Healthy Mouths for You and Your Baby

NHS

Potential Problems in Pregnancy• Gum disease

– Bleed more easily– Risk of gum disease– Requires high standard of oral hygiene– Thorough tooth brushing– Interdental cleaning– Regular Dental checks

Diet• Healthy, nutritious diet containing all vitamins

and minerals.• Helps baby’s teeth to develop

properly.• Calcium helps bones and teeth.• Morning sickness – rinse after

with water to avoid harmful acid.• Avoid sugary snacks.

Routine Dental Treatment• Necessary – to stop gum disease.

to stop decay.

• Doesn’t harm your baby.

• May want to hold off on amalgam fillings and x-rays.

Smoking and Alcohol

• Can lead to an underweight baby.

– Can result in deciduous teeth not being fully formed,

and so more prone to decay.

– Permanent sometimes affected also.

Baby teeth are important

Teething

Early Childhood decay

is one of the most common childhood diseases…

What causes tooth decay?

Best advice for babies• Breast feeding provides the best nutrition.

• Exclusive breast feeding is advised for the first six months.

• Infant formula and cooled, boiled water if not breast fed.

• Infants should not be put to bed with a feeding bottle.

• From six months infants should start drinking from a cup.

• Bottle feeding should be discouraged from one year.

Moving from milk to family foods

Dummies

How to clean your baby’s teeth

Acknowledgement of graphic source:NSW Department of Health. Early childhood oral health guidelines for child health professionals. Sydney. NSW Department of Health, 2009

• Have regular dental check-ups• Brush & floss, interdental brushes• Drink water• Eat healthy food

Your own dental health

Let’s work together

Thanks to…• Centre for Oral Health Strategy NSW • NSW Oral Health Promotion Network• NSW Little Smiles Advisory Committee