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PUBLISHED ON 01/11/21
We aim to provide the best care to cater for the individual, their age and lifestyle. We see the big picture and want to prevent problems earlier to keep patients smiling throughout their life.
6-10 months
Around this time, teeth first appear. It is important to brush your teeth 2/day with no toothpaste. Parents can also use gauze to clean their baby’s teeth if the baby doesn’t tolerate the toothbrush.
Also at this time, teething can occur. Teeth are coming through the gums. They may be sore, ice can relieve some pain. Infants may be using the dummy, but around 6-12 months is a good time to wean them off the dummy to reduce the likelihood of bite problems.
12 months
The first visit to the dentist is advised to check and acclimatise them.
At home, try to wean off the bottle, get them to drink from a cup.
Avoid/wean off night feeding, since night feeding can cause tooth decay.
2-17 years
Child Dental Benefits Scheme will allow ~$1000 funding to eligible patients for dental treatment every 2 years.
At this stage, they can pick a toothbrush/colour they like. They can try to brush their teeth and copy their parents. Brushing should be supervised. Also, parents can help brush if required.
Use a very small amount of age-appropriate toothpaste if the child knows to spit out the toothpaste. Otherwise, no toothpaste is recommended.
3-5y
During these ages, tonsils and adenoids may be enlarged.
Check if your child is snoring, sleeping with their mouth open, grinding teeth, waking at night, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms and if they are refreshed after sleeping. If you do see these signs, get them checked with your dentist, GP and potentially ENT. Sleep disturbed breathing can cause these signs, affecting jaw growth (narrow jaw and crowding eg) and development.
Kids should stop prolonged sucking their thumb, fingers or objects around 2-4y to prevent jaw growth problems.
When kids go to school. They often consume more soft drinks, sugar-sweetened milk, fruit juice (even if no added sugar, it often is high sugar and low fibre), sugary cereals and muesli bars are common.
Vegetables, whole fruit, legumes, wholegrain, nuts, no added sugar/low sugar probiotic yoghurt, are great. Home-cooked meals with whole foods are great since you know what is in them. A diet with adequate fibre involving chewing can benefit to widen the jaw and reduce the likelihood of crowding of their teeth compared to softer processed diets. Also, high fibre foods clean the teeth and are associated with less tooth decay and gum disease.
When playing sports be aware of acid/sugar in sports drinks, rinse with water after.
6 years
When they turn 6y, they can start using adult toothpaste. The correct brushing technique is to brush at a 45-degree angle to gums, circular motion soft manual toothbrush or electric toothbrush, 2min total, morning and night covering all accessible surfaces of the teeth. The technique can be assessed when you bring the toothbrush in for your dental checkups.
~8 years
Patients may have narrow top jaw, jaw/bite problems or severe crowding.
Some kids may benefit from early orthodontic treatment to correct this.
If playing a contact sport, consider a mouthguard to protect teeth from injury.
10 years
At 10y kids generally have the manual dexterity to start flossing, the ‘reach access flosser’ may be easier to use.
~12 years
Around the time all baby teeth have exfoliated and adult teeth are through
This may be an ideal time for orthodontic treatment.
18-25y
Often when young adults have more independence. They develop their own habits away from their parents and it is a critical time in their oral health. They often consume more sugar and may not go to the dentist for a while. Regular dental checkups are important. If decay is not checked it can get into the nerve, causing toothache and be much more costly, as root canal and a crown compared to a filling.
Smoking may be adopted at this stage. Smoking is associated with an increased risk of oral cancer and gum disease (losing gum around teeth).
It is important to diagnose possible causes of wearing of the teeth before they cause tooth loss long term. Grinding/clenching may occur, this may be related to stress, obstructed airways/sleep disturbed breathing, even posture and food intolerances may be related.
Habits such as hard brushing/incorrect technique or biting on nails can damage teeth and should be diagnosed early to prevent severe tooth damage.
Too many acidic drinks/foods or reflux can cause acid to eat away at the teeth and increase the risk of tooth decay
Piercings: can cause damage to teeth and gums and should be avoided/less damaging variety used or monitored for damage.
Anxiety and depression are becoming more common. There are side effects of these medications, they may include dry mouth. A dry mouth can increase the risk of tooth decay so should be assessed.
Excessive alcohol consumption can cause gum problems, increase the risk of oral cancer and many other health conditions.
At this stage, wisdom teeth commonly come through and cause pain/problems if unchecked. Using an electric toothbrush with a small head can make it easier to clean the back teeth. A monojet or squirter instrument can help with cleaning these wisdom teeth. Removal of wisdom teeth has fewer complications when patients are younger so should be assessed at this time.
This may be a time when patients may want their smile to look better. Cosmetic options at this stage involve Invisalign or braces to straighten teeth, Whitening and crowns/veneers. It is important to look at the consequences of the treatments long term. For the teeth to last, we want to be conservative and minimise the loss of teeth in preparing them for crowns or veneers when possible.
During pregnancy, gum swelling/gingivitis is more common. Make sure to brush thoroughly 2 min electric toothbrush 2/day and to floss 1/day at least.
Morning sickness is common during pregnancy, the acid will wear teeth and increase decay, erosion/wearing of the teeth. Have milk, cheese and water after to reduce acid damage to teeth.
Food cravings may arise, try to limit sugar/fermentable carbohydrates (eg sugar, white bread, biscuits, chips, white rice etc) snacks. Fresh fruit, nuts and low sugar yoghurt can curb these cravings
Gum disease can start to progress at this age, gums can get red swollen, they can recede and eventually, teeth could fall out
Make sure to have regular dental checkups involving gum disease assessment and dental cleans. Uncontrolled diabetes and smoking are big risk factors for gum disease. Good Oral hygiene and regular dental cleans are important to prevent gum disease
Males may be gaining weight. This can increase the risk of sleep apnoea and should be assessed/managed to prevent other chronic diseases and allow patients to feel refreshed/ more energised.
Adult orthodontics is an option at this stage, this may involve: clear aligners, Invisalign, etc.
Check for cracks on teeth. Large metal fillings, grinding, clenching, are associated with increased cracks and the potential for teeth to break. Replacing filling, crowns, night guards can be used to reduce the risk of tooth loss from cracks.
Many medications may be started, Many medications increase dry mouth, associated with more tooth decay.
Patients may lose teeth and need dentures. Food can be stuck between the denture and tooth leading to more tooth decay and gum disease. Fewer teeth can make it harder to eat, more force on remaining teeth. Fewer teeth can make it harder to eat fibrous foods, this can lead to less nutrition in diet and more processed foods. This can reduce a patient’s overall health too. Implants may be considered to replace missing teeth or bridges.
Dementia is more common in this age group. Patients may go to a nursing home
They may be unable to brush teeth, rapid progression of gum disease and tooth decay can result. Prevention of tooth decay and gum disease, by reducing sugar, fermentable carbohydrates, and drinking lots of water. Regular thorough brushing with a carer if required, electric toothbrush to make it easier (especially with arthritis) benefit.
We look forward to caring for our patients of all ages!
