Care for your child’s pearly whites with this advice from Dr Ong Yean Sze of SMILEFOCUS

A healthy set of primary teeth helps your child to speak clearly, chew naturally and also aids with creating a path for the arrival of permanent teeth. Teeth provide structure to the face and lips and create a beautiful smile. But decay can impact the healthy growth of secondary teeth resulting in long-term problems.
     Bacteria converts sugar on the tooth’s surface into acid within just five minutes which softens the tooth, inviting even more bacteria and resulting in cavities. Minimise this by ensuring your child is getting sufficient fluoride. The benefits of fluoride are two-fold. Fluoride first works on unerupted, developing adult teeth and then on the teeth already visible. Adult teeth start to form at birth, so incorporating fluoride into your child’s diet will help them develop a strong, healthy set of teeth for life. You should also encourage your child to drink Singapore tap water, as our national water supply is fluoridated. UK studies report children’s toothpaste has only 500ppm of fluoride, which is insufficient. By comparison, "grown-up" toothpaste has 1,100 to 1,400ppm and fluoride gels range from 1,000 to 5,000ppm. Ensure your child is able to expectorate (spit) before they use adult toothpaste and use less than a pea-sized amount, as ingesting excess fluoride can cause discolouration or fluorosis of adult teeth. The crowns of adult teeth are especially vulnerable during initial formation in the first three years of age.
     Children whose teeth are susceptible to decay may need an additional topical fluoride applied at dental visits. Tooth mousse is a good alternative to fluoride. While it is sugar and fluoride free, it offers similar oral health benefits as fluoride and also contains a particular protein which binds onto the tooth and gum surfaces, protecting teeth from decay by increasing calcium phosphate and neutralising acidic saliva. Tooth mousse is only available from your dentist but is not recommended if your child is allergic to milk proteins.
     Cavities in children are often due to frequent contact with acidic or sugary food and drinks. Encourage your child to eat healthily – limit their intake of sugar and acidic food and drinks and offer savoury biscuits or cheese instead. And promote good dental habits, such as brushing twice a day and flossing daily.

Tips for top teeth
- Avoid nursing your child to sleep, or bottle-feeding during bedtime.
- Floss to prevent "interproximal" cavities. Molar spaces close at around three years of age, so tooth-to-tooth contact between molars may be where daily flossing is needed.

Dr Ong Yean Sze
Visiting consultant, Cleft & Cranial facial Centre, KKWCH

Paediatric Specialist Dr Ong Yean Sze is a very popular dentist, deft at charming smiles from reluctant children.