Oral health facts and activities:
- Babies are born with 20 teeth below the gums. They start coming out between 6 months and 1 year. By the time a child is 3 years old all 20 teeth usually are out.
- During the time of teething, babies can be fussy, sleepless, and irritable. They may lose appetite and droll more than usually. These are normal during teething.
- If your baby develops diarrhea, fever, or rashes during the time of teething call the doctor, because these are not caused by teething.
- As soon your baby start having teeth, brush them twice a day with soft, small- bristled toothbrush and plain water.
- Brush your child’s teeth with a smear (rice-grain sized) amount of fluoride toothpaste
- Talk to your dentist or doctor about putting fluoride varnish on your child’s teeth as soon as the first tooth appears. According to the Centers for Disease Control and ADA’s Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry, sealants have been shown to reduce the risk of decay by nearly 80% in molars.
- Do not put your baby to bed with a bottle. Frequent and prolonged exposure of baby’s teeth to drinks that contain sugar can cause tooth decay.
- Do not pick a pacifier from the floor and put into your mouth to clean it and then give to your baby! The bacteria that causes cavities can be passed through saliva.
- Do not share utensils with your baby, because you will share your germs too.
The following shots are recommended for children from 6 months of age to 1 year:
At 6 months:
- Hepatitis B
- This will be the third shot of three shots that protect your baby from hepatitis B that can cause serious, lifelong problems with their liver
- With the completion of their third shot, they will be fully protected from Hepatitis B
- Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (DTap)
- This is one shot that works to protect your baby from three different sicknesses that can cause lung problems, coughing, respiratory problems, and severe muscle stiffness
- Your child will get the same shot several times during childhood to help boost their immune system to continue to be able to fight off these sicknesses
- Pneumococcal (PCV)
- This shot will protect your child from bacteria that can cause pneumonia which is a serious infection in the lungs that will require hospitalization at this age
- Your child will get the same shot multiple times to help them continue to be protected
- Inactivated Polio Virus (IPV)
- This shot will protect your child from a virus that can cause lifelong paralysis. They will be unable to move any of their muscles and it can cause death if it keeps their respiratory muscles from being able to move.
- Your baby will get additional shots for this throughout their childhood to help keep their protection from this virus strong
Possible Vaccines Your Child May Also Need:
- Rotavirus (Dependent on vaccine brand)
- Your child may need a third dose of the Rotavirus vaccine depending on the brand of Rotavirus vaccine your provider has in their office. If they need the third dose, this last dose will fully protect them from rotavirus.
- This is an oral medication that will help protect your baby from a virus that can cause painful stomach cramping, diarrhea or loose stools, and vomiting
- Your child will get the same oral medication multiple times to help boost their immune system so they will continue to fight off this virus
- Haemophilus Influenza (Hib) (Dependent on vaccine brand)
- Your child may need an additional dose of the Hib vaccine at 6 months depending on the brand of Hib vaccine your provider has in their office
- This is a shot that protects your child from a virus that can cause flu-like symptoms or difficulty breathing and can lead to a second infection in the ears, lungs, or throats
- Your child will get the same shot multiple times to make sure they can continue to fight off this virus
- Annual Flu Vaccine (Dependent on time of year)
- This vaccine is recommended once your child is at least 6 months of age
- Their first time being vaccinated with the flu vaccine, they will get 2 flu vaccines that season—1 initially and then another 1 month later
- This vaccine will help protect your child from getting the flu which can cause them to get a fever, feel achy, lose their appetite, and have nausea/vomiting/diarrhea
- At this age, if a baby were to get the flu, they would most likely end up hospitalized
- It takes at least 2 weeks for protection from the flu virus to kick in after being vaccinated
At 9 months:
- Annual Flu Vaccine
- This vaccine is recommended from September to April each year once your child is at least 6 months of age
- If they were not previously vaccinated at 6 months for the current flu season, they should be vaccinated now
- If they were vaccinated at 6 months of age, but it is a new flu season, they should be vaccinated again
- Their first time being vaccinated with the flu vaccine, they will get 2 flu vaccines that season—1 initially and then another 1 month later
- This shot will help protect your child from getting the flu which can cause them to get a fever, feel achy, lose their appetite, and have nausea/vomiting/diarrhea
- At this age, if a baby were to get the flu, they would most likely end up hospitalized
- It takes at least 2 weeks for protection from the flu virus to kick in after being vaccinated
At 12 months:
- Haemophilus Influenza (Hib)
- This is a shot that protects your child from a virus that can cause flu-like symptoms or difficulty breathing and can lead to a second infection in the ears, lungs, or throats
- With this shot, your child will be fully protected from Hib
- Pneumococcal (PCV)
- This shot will protect your child from bacteria that can cause pneumonia which is a serious infection in the lungs that will require hospitalization at this age
- With this shot, your child will be fully protected from PCV
- Measles, Mumps, & Rubella (MMR)
- This is the first of two shots that your child needs to help protect them from three very deadly illnesses—measles, mumps, and rubella
- Your child will need to get both shots to be fully protected from these illnesses
- Varicella
- This is the first of two shots that your child needs to help protect them from the virus that causes chicken pox
- While chicken pox was a common illness several years ago, it is important that children be vaccinated against it because if a child gets the chicken pox virus their body cannot fully get rid of the virus and instead it will hide in their nervous system. Later in life, the virus can then come back and attack different nerve strands causing a very painful sometimes itchy one sided rash called shingles. When the virus attacks the nerves in shingles, it can cause lifelong nerve pain along that nerve.
- Being vaccinated against varicella prevents your child from having shingles in the future and protects them from future lifelong nerve pain.
- Your child will need to get both shots to be fully protected from varicella
- Hepatitis A
- This will be the first of two shots that will protect your child from hepatitis A, a very contagious virus that affects your child’s liver
- The second shot will be received 6 months after the first
- Annual Flu Vaccine
- This vaccine is recommended from September to April each year once your child is at least 6 months of age
- Their first time being vaccinated with the flu vaccine, they will get 2 flu vaccines that season—1 initially and then another 1 month later
- This vaccine will help protect your child from getting the flu which can cause them to get a fever, feel achy, lose their appetite, and have nausea/vomiting/diarrhea
- At this age, if a baby were to get the flu, they would most likely end up hospitalized
- It takes at least 2 weeks for protection from the flu virus to kick in after being vaccinated
