-earned money and either go elsewhere or wait until they find other employment.
Statistics show that children have fewer cavities these days mostly due to the addition of fluoride. Even so 30-percent of all children will develop some kind of a cavity between the ages of five and 17 years.
Older children have fewer cavities and adults have less periodontal disease than in the past, and more of the elderly are retaining their teeth. That is the good news. Dentures are no longer a given for older people.
As always, poor children have the most tooth decay. According to one study three times as many children ages 6-11 (12 percent) from families with incomes below the federal poverty line had untreated tooth decay, compared with children from families with incomes above the poverty line (4 percent).
Going to the dentist is expensive. Toothpaste still isn’t cheap. When you are concerned about survival, dental care can be seen as a luxury. Saving money later by avoiding the expense of fillings, extractions and dentures is less important than saving money for food and rent.
If you can’t afford to take your young children to the dentist for preventative care then at least invest in toothpaste and a good toothbrush. Have children brush at least twice a day and help them floss. Limit the sugary drinks and don’t put them to bed with a bottle of anything other than water. Even milk will cause a problem if allowed to pool in a child’s mouth overnight.
By taking Jacob and Emma to the dentist while their teeth are still healthy my daughter is creating a life-long habit that will save years of pain, not to mention a lot of money. By creating a routine of brushing before bedtime and only water in a bedtime sippy cup, she will keep her children from ever feeling the terror I feel at the dentist’s office.
I wonder if I could get a pair of those round sunglasses? Jacob sure looked peaceful in that chair.[[In-content Ad]]