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儿童+细菌:为孩子一生的牙齿健康奠定基础

Parents play a vital role in developing children’s brushing habits and oral health awareness. However, many people do not know that parents’ own hygiene habits have a huge impact on children!

Many parents only focus on the dietary health of their children, but ignore another factor that harms teeth: bacteria!

There are billions of different bacteria living in our mouths. Some are harmful, others are probiotics that protect your teeth.

Our mouth, like a small ecosystem, controls the growth of harmful bacteria and is an important part of keeping our teeth healthy. Do you want to maintain the best condition of your teeth? Get into the habit of flossing and brushing your teeth!

The risk of oral diseases, such as tooth decay, is greatly increased when harmful bacteria grow in excess.

 

Dental health should start with children

Newborn babies do not have teeth. So, they have very little bacteria in their mouths.

As the baby grows, the bacteria in the mouth also increases. At the same time, the daily close contact between parents and children (such as kissing, hugging and sharing utensils) is the main channel for the transmission of germs. Therefore, the bacteria in the child’s mouth basically come directly from the parents.

If parents have very healthy teeth, and there are more probiotics than harmful bacteria in the mouth, children can also inherit the high-quality “blueprint” of the parents’ oral ecosystem.

Conversely, if the parent is suffering from a serious oral disease (such as gum disease), the same harmful bacteria can be passed on to the child.

So, when should a child start dental care? See our previous article Focusing on Children’s Dental Health – Part 4: When Should Children Start Seeing the Dentist?

 

Why are bacteria so important to oral health?

People with a good oral ecosystem tend to have few oral diseases. Have you ever met someone who eats a lot of sugar daily and still doesn’t show any signs of tooth decay? That’s because, when they were growing up, they inherited the probiotics in their parents’ mouths.

If a child has only a small amount of harmful bacteria in his mouth, he will naturally not suffer from gum disease and tooth decay as he grows up.

Therefore, no matter how bad their eating and brushing habits are, they are not prone to oral diseases.

 

What should parents do?

In the clinic, we often encounter such parents who only pay attention to their children’s oral health, but ignore their own oral problems! Maintaining your own oral health is an important step in the health of your family.

To ensure the future oral health of children, parents should also pay attention to oral health.

It is never too late to get your teeth back to a healthy state now! The process may be easier and simpler than you think.

Some adults will think that their physique has reached a state of maturity and that it is too late to improve the “genes of the teeth”.

No one is destined to succumb to bad teeth for the rest of their lives. With regular visits to your dentist for routine check-ups and cleanings, the “dental gene” can be rewritten.

As for parents, by taking good care of your mouth, you will lay the foundation for a lifetime of dental health and well-being in your child. For the oral health of you and your family, book an appointment online today at Whitehorse Dental!