dental care
Your little one’s teeth are precious and need special care and attention. Keep them clean and encourage healthy eating to make sure his teeth stay strong and healthy
Your child will most likely have 20 milk teeth by the time he or she reaches two years of age. It’s extremely important to look after your little one’s teeth and keeping the first set of ‘milk’ teeth clean is just as important as looking after grown-up teeth. Through dental care and healthy eating habits, you can minimise the risk of your child losing teeth early and developing cavities, and encourage good dental hygiene for life.
cleaning teeth
Dentists have found that most children can't clean their teeth adequately until they can write, so it is best if you clean their teeth. Many children find it intimidating if you approach them from the front brandishing a toothbrush. Sit them on your lap and get them to open wide and tip their head back while you clean their teeth gently and thoroughly.
To protect your child's sensitive and soft gums use a really soft-bristled toothbrush to clean effectively and safely. Don't keep your child's toothbrush for more than three months, or after the bristles have started to spread out.
Adult toothpastes shouldn’t be used before the age of six – they contain too much fluoride, which increases the risk of causing mottled teeth due to excess fluoride (known as fluorosis). Use a pea-sized blob of children's toothpaste and brush each tooth gently, from the gum to the tip. Brush twice a day – in the morning and last thing at night, before bed. However tired your child is at night, it is important that they clean their teeth before going to bed.
If you need to give your little one any medication, ask your GP or pharmacist for sugar-free medicines if possible. Sugar should be listed on the ingredients label of the medicine. Other names for sugar are: glucose, sucrose, dextrose, maltose, fructose, honey, hydrolysed starch, and syrup.
Saliva normally protects the teeth but itsproduction drops at night. So it's particularlyimportant to clean teeth well after the lastfood or drink of the day.
going to the dentist
Get your child into the habit of going to the dentist as early as possible and make the experience a pleasant one. Take him along with you when you have an appointment more or less from the word go. Dental checks and treatment are free for all children under the age of 18 in the UK – ask your dentist when you should take your little one for his first visit: some will start checks when teeth first start to come through.
Initially, the dentist will just want to sit your child in their chair and look at their teeth. Try to find a dentist who is good with small children, as this will encourage your child to feel confident and trusting so that they will carry on being happy to pay regular visits and proud to show off their perfect teeth!
healthier eating
Keep snacking to a minimum to encourage healthy eating habits. However, children do need snacks at some point. Allow sweets or chocolate only at certain limited times, rather than throughout the day. Try to keep sweets for special occasions and treats. Ideally, given them just after a meal with a drink of milk to help remove some of the sugars directly from the teeth. Encourage your child to think of other foods as treats, such as cheese, crackers with butter and other savoury foods, and encourage him to drink water when he’s thirsty.
make a game of it - pretend their mouthis a tunnel and the brush is a train, or singa funny song
Cleaning teeth can sometimes be a battleground. Toddlers often like the idea initially, but it soon becomes a task that seems boring and time-consuming to them. Several things can help your child to get the teeth cleaning habit:
Let them watch you brush your teeth, so they can observe how it should be done Make teeth - cleaning fun. Let your child choose a toothbrush. There is a wide range of children's toothbrushes available, including ones based on cartoon characters and others which change colour Use a toothpaste suitable for small children and try different flavours– many children dislike peppermintMake a game of it – pretend their mouth is a tunnel and the brush is a train, or sing a funny song. It’s also fun to let them brush your teeth with your toothbrush in exchange for them letting you brush their teeth Use a star sticker chart for teeth cleaning with a small reward for lots of stars.
Encourage your child to think ofother foods as treats, such ascheese, crackers with butter andother savoury foods, and encouragehim to drink water when he’s thirsty.