As a naturopathic dentist I am often asked, when should I bring my baby in to see you? I am also asked about tooth eruption patterns, arch development, fluoride, teething, sealants, dental decay, healthy nutrition and remineralization. How you take care of your baby's teeth and gums matters.
Why? Because, baby or deciduous teeth serve many purposes in the growing child.
Reasons Your Baby's Teeth are Essential
Your baby's teeth are essential for whole body health:
- Proper digestive function
- Proper speech development
- Proper support of the developing permanent dentition (holding orthodontic space)
- Self-esteem and social skills development
- Proper lip support and a lower facial profile
- Proper nutrition, allowing the gut to absorb food efficiently
- Correct placement of the mandibular condyles (jaw growth)
My Recommendations for Your Baby's Teeth
- Teething: use our "all natural newly developed teething gel" when it is released. Start brushing at this time also with our soon-to-be-released baby toothpaste. You can also apply cold to the area of babies gums to help alleviate the painful areas.
- Dental arch development, we monitor facial growth and development very early on, starting around the age of three. We correct para-functional habits as soon as they are identified. This includes cross-bites, deficient airways, deficient dental arches, to name a few.
- Dental decay and remineralization, follow my sheet on remineralization techniques.
- Eruption patterns, eruption patterns and time of eruption for children can vary enormously, so don't worry about the timing or sequencing. Look at dental arch size instead.
- Dental sealants, avoid them! unless ozone is used first. Begin brushing baby's teeth as soon as they erupt! Increase your Vitamin D3 to proper levels, normal is: 80-100. Not 32.
- Never, never, never let any dentist put mercury fillings in your child’s teeth, ever!!!
- Bring baby into see us as soon as you see the eruption of teeth, lower centrals are the first teeth you will see.
- Healthy nutrition, this is paramount! follow the Dietary Endocrinology Module
- Fluoride: avoid it, it's not necessary and it disrupts thyroid function by displacing iodine.
Breastfeeding and Your Baby's Teeth and Health
There are so many advantages to breast-feeding, they are too numerous to mention in this short article but, let me give you three:
- Breastfeeding gives your precious new-born the needed probiotic support for desired GI development. The gut is where 70% of the immune system resides. Breast-fed babies produce higher levels of antibodies and have fewer infections.
- Essential fatty acids and correct EPA/DHA ratios are necessary for proper brain support. Mother’s milk contains the correct ratio of these needed healthy fats! Think of this as baby's essential brain fuel.
- The suckling action during breast feeding helps to PROPERLY DEVELOP lower jaw structure and contributes to proper growth of the lower face by positioning the jaw down and forward.
Holistic Dentistry
I believe the mouth is the window to your body and health from babies to adults. Our Nashville practice offers services that reflect this belief as we strive to provide a mercury-free and mercury-safe office for our patients. We use cutting-edge technology and procedures to offer the best services possible. Visit us at the Centre for Holistic and Biological Dentistry.
Find a mercury-free dentist in your area here.
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