A regular dental hygiene routine is essential to your keep children’s teeth healthy and free from cavities. This involves more than just teaching them how to brush their teeth. The importance of establishing early healthy habits for your kids cannot be stressed too much. It is very distressing for young children to experience a toothache and to have to undergo extensive dental surgery. Prevention is always better than cure when it comes to dental health.
Baby’s first tooth
Your baby’s first tooth will erupt at around 6 months old but it could be a few months earlier or later. Once this happens, start brushing with a fluoride toothpaste. The fluoride will help to protect the tooth and prevent decay.
Children’s toothpaste
You don’t have to use a special children’s toothpaste. They are often more expensive and many of them do not contain enough fluoride to prevent tooth decay. You may want to use a milder toothpaste for children under six years old but check that it contains fluoride.
Older children
Older children (aged seven years and above) can use the same toothpaste as an adult. Just check the label to make sure that it contains 1,350-1,500 parts per million (ppm) fluoride.
How much toothpaste
It is not a good idea for children to consume a lot of toothpaste so do not let them eat or lick toothpaste from the tube. Children aged under three years need only a smear of toothpaste on their brush and children between three to six years need a pea-sized blob of toothpaste.
How to brush teeth
Your child needs to spend two whole minutes brushing their teeth. Tooth brushing should be carried out just before they go to bed and at one other time. This could be after breakfast or lunch. Spitting out the excess toothpaste is fine but do not encourage a lot of rinsing as this washes away all of the fluoride.
Supervision of tooth brushing
Children under the age of eight years old, need to be supervised when they are brushing their teeth. Older children need to be checked on from time to time to ensure that bad habits have nor developed.
Get used to your dentist
Make sure that you have a list of emergency dentists near you so that your child does not have to be in pain should a tooth problem occur. Take your child to the dentist as soon as their first milk teeth appear so that they are familiar with the environment.
Make the dentist fun
Visiting the dentist should be a fun and interesting experience for your child. Treat it as you would a trip to the park or the cinema. This will prevent a phobia of dentist developing!
Talk about dental health
Talk about dental health and the need to look after your teeth with your children. Buy some age-appropriate books on the subject.
Introduce a healthy diet
Avoid sugary snacks and drinks and stick to fresh fruit and vegetables to protect dental health.
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