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A Healthy Mouth for Your Baby 

Family
    Protect your baby's teeth with fluoride. 

    Check and clean your baby's teeth.

    Feed your baby healthy food.

    Prevent baby bottle tooth decay.

    Take your child to the dentist.


 
Before Your Baby Is Born
Two Mommies What you eat when you are pregnant is important. Eating right will help you and your growing baby stay healthy. Follow your doctor's advice for eating the right foods and taking vitamins.

It's also time to think about how you'll feed your baby. Remember, breast-feeding is best!

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Ann Talks with Maria
   
"What are you doing?" asked Ann. Ann and her friend, Maria, were watching Maria's children play.

"I'm cleaning my baby's teeth," said Maria.

"But your baby hardly has any teeth!" said Ann.

"Yes, but my dentist said there are things I can do to keep my baby from getting tooth decay," said Maria.

"But don't baby teeth just fall out?" asked Ann.

"Yes, but tooth decay can cause pain for the baby. And baby teeth hold space for adult teeth," said Maria.

"What else did the dentist say?" asked Ann.

"She told me how fluoride protects teeth. She also said to feed my baby healthy foods and not to put my baby to bed with a bottle," said Maria.

"When do you have to start taking care of a baby's teeth?" asked Ann. 

"As soon as they come in. Teeth can decay as soon as they appear in the mouth," said Maria.

"I'll have to start thinking of those things soon!" laughed Ann.

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