Taking care of an infant’s oral hygiene is one of the most important tasks of any parent. Proper oral hygiene can prevent diseases and help your child’s development immensely. However, most parents don’t know how to care for a baby’s oral hygiene, like how to clean a baby’s tongue.
And who can blame them? After all, a baby’s mouth seems too delicate to clean. So here’s a quick guide on how to clean a baby’s tongue and use a tongue cleaner for babies.
How To Clean a Baby’s Tongue in 3 Easy Steps
A baby’s tongue and gums are delicate, sensitive areas. So, to clean them, you’ll need to use a very soft material, like gauze or a damp cloth. Using them, follow these three steps.
Step 1: Wrap a thin gauze around your finger and dip it into warm water. Press gently to drain slightly.
Step 2: Slowly open your baby’s mouth and gently massage the wet cloth onto their tongue. Use a circular motion when rubbing the tongue’s surface. Watch out for white spots on their tongue. This could be leftover milk residue. Make sure to clean those out.
Step 3: After their tongue, move on to their gums and gently rub the inside of their cheeks. Look out for leftover milk residue and wipe those off, too.
Note: Remember to clean your baby’s tongue twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening—to ensure your baby’s gums and tongue are always clean. Cleaning less can lead to a buildup of bacteria that could harm your baby’s oral health.
Using a Tongue Cleaner To Clean a Baby’s Tongue
If you prefer to use a specific dental tool to manage your baby’s oral hygiene, a baby tongue cleaner is best. Baby tongue cleaners are designed specifically to clean a baby’s tongue and gums.
Using a tongue cleaner for babies is relatively simple. You rinse it off with soap and water, ensuring it’s sanitized, then apply pressure gently on your baby’s tongue. A tongue cleaner is mostly used to prevent excess milk residue from building up on their tongue, so prioritize scraping off white spots as you clean.
Why Is It Important To Clean a Baby’s Mouth?
During the first few months of their life, your baby will only consume breast milk or formula to meet their daily nutritional needs. But while breast milk or baby formula may seem light compared to solid foods, that doesn’t mean your baby’s tongue stays clean throughout the day.
Here are a few issues that could result from poor oral hygiene in babies.
Bacterial Accumulation
Breast milk and baby formulas have one thing in common: sugar. Excess sugar is known to cause oral health problems for babies, and too much leftover sugar can lead to bacterial infections. In time, too much sugar can also lead to tooth decay.
Diseases From Bad Oral Hygiene
Good oral hygiene goes beyond good breath; without cleaning your baby’s tongue, you’re leaving them susceptible to different diseases, such as the following.
Oral Thrush
A condition called thrush or oral thrush is a common fungal infection that arises from leftover sugars and milk residue on your baby’s tongue. When these sugars remain on a baby’s tongue and gums, they can lead to the growth of fungus, which in turn turns into oral thrush. Oral thrush can be painful and irritating.
You can see oral thrush as white spots on a baby’s tongue. If you’re cleaning your baby’s tongue and the leftover milk residue won’t come off, it could be oral thrush. A white tongue is one of the clearest indicators of oral thrush, so make sure to call a baby healthcare professional immediately.
Childhood Gingivitis
It’s not just oral thrush that can cause discomfort for your baby. Childhood gingivitis is another huge possibility. Childhood gingivitis is a gum disease that arises from poor dental hygiene. Refraining from cleaning your baby’s tongue can risk exposing your child to childhood gingivitis.
Alternative Cleaning Tools for a Healthy Mouth
Gauze and tongue cleaners, while effective, aren’t the only ways to maintain your baby’s oral hygiene. The baby industry has designed different dental products that can clean a baby’s mouth during all stages of development.
Here are a few dental tools that your baby can use even before their first dental appointment.
Finger Brush
A finger brush is a convenient tool to help with your baby’s oral health. The brushes are usually made of food-grade silicone or food-grade plastic and are designed to fit on an adult finger or thumb. The finger brush is usually decorated with soft nubbins on one side to act as a brush for the baby’s mouth.
Using a finger brush is similar to covering your finger with gauze. Simply open your child’s mouth and gently rub their tongue and inner cheeks in circular motions.
Kid-Friendly Toothbrush
Once your children start to develop teeth, toothbrushing becomes a necessity. Arm them with a kid-friendly toothbrush to help them manage their oral hygiene.
Kid-friendly toothbrushes are like miniature toothbrushes. They are usually shorter, with a smaller brush head at the top. Because they use soft bristles, a kid-friendly toothbrush is also called a soft-bristled toothbrush. Feel free to give your child one when they turn the right age.
Clean Your Baby’s Tongue With Ashtonbee’s Baby Tongue Cleaner
Your child’s teeth, tongue, and overall oral hygiene are crucial to their growth. Without proper oral hygiene, your child could risk contracting different diseases. But with the right daily oral hygiene routine, you can look forward to raising a healthy baby.
Clean your baby’s tongue with Ashtonbee’s baby tongue cleaner. Our non-toxic tongue cleaners are made out of food-grade plastic and are FDA-approved.
Get them here or through our Amazon page today.
