My child often cries. Could it be because of an erupting tooth?
Yes, it could. Babies’ teeth can start to erupt as early as 5-6 months of age. This is often accompanied by pain and sometimes fever. Dentinox liquid, available in pharmacies or drugstores, can be useful, but it is not a panacea. If that doesn’t help, you might give your child Panadol syrup, but only in a controlled way.

When should I take my little boy to the dentist for the first time?
It may come as a surprise, but it’s when no treatment is needed. At this time, the only goal is to make it “natural” for your child to go to the dentist and not have any negative experiences. It is often difficult to treat children, and it requires a lot of patience and experience, because the first priority is to get to the heart of the child in order to be able to perform any treatment. It is therefore very important that the child does not experience the first meeting with the dentist as a psychological trauma.

When should I start brushing my little girl’s teeth? She is now 18 months old.
Right away. At this age, it’s not so much the physical impact of brushing that’s important, but that the child knows she needs to brush her teeth. Brushing together can be very effective because children have a strong tendency to imitate. It is not necessary to force children to brush their teeth, it is much better to teach them through play. You’ll see, after a few weeks she will almost demand it.

What is sealing of pit and fissure?
If you observe the surface of a molar, you will see that it has fissures. These are the so-called predilection sites for decay, i.e. they are the places where the tooth “prefers” to decay. Sealing of pit and fissure is actually the process of coating these deep fissures with a special fluoride varnish that actually seals them, so that decay does not develop. The best time to perform this treatment is six months to a year after the permanent teeth appear. The treatment is painless and does not require anaesthesia.

That damn bottle…
Here are some important things to remember about your baby sucking its fingers, a pacifier or drinking from a bottle: it does matter what you fill the bottle with. Only low-sugar or sugar-free liquids should be given to the child. A child with ‘decayed’ teeth looks very depressing, and in most cases the bottle is to blame (and of course the person giving it to the poor child…). When the child is able to drink from a cup, then let him/her drink from it. It’s difficult to get a child to stop using a bottle before the age of three, but you should at least try.
There are so-called orthodontic teats, which are beneficial because they prevent the development of open bite.

The child sucks his finger. What should I do?
I know it’s easy to say, but get him out of this habit. Buy him an orthodontic pacifier, because persistent finger sucking can cause a number of problems that are very difficult to treat. Finger sucking is responsible for a significant proportion of open bites.