Baby Oral Care & Oral Infant Development

Mini Sproutz™ Infant Dentist Program

and The Six Sproutz Stepz to a Solid Foundation

What Is Mini Sproutz™ ?

The primary objective of mini Sproutz is to familiarize families with the importance of newborn oral care. Your child sees their pediatrician from birth for multiple wellness visits and checkups, monitoring your child’s length, weight, and overall growth. These visits are to make sure they are on track for proper physical development in infancy. But, who is checking inside their mouth?? Structures in a child’s mouth help them breathe, sleep, eat, and swallow properly. These are all basic life functions that children should do without any struggles at all.

So many children unnecessarily struggle to get through the day because of these basic foundations of life! There are easy ways to correct or prevent these pains & problems when they are identified.

So why is nobody evaluating a child’s mouth from birth to the time they hit three? We know there are many changes and lots of growth that happen in a child during these years, making baby oral care just as important as physical check-ups. At Inspire Dental Wellness, we feel it’s absolutely necessary for children to see an infant dentist as early as possible to help guide the growth and development of their mouths from a young age.

Our Solution to Newborn Oral Care

We have developed mini Sproutz as a 9 session program to help prevent future issues in and around the mouth. We can only give advice if we are able to see these children, screen them, meet their needs, and have an action plan to ensure optimal oral growth and development. When you prioritize oral hygiene for newborns, you’re setting your child up for healthy teeth and gums during childhood.

When to Start Cleaning Baby Gums & See a Dentist

Your child’s first smile at you will be a moment you never forget. Help protect it with mini Sproutz’s supportive newborn oral care and health check-ups over the first 3 years of life to ensure your little one is growing and flourishing. From a prenatal check-in all the way until age 3 (when your child will enter into regular dental care), the mini Sproutz program uses the 9 sessions to support you every step of the way as your baby develops and grows.

Prenatal
Birth
3 months
6 months
9 months
1 year old
1.5 year old
2 year old
2.5 year old

Click the images below to check out what to expect during each age phase as we check up on developmental newborn milestones and assess for growth or concerns in their oral health and wellbeing.

The Six Sproutz Stepz to a Solid Foundation

The Six Sproutz Stepz to a Solid Foundation will evaluate 6 areas of newborn development: breathing, oral posture, body posture, dental development, nutrition & sleeping. This leads to healthy open airways to breathe and sleep better, broad wide jaws to accommodate incoming baby and adult teeth, and proper movement of the tongue and other oral structures for proper feeding and swallowing.

The SIX SPROUTZ STEPS: breathing, oral posture, body posture, dental development, nutrition & sleeping are the foundations of solid health.

We will guide you step by step with the best practices so you can help your child at home. Our infant dentist services also include regular wellness visits at each stage of our Six Sproutz Stepz to a Solid Foundation. Every child deserves a strong foundation right from birth. Mini Sproutz fills the gap in healthcare to check their mouth at all the crucial points, while ensuring they are growing properly, or receiving the support they need if they are not.

Dentist Orland Park, Illinois

Contact Inspire Dental Wellness today to learn more!

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Rootz: Prenatal (Session 1)

What to expect when your mini sprout arrives, and how to start out on the right path to happy healthy smiles for the whole family. Mama’s mouth makes a difference on mini’s mouth. So our first appointment starts before baby is born to help take care of Mom. Also we will help the parents prepare for feeding plans that support their mouth development once mini is here.

Learn what we recommend for morning sickness to help keep your teeth healthy
Creating a feeding plan before baby comes to be prepared whether breastfeeding or bottle feeding
How to choose the right bottle nipple to help your baby’s oral development

Seedz: 0-6 months (Sessions 2 & 3)

During this time there are two appointments with your mini. One in the first few weeks of life. In this session we will looking at babies oral motor ability and guiding you through the tools to take care of your mini’s mouth. Yes even before they have teeth, there are so many ways you can keep their mouth healthy and growing into their potential. The second session is around the 3 month mark. In this appointment we get you prepared to take care of your baby’s teeth as they start to come in.

Which pacifier is best for your baby and why
What symptoms to look for in your baby to see if they are lip or tongue tied
Why open mouth breathing isn’t healthy for your baby and how to help
What are the best teething toys for your baby and why
When to expect teeth to come in, and how to best take care of your baby’s new teeth
How to begin introducing feeding utensils and what kind for your baby

Budz: 6-12 months (Sessions 4 & 5)

We will continue to check on your child oral health and development every 3 months as they grow. So in the budz phase of growth we will see you at 6 month milestone and again around 9 month marker. At the 6 month stage solid food introduction brings up a lot of questions…How do I know if they are ready for chewing solid food? Should I stick to purees? What types of solid food to introduce and when? The mini sproutz program was developed so that we will be with you every step of the way to guide you through this transitional phase. We will cover topics such as:

Learn about Baby-Led Weaning from breastfeeding and introducing solid foods in a developmentally sound and safe way
Find out why chewing on solid foods over puree is needed and so important at this age
What is the best way to begin to wean your baby from the pacifier use
How to best help your baby with oral motor skills to improve feeding with chewing & hand/mouth coordination
Discover the different types of cups with lids, straws and open and how they impact jaw growth
How to give opportunities for full body movement that is connected to and improves oral development

Sproutz: 1-2 years (Sessions 6 & 7)

At the one year birthday celebration and 1.5yr mark, we will talk about transitions from baby to always on the go toddler. Helping you to combine their unique needs for independence and support to sprout into who they are meant to be. As new motor skills and movement flourish we are here to guide you through the play and activties that will support ideal growth. We will also assess and address the many oral health concerns that can sprout up at this age.

Learn how tummy time and sensory play are still important at this stage and the impact it has on oral development & feeding
Discover the harmful impact that a little snoring or loud breathing can make on a little body, snoring for your child is not normal! So if you hear them snoring, learn what to do about it
How to best care for your toddlers teeth as they come in from the best dental tools to introduce & healthy snacks choices
What to watch out for cavities or baby teeth that are crowded & crooked and what to do if these things happen.

Blossomz: 2-3 years (Session 8 & 9)

We want to ensure a solid foundation for your mini sprout as they blossom. On this path we will check in at their 2nd birthday and again in 6 months, as they continue to roll into regular 6 month dental check-ups as they grow into a young child. In these sessions:

Learn how to harness the power of breathing to help boost mood regulation
Why early assessment of teeth and jaw growth at this age matters
The #1 thing you can do to help your child with oral development
How to get your child ready for their first dental visit
Easy fun ways to get your child engaged with mouth movements
What nighttime bedwetting in your daytime potty trained child is caused by

Your Baby’s mouth helps them breathe, sleep, and eat…

The foundations of life….

So don’t be in the dark about your child’s oral development and…

Set up your child for ideal oral growth and development.