Infant Dental Care

Assure your new baby has a smile of a lifetime
Comprehensive oral health care is important, starting at a very early age. As a new parent, you need the latest information about how to properly care for a child’s teeth and gums. Learning about normal growth and development, teething, oral habits and prevention of dental disease are keys to assuring a child’s smile that will last a lifetime.

The concept behind Affiliated Dental Specialists’ pediatric dental practice is known as a “dental home.” To be precise, your family’s “dental home.” Because here, you’ll find comprehensive, fully accessible, family-centered primary oral health care that is coordinated, compassionate and effective. Affiliated Dental Specialists and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry encourages you to establish a “dental home” for your child by twelve-months of age. This first visit includes an oral exam, plus an informative visit with our pediatric oral health care staff.

Maintaining the health of your baby’s primary (baby) teeth is important for proper chewing and eating, appearance, speech, and permits normal development of the jaw bones and muscles.

Here are some handy tips to keep your tot’s teeth in tip-top shape.
After every feeding, wipe the baby’s gums with a clean, wet gauze pad, wash cloth or towel. This removes plaque and food that can harm erupting teeth.
As teeth begin erupting, some babies may have sore or tender gums. Gently rubbing their gums with a clean finger or wet gauze pad can be soothing. A teething ring (never dipped in sugar or syrup!) may also help. Despite popular belief, a fever is not normal during teething.
As teeth start showing, brush them gently with a child-size soft toothbrush and water. After age 2, you can use a very small amount of fluoride toothpaste.
What Is Baby Bottle Tooth Decay? (Early Childhood Caries)
This is a serious form of tooth decay among young children, caused by frequent and long exposures of an infant’s teeth to liquids that contain sugar: milk (including breast milk), formula, fruit juice, and other sweetened drinks. If a baby is put down for a nap or at night with a bottle other than water, serious and rapid tooth decay can result. Please use a gauze or clean washcloth to wipe the milk or juice from an infant’s teeth before a nap.