Promoting proper oral hygiene with your child is an extremely important part of being a parent. However, there has always been a fairly heated debate regarding how important it actually is. After all, your children lose their first set of teeth. Is making sure teeth they are going to lose anyway are in pristine condition really that important?
Tooth Decay Might Be Stunting Your Child’s Growth
There is a new study published in the Pediatrics Journal online which suggests tooth decay can be linked to stunting your child’s growth. In this study, the researched compared the growth of children between the ages of six and eight to their dental decay.
Dental and medical experts feel that while the possibility is great, more research still needs to be done. They belief studies need to be conducted on children from different social classes. The study revealed that children with a lot of tooth decay have a higher risk of being underweight. However, there was a debate that the children who the study were conducted on were of lower class and may also be underweight and have poor hygiene due to lack of insurance and proper finances to receive dental care and nutrition.
Just Take Care of Your Child’s Teeth
The most important thing for you to take away from this information is tooth decay is something that should be taken seriously regardless of whether it is baby teeth or permanent teeth. Tooth decay is painful and studies have linked it to all sorts of medical problems.
Teach your child how to care for his or her teeth now and you do not have to worry about what dental problems and health problems he or she may have to face as a result of poor oral care later. The last thing you want to happen is find out your child could have been a lot taller if he or she had brushed their teeth better when they were young.