1.
Pregnancy and Impact on Child’s Teeth : A balanced diet, regular gentle exercise and good rest are the basic ingredients of a healthy pregnancy. Understanding how your baby grows and how early the teeth are forming will help you to realize that if you stay fit and well during pregnancy you are giving your baby the best possible start.
   
2. Your Child’s Teeth :
  a. Eruption : Somewhere around the age of 6 months, your baby’s first teeth appear – usually the bottom front two. By age 3 your child will probably have most of the 20 “baby teeth”. These teeth start falling from about 6 years of age till approximately 13 years.
  b. Importance : It is destined by nature for these little teeth to be present during this time period because :
    i) They help youngsters to chew properly since a good, nutritious diet is vital for a child’s overall growth
    ii) Helps in foundation and space preservation for well positioned permanent teeth coming from beneath and behind these teeth
    iii) Development of face, jaws and muscles are dependent on the well-being of milk teeth
    iv) They aid in the development of a child’s speech (phonetics)
  c. First Dental Visit : Before your child is one year old it is advisable to see a pediatric dentist, so that he can check whether the teeth and jaws are developing properly and can diagnose any oro-facial deformity or anomaly at an early stage.
  d. Teething, Feeding and Cleaning : Teething is the most important milestone in a child’s life, a period of wild joy and ecstasy in the family. But during teething when the teeth are cutting into the oral cavity for the first time, one may see changes in the behavior of the child, sore gums, irritation, excessive drooling, incessant crying etc. Use of clean teething rings, teethers or cold wet wash-cloth is recommended to tide over this period, taking care not to hurt the child’s gums or add infection.

Breast feeding is the best source of nutrition in the first year of an infant, but encourage your children to drink from a cup as they approach their first birthday. Children should not fall asleep with the bottle. At-will night-time breastfeeding should be avoided after the first baby teeth begins to erupt. Drinking juice from a bottle should be avoided. When a juice or any other sugar containing, sticky drink is offered it should be in a cup. Children have to be weaned from the bottle at 12 to 14 months of age.

Cleaning the oral cavity should be initiated, sooner the better. Starting at birth clean your child’s gums with a damp, clean handkerchief / soft infant toothbrush and water. Remember that most children do not have the dexterity to brush their teeth effectively. Unless it is advised by your pediatric dentist do not use fluoridated toothpaste until age 2 to 3.
   
3. Dental Caries (Cavities) : Cavities or dental decay (the most frightening and terrible word across all population) has been affecting mankind since pre-historic times. It is a multi-factorial disease and the three main factors are : host (tooth), substrate (food) and bacteria.

These 3 factors together over a period of time cause cavities. When your child has food rich in sugars and carbohydrates, the bacteria which are normally present in the mouth mixes with the food products, produce fermentation and makes a mild acid. This acid attacks the outer layer of teeth (enamel), causes decalcification and eventually breakdown of tooth structure. This is called as a cavity.
  a. What causes more acidic conditions?:
• Frequent eating
• In-between meal snacking
• Frequent consumption of sugary and starchy foods (chips, French fries, sugar coated biscuits, chocolates etc)
• Improper brushing
• Genetically or derived lack of various salivary protective factors
  b. Which areas of the teeth are more prone?: Cavities attack different areas of teeth with different intensity. Pits, fissures and grooves of the teeth have more tendency of developing cavities since they harbor food. Once the cavity formation starts it spreads inwards like termites eventually eating up the whole tooth structure. The spread is like an inverted cone that is small to look at from the outside but has a big lesion inside. Initially it is usually painless but as the cavity progresses nearer to the nerves pain eventually sets in.
 
     
 

Preventing baby bottle tooth decay

This aspect involves :
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Do not permit your child to nurse passively on the breast or bottle while sleeping.
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Do encourage your baby to use a beaker or cup as soon as he can (usually at about 6 months) and in any case as soon as the first tooth appears
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Try not to use a bottle as a pacifier. However, if you must use a bottle to calm your baby at sleep time, fill it only with water
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Do not add sugar or any solids to your baby’s bottle, or dip the teat or pacifier into sweet substances such as honey, jam etc.
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Do not leave your baby sipping from a bottle or cup for long periods. Encourage him to drink what is needed and discard the rest
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Your child should be weaned from breast / bottle to a cup and solid foods introduced in his diet by 1st birthday. This is a critical time in your teaching your child to eat healthy foods
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Do not use bottle after 12 months unless advised by a health professional