• There are a number of dangers that can affect children's oral health.happy baby image by Leticia Wilson from Fotolia.com
  
  Dental health is extremely important, and it begins as soon as we're born. Proper nutrition, brushing teeth for the proper amount of time and other good dental habits are extremely important because what happens in children's mouths can help set bite, hygiene and dental health for the rest of their lives.
  
  

Thumb Sucking

• Sucking on something, whether it's a thumb or a pacifier, is considered fairly normal behavior for young children. The sucking motion may be comforting, and it can help children relax and fall asleep. However, most children stop this behavior between 2 and 4 years. If a child persists in sucking her thumb (or a pacifier) longer than past the age of 4, it could cause a malformation of the bite (such as an overbite, where the top row of teeth presses out further than the bottom row of teeth). If left unchecked, this damage to a child's bite may need to be corrected with braces or some other dental method.
  
  

Tooth Decay

• Baby teeth (the first round of teeth that you have before your permanent teeth come in) are often considered not to be important by parents. Baby teeth can develop tooth decay though, and that tooth decay can give a child problems with permanent teeth (even before those permanent teeth have fully erupted past the gum line), as well as with gums and the general health of the mouth. To help prevent tooth decay children should regularly brush their teeth and rinse out their mouths with either clean water or with child formulated mouth wash.
  
  

Teeth Whitening

• Teeth whitening kits that are sold for adults are not meant to be used for children. Everyone wants a white, healthy smile, but the chemicals in tooth whitening products can harm children's teeth and their general body chemistry if those chemicals are ingested by mistake. The same is true for cosmetic dental surgery; these procedures are meant for adults, not for children. If a medical reason can't be shown for giving a child a dental surgery then that surgery shouldn't be done because it could damage the child's dental development.