Once your toddler's baby teeth sprout, the most basic hygiene product you will buy for them is toothpaste. And with the broad selection of choices available to you at your local supermarket, it can be easy to pick one based on what catches your fancy. What some new parents may not realise is that their child's teeth have vastly different needs than adult teeth. That is why your child dentist will not advise you to use your regular toothpaste to clean your toddler's milk teeth. If you are concerned about exposing your little one to the wrong toothpaste, here are some considerations that will help guide your purchase.

The amount of fluoride in the toothpaste

You may think of fluoride as a synthetic additive to toothpaste, but it is a natural mineral. Fluoride has been known to make teeth stronger, and thus it has become one of the most prevalent ingredients found in toothpaste. Fluoride also has the added benefit of reducing the risk of cavities because the teeth become harder to compromise. Nevertheless, the amount of fluoride that adult teeth need is significantly higher than what baby teeth require. Hence, excessive fluoride in your child's toothpaste can result in harmful effects such as discolouration of the teeth. When deliberating on which baby toothpaste to purchase, it is always best to choose one has lower amounts of fluoride than adult toothpaste.

The flavours of the toothpaste

Toothpaste may not be ingestible but keep in mind that children can be quite picky about what they put in their mouth based on taste. Using adult toothpaste to brush your kid's teeth can quickly become an effort in futility as they become averse to the non-palatable flavours. Always seek to make oral healthcare a pleasant experience by choosing sugar-free, kid-friendly toothpaste flavours.

The levels of Relative Dentin Abrasivity

Relative Dentin Abrasivity, commonly abbreviated to RDA, refers to a toothpaste's capability to erode the dentin of your teeth. The dentin is a layer right beneath the enamel. Since adults already have developed a substantial amount of enamel throughout their lifetime, they are not at great risk of dentin abrasion. Children, on the other hand, still have their teeth developing. Therefore, their enamel may not be as protective to their teeth, and additional factors such as toothpaste that can erode their dentin would put their dental health at risk. Moreover, if your child has developed bruxism (which is the habit of grinding their teeth at night) they should not use toothpaste that has high RDA levels, as it will increase the sensitivity of their teeth.

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