How to do oral care for babies? What are the key points of oral care for newborns?

Oral care for babies is an issue that mothers need to pay attention to. It is important for babies to develop good teeth. Many parents think that children are too young to take care of their mouths. In fact, this view is wrong. Let's talk about how to take care of babies' mouths.

Do babies need oral care?

Babies need oral care occasionally, but it is not necessary to do it every day. In order to ensure the cleanliness of the baby and prevent bacteria from entering, some mothers do oral care for newborns every day, using gauze, handkerchiefs, cotton swabs, etc. to scrub the baby's oral mucosa. This practice is incorrect, as it is easy to scratch the oral mucosa and cause bacterial infection. In fact, the mouth of a newborn generally does not need special cleaning, because there are no teeth in the mouth of a newborn, and the high fluidity of saliva can play a role in cleaning the mouth. To clean the mouth of a newborn, just feed some warm water after feeding the newborn to rinse off the remaining milk in the mouth.

During the neonatal period, due to breastfeeding or milk spillage, there are often residual milk lumps in the cheeks or on the tongue of the child. At this time, it is necessary to clean the baby's mouth. You can give the baby some clean water to rinse after each feeding. If you find that there are some white film-like substances similar to milk lumps in the baby's mouth, and drinking clean water cannot wash them away, and the child is irritable, cries when feeding, has hot breath, drools, and even has low fever, this may be thrush caused by mold infection. In this case, do not wipe with gauze. You can use a cotton swab dipped in gentian violet to apply to the mouth 1 to 2 times a day; you can also use wild rose flowers, fresh patchouli, fresh bamboo leaves, etc., boiled in water to apply to the mouth 3 to 4 times a day. When applying the mouth, be careful not to do it immediately after feeding, so as not to cause nausea and vomiting in the child.

Key points of oral care for newborns

1. Feed warm water frequently.

Whether the child is breastfed or bottle-fed, he or she should develop a regular habit of drinking water after feeding or during feeding.

Especially when the baby is sick with a fever or infection, warm water should be fed frequently. This can not only remove milk residue in the mouth and avoid the odor caused by the fermentation of bacteria in the mouth, but also promote circulation in the body and prevent constipation.

2. Breastfeeding mothers must strictly maintain the hygiene of their nipples, and mothers who feed their babies with formula must also ensure the hygiene of their feeding bottles.

For breastfed babies, mothers should wash their hands and nipples with soap before feeding, and the towel used to wipe the nipples should also be disinfected before use.

For babies who are bottle-fed, the bottle and dropper should be cleaned and sterilized at high temperature before they can be used. When measuring the temperature of the milk, parents can drop a drop on the back of their hands instead of sucking directly on the pacifier to avoid spreading bacteria.

Parents should also know that they should not kiss their baby's mouth too much, otherwise they will transmit pathogenic microorganisms in the adult's mouth, such as bacteria and viruses, to the baby. The baby has poor resistance and it is easy to cause disease.

3. Don’t let your baby fall asleep with a pacifier

Babies are very dependent. For example, some children like to fall asleep with a pacifier in their mouth, and parents also like to let their babies fall asleep with a pacifier in their mouth to comfort them. This wrong way is the main cause of baby bottle tooth decay.

In addition, do not let your baby fall asleep with an empty pacifier in his mouth, as this will limit the normal saliva secretion in the baby's mouth and affect the baby's future tooth growth.

4. Parents should be aware of the taboos regarding oral hygiene of newborns.

First, let's talk about what "milk teeth" are. When the fetus is 6 weeks old, the original tissue of the teeth, called the dental plate, is formed. The tooth germ is formed on the dental plate. Later, the tooth germ separates from the dental plate to grow teeth, and the separated dental plate is absorbed and disappears.

Sometimes these detached dental plates form some epithelial cell clusters, the center of which keratinizes into epithelial beads. Some epithelial beads remain in the clavicle for a long time, while others are expelled and appear on the gum mucosa, which is called "horse teeth". When a baby has "horse teeth", it is best to consult a doctor and parents should not handle them without authorization.

At what age should babies start brushing their teeth?

Many parents may still not be able to accept brushing their children’s teeth with a toothbrush when they are only six months old, but this is science. Scientific research has proven that if you don’t brush his teeth, he will get cavities. In fact, it is very easy to brush the teeth of such a young child, because until 12 months, he/she only has the small front teeth, and the toothbrush does not need to reach deep into the mouth. The teeth also have only two relatively flat surfaces inside and outside, so just brush these two surfaces clean. After one year old, with the eruption of the child’s molars and the increase in the types of food, brushing teeth begins to become more difficult, but with the foundation of the first six months, the child has become accustomed to the feeling of brushing teeth and will not be so resistant. Parents’ skills are also proficient, and they can brush their children’s teeth while singing and telling stories, making brushing teeth a pleasant thing. The value of brushing teeth lies in the persistence of parents!