Looking after children’s teeth: some practical tips

Children’s teeth are important, both the baby teeth and the adult teeth. Baby teeth hold the spaces open for the adult teeth to grow at the proper time. They are also crucial up to the age of 11-13 years so your child can eat properly and receive adequate nutrition.

Here are some tips for parents.

DO’S

1. Once the first tooth grows, clean it with a soft, wet, clean cloth after every meal.
2. Once more teeth grow, switch to an age appropriate children’s toothbrush. Don’t use kids toothpaste until your child can spit out properly. Use age appropriate children’s toothpaste only.
3. Encourage your child to spit out any excess toothpaste or rinse after brushing.
4. Use dental floss to clean in between your child’s teeth nightly. This will clean the areas where the teeth touch, which a toothbrush cannot get to. This will greatly decrease the chances of decay starting in between your child’s teeth.
5. Prevention is better than cure! Bring your child for regular dental visits. This will help them to get used to coming to the dentist and make them feel more comfortable.
6. Supervise your child’s brushing. From the age of 5 they may be able to brush by themselves, but make sure you do check that they are brushing properly for long enough.
7. Try out a toothbrushing app, or even a simple egg timer to help children to brush for 2 minutes.

DON’TS

1. Don’t let your child go to sleep with a bottle filled with anything other than water. Milo, juice, cordial and even breastmilk (which is surprisingly high in sugar!), are all not recommended. If this happens repeatedly, your child could end up with decay on multiple teeth. This is known as nursing caries.
   

   Nursing caries in a child

2. Don’t let your child snack on sugary foods or drinks e.g. lollies, chocolate, soft drinks at regular intervals during the day. Not only is this a health issue, but the repeated sugar hits will increase their susceptibility to dental decay, and they might end up needing multiple fillings.
3. Don’t let your child play contact sports without a proper mouthguard that has been made by a dentist. ‘Boil and bite’ mouthguards don’t protect the teeth adequately, and if your child’s teeth get knocked while playing sport, they might still be injured. These injuries are preventable, and will  save your child a lot of pain and trauma. Find out more about mouthguards in our post on this topic here.
   

   Dental trauma in a child

   Got more questions regarding your kids’ dental health? Book them in for a consultation with one of our experienced and gentle Claremont dentists. You can call our friendly dental team on 6143 5655, or schedule an appointment at a time convenient for you here.