Oral Hygiene for Women

During pregnancy, due to the change in hormone secretion profile and sometimes clumsy movement, it's usually not easy to take good care of oral cavity health. Bleeding during brushing is a commonly seen symptom for pregnant women. Gums swelling might occur as a result of unbalanced hormone secretion. There is no need to worry, however, since good oral hygiene can still be achieved with proper brushing and the use of mouthwash.

Beginning in the six week of pregnancy, the infants' teeth undergo development and growth. At birth, the crowns of the 20 temporary teeth have already formed in the gums. The teeth will be more visible after six months of age. Good nutrients thus become especially important during pregnancy since they have major impact on the infants' teeth development later. At the end of the pregnancy, especially in the last month, there will be a huge demand for calcium uptake. Hence pregnancy women should consider receiving adequate amount of such nutrient.

Pregnant women should maintain a proper, adequate, and balanced eating; rice, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, fish, and meat should be among the nutrition selections. These should provide the necessary calcium, phosphate, and other vitamins critical for the infants' teeth growth.

When women reach the menopause stage in life, the condition of the gums might change due to the cessation of certain hormones' secretion. If the oral cavity has not been properly taken care of for a long period of time, symptoms of the periodontal disease might surface. For instances, the women may suffer bleeding during brushing, malocclusion, softening and pain in the tooth root. These problems should immediately be solved by seeking dental assistance.

Oral hygiene for the infants

Budding and development of the temporary teeth
Temporary tooth is a special type of organs for children. Newborns, even though appear lacking teeth, actually have crowns of the temporary teeth forming the alveolar bones.
At the sixth week of pregnancy, the temporary teeth start growing. They begin as twelve spots of epithelial cells whose divisions are faster at the bottom than on the side. The cell division and differentiation lead to the formation of tooth embryos. Different shapes may also take place depending on their natural locations in the oral cavity. Gradually these tooth embryos become rigid teeth after precipitation of calcium and phosphate. The crown develops first, followed by the growth and calcification of the root. When the root is formed, the infants then start growing teeth.
At six months of age, mandible middle incisors come out first. All temporary teeth will finish growing by 18 months of age. There are total of 20 temporary teeth. They are arranged symmetrically and grouped into middle incisors, side incisors, canines, primary molars and secondary molars. By the time the children reach 3-6 years old, first molars of the permanent teeth start coming out behind the secondary molars of the temporary teeth. And in the order of middle incisors, side incisors, canines, etc., the temporary teeth will be replaced at a rate of one tooth per year up to 12 years of age. Second molars of the permanent teeth will also develop at this time.

The importance of the temporary teeth
Every person has two sets of teeth in the lifetime. The first is the temporary teeth. The first temporary tooth come out around 6-8 months after birth, and the 20 temporary teeth complete growing when the infants reach two years of age. These teeth will be replaced by the permanent teeth starting around the age of five. And by the time the children reach 11, all temporary teeth will be gone. Thus the average life span of a temporary tooth is at least 5-10 years. How should these teeth be taken care of during this period of time?
Most parents feel that since the temporary teeth will eventually fall off, cavities wouldn't be a serious problem. Unfortunately, this is a major mistake. Once the infants start growing teeth, aside from being happy, the parents should start paying close attention to the baby's oral hygiene. This is because the temporary teeth have their indispensable roles and functions.

The temporary teeth are important because:

• The temporary teeth actually guide the direction of the permanent teeth growth. They fix the permanent teeth on the correct positions. If the temporary teeth fall off too early, the permanent teeth will grow irregularly since the direction will be incorrect.
  
• Once the cavities reach the contact faces between teeth, the size of the tooth become smaller. In addition, the tooth will be dislocated and the permanent teeth will be irregularly arranged. The growing space of the permanent teeth might also be occupied.
  
• If the cavities condition become very serious, the bacteria might invade the bottom of the tooth root and infect the embryos of the permanent teeth. This may lead to pathological condition and deformity during the course of permanent tooth development.
  Both the temporary and permanent teeth possess the important function of chewing. If the temporary teeth are not healthy enough to chew food, this will put a great load on the infants' digestive tract. The absorption of nutrients will also be affected, and so will the infants' development.
  
• Teeth are important in pronunciation. If too many temporary teeth are damaged by cavities, the children's learning and pronunciation will in turn be affected.
  
• Decayed and ugly teeth will prevent the children from opening their mouths and speaking freely. This may have a negative influence on the children's development of social skills and interpersonal relationships.

Oral hygiene for children of the pre-school age:
Before the first tooth comes out, the parents may lay the infant's head on the thigh and wipe the infant's gums with a cloth pre-soaked with warm water and rolled around the fingers.
After the temporary teeth come out (around six months after birth), parents may use smaller and softer brush pre-soaked in water to clean the infants' teeth. All surfaces of the teeth should be cleaned. Toothpaste might not be a good option because the bubble foam could block the parents from checking whether the teeth are clean or not. And based on the taste of the toothpaste, the children may either reject it or swallow it. Hence clean water is recommended as the medium for cleaning. Toothpaste can be used once the children are accustomed to the brushing motions.

Between one year and a half and two years and a half of age:
1 . During this time the temporary molars are growing. The parents may stand behind the children, with the left hand holding the children's head and opening up the mouth. With the children's head tilted slightly up, the parents may brush the children's teeth with the brush in the right hand.
2 . Use of toothpaste is not necessary initially. The parents only need to clean the surface and the occlusion faces of the teeth with the brush.
3 . If the crevices between teeth are tight, dental floss can be used to remove debris trapped in them.

At the age of 2-3 years:
All the temporary teeth finish growing around two years after birth. Cavities might potentially occur on the molars after the age of 3 years. Hence dental hygiene is especially important at this time. If the children want to brush teeth by themselves, the parents may teach them the horizontal brushing technique, with the emphasis on all sides as well as the occlusion faces of the teeth. The parents still have to help the children remove food debris with dental floss. Parents should get the children accustomed to the after-meal brushing habit as well as other good oral hygiene habits. The parents have to brush the children's teeth for them once more since they might not do a good enough job.

At the age of 3-4 years:
At this time the children's hand movement control is still not very smooth. The parents then should check the teeth for the children one more time after they finish brushing.

At the age of 4 years:
For children in the third grade, proper children's toothbrush can be given. Horizontal back-and-forth brushing technique should be used. For children in the fourth grade or above, parents should teach them the "Bass method of brushing" for teeth cleaning.
Most importantly, parents should take the children to the dentists for oral examination as well as tooth development checkup. This will also be an opportunity for the dentists to communicate with the parents and to teach the children how to care for the oral cavity. This first contact between the children and the dentists is relaxing and pain-free and may establish the foundation of good oral hygiene for the children and a close and supportive relationship with the dentists. Oral examination should be done about twice a year thereafter for timely diagnosis and treatment.