Tips and Tricks for Children’s Oral Health – Dental Health Week 2019

To celebrate Dental Health Week, we want to provide you with a few tips and tricks for your child’s oral health.

Maintaining good oral health for your children will help give them a happy and healthy smile for life.

For Dental Health Week, Australia Dental Association has come up with a few handy tips and tricks to help with maintaining your child’s oral health.

Babies – Tips and Tricks

• Clean your babies’ gums by rubbing them with a damp washcloth
• Once teeth start to appear, introduce a soft bristle child-sized toothbrush
• Don’t use toothpaste
• It is recommended to start visiting the dentist once their first teeth appear or by the age of 12 months

Toddlers – Tips and Tricks

• Brush their teeth with a soft-bristled, child-size toothbrush
• From 18 months of age, start to use child-strength fluoride toothpaste
• It is recommended that parents brush and floss their child’s teeth
• Brush twice a day and floss teeth that touch together

Children (Under 6 years) – Tips and Tricks

• Parents should continue to brush their child’s teeth twice a day
• Floss teeth that are touching together
• Unless the dentist recommends an alternative, use child-strength fluoride toothpaste

Children (Over 6 years) – Tips and Tricks

• Continue to assist your child with brushing and flossing twice a day until 8-9 years old
• Introduce adult-strength toothpaste with fluoride

General – Tips and Tricks

• Never rinse your mouth out with water – always spit out excess toothpaste
• Use a pee sized amount of toothpaste
• Brushing can be boring and often rushed (especially for young children) – play one of their favourite songs or use an app on a smart device as a reminder to brush for two minutes
• Whenever visiting the dentist, always use positive reinforcement – praise your child on how well they listened and how they follow instructions

For more information about maintaining your child’s oral health, contact us or alternatively visit the Australian Dental Association for more information.