NHEL
Health Children Teeth
Dentist urges proper taking of children’s dental health
Tema-Ghana, July 20, GNA – Ms. Augustine Worlasi Seadzi, a dental surgery technician at the International Maritime Hospital in Tema has counselled moms to adequately care for the dental health of their children.
Strong oral hygiene, according to her, was essential in establishing healthy dental habits for the child as they grew up, whereas poor oral hygiene resulted in tooth infections and other dental issues.
Ms. Seadzi urged parents to avoid using products like vinegar, glycerin, pureed tomatoes, and others to clean their infants’ mouths and teeth because they may include elements that are harmful to the child’s general oral health.
“You can begin washing the child’s mouth when they are born as clean as the first day. To clean a baby’s gums, all you need is cotton and water; this is akin to rubbing a child’s gums. She remarked
She added that cotton and water may be used to clean the baby’s mouth before tooth formation and that toothpaste and brushes made specifically for children’s dental requirements could be used gently when the teeth start to appear.
To avoid receiving some medications that can impact the development of the unborn child’s teeth, the dental surgery technician urged pregnant women to inform medical professionals of their condition.
According to her, a baby’s body and the majority of its internal organs develop during pregnancy, and using these medications could stain the developing teeth of the unborn child, which would be challenging to reverse.
“The fundamental one is that there is a drug that when you take it during pregnancy, when your child is born, and the teeth start coming in, you’ll notice that the colour of the teeth is dark or brown; it’s not in everyone,” she said.
Speaking on the topic “Periodontal Diseases,” she noted that Gum disease is an infection of the tissues that hold your teeth in place.
She said it is typically caused by poor brushing and flossing habits that allow plaque—a sticky film of bacteria—to build up on the teeth and harden. It starts with swollen, red, and bleeding gums.
Ms. Seadzi noted that periodontal diseases also cause infections and inflammations of the gums and the bones surrounding and supporting the teeth.
It is a normal belief among Ghanaians that when one ages, their teeth will fall off, and this is even presented in local adages that associate tooth loss with ageing, she noted. “This is not medically true.”
The IMaH Dental Surgery Technician stressed that “if you don’t take care of the teeth at the early stages of life, you may lose them at old age.”
She explained that the tooth is the only hardened substance in the human body as it does not decay, meaning it was supposed to remain in our mouth till we die.
She therefore advised the general public to care for their teeth well by brushing twice a day for at least two minutes, adding that hard bristles should be avoided as they could harm the gum instead of making it clean.
Ms. Seadzi also urged the public to visit the dentist for professional cleaning of the teeth at least once a year as a preventive measure, adding that when such measures are taken, they help prevent bacteria from building up in the mouth, leading to gingivitis and subsequent loss of teeth when not treated
