Home Care of molar Hypomin

Home Care

Your Dentist isn’t the only one who can care for your child’s Molar Hypomin – you can really help too. As you have seen, the main issues with Hypomin teeth relate to them being soft and porous rather than shiny and hard – this raises the concern that any crumbliness will get worse ("deeper potholes") and act as a refuge for dental caries to take hold and advance rapidly. There are simple things that can be done to reduce the chance of these undesirable outcomes happening – and it will come as no surprise that these preventive actions simply involve a good diet and good oral hygiene.

Keeping the teeth clean

Keeping Teeth Clean by Brushing them

To keep the "bugs" that cause dental caries (i.e. dental plaque) at bay, your child’s teeth need to be brushed twice daily – once in the morning after eating and once at night just before bed. Young kids will need your help in brushing their teeth because, until they can write neatly or tie their shoelaces, they don’t have the hand skills to do it properly themselves. Of course, kids being kids, they like to feel independent – so let them have a go first before you get in there with the brush too (perhaps saying "just to check it’s all gone"). It's important to recognise that, if there are any tooth sensitivity issues,your child will probably avoid cleaning the Hypomin areas that need it most – so it’s helpful not only to check that the molars are really clean on all sides but to also keeping asking about sensitivity.

Tips for effective brushing

Use adult-strength fluoridated toothpaste, and "spit out, don't swallow"
Pay particular attention to cleaning the Hypomin teeth
If the teeth are sensitive, wet the toothbrush with warm water
If your child needs motivation, try a brushing chart and periodic reward for good compliance
You can stain your child’s plaque with disclosing tablets (available at your Dentist or pharmacy) or simply with regular food colouring to help see where brushing can be improved

Further information about oral hygiene

Keeping the diet healthy

Because Hypomin teeth are softer than normal it is important to keep two things to a minimum – sugars which promote tooth decay, and food acids which can dissolve soft enamel. Sweet treats (lollies, cakes, sweet biscuits) and acidified or bitter foods and drinks (bitter lollies, lemon juice, cola drinks, sports drinks, and fruit juices) are of particular concern. It's also sensible to monitor not only the amount of these "danger foods" but more importantly the number of times they are eaten in a day. In other words, sweets and bitter treats combined with a regular meal are less damaging to teeth than those taken as extra snacks between meals. To help your child understand why this dictum is being imposed on them, you can say something along the lines that "we can stop the plaque bugs from getting strong if they are fed with sugar only 2 or 3 times a day, but if the bugs get sugar lots of times they will grow strong enough to make potholes in your teeth". (read more)

Tips for healthy snacks