Children start brushing their teeth too late and use too much toothpaste

According to an American survey, most children use too much toothpaste, do not brush their teeth often enough, and do not start brushing their teeth early enough.

Parents must brush their babies' teeth when the first tooth appears, which can be six months old. And they have to help their children brush their teeth until they are independent enough to brush them properly and correctly, advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and pediatric groups.

"Cavities are one of the most common chronic diseases in children and untreated cavities can cause pain, infections and problems for eating, talking and learning," said lead author of the study. Dr. Gina Thornton-Evans of the CDC Division of Oral Health. in Atlanta, Georgia.

"Children whose oral health is bad often lack more school and score lower than children with better oral health," she said in an email.

It is recommended to start brushing as soon as teeth begin to appear as soon as teeth begin to appear, but ingestion of too much fluoride can harm teeth in training, notes the report. weekly report on morbidity and mortality at CDC. The CDC therefore recommends that children not use fluoride toothpaste before the age of two.

Children under the age of three should use a toothpaste smear the size of a grain of rice, and children aged three to six should eat pea-sized pills, they add.

Thornton-Evans and colleagues badyzed the responses of parents and caregivers of more than 5,100 children and youth in a nationally representative survey.

The research team found that almost half of children ages three to six used the recommended amount of pea-sized toothpaste when they brushed, but that 38% of them used toothpaste. half-load or more, which is too much.

Nearly 80% of children aged 3 to 15 years started brushing at an older age than recommended. About 61% brushed their teeth twice a day, while 34% brushed only once a day.

The researchers also found differences in brushing habits based on race and ethnicity, as well as parenting levels and income levels. For example, children who lived with a parent or caregiver who did not complete high school and Mexican-American children were the most likely to have started brushing their teeth and using toothpaste after the age of three years.

The CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics have begun developing messages for pregnant women and new mothers on toothbrushing practices, noted the study team. .

"Parents and caregivers have a huge opportunity to prevent their children from developing caries in early childhood," Thornton-Evans said. "As kids get older, parents should monitor and brush them and spit toothpaste until good brushing habits are formed."

Education programs should also help parents use behavior training strategies to reinforce brushing habits, said Brent Collett of the University of Washington's School of Medicine in Seattle, who has not participated in the study.

"With brushing teeth, the main problem that parents may find difficult is the refusal behavior of the child," Collett said during a phone interview. "It's hard when kids get angry."

Parents can start by asking their children to wet their toothbrush near the sink, he said, and then exercise to extract the proper amount of toothpaste and then to brush carefully the teeth. In the early years, parents may need to brush their children's teeth with them and with them to make sure everything is done right.

"Sometimes parents think their kids are brushing their teeth, but they just chew on the toothbrush," said Collet. "Parents may not realize that they have to do it to brush their teeth."