Encourage good brushing

A child’ smile is very precious. Starting good brushing habits early will go a long way to keep your child smiling beautifully.

Your baby’s first toothbrush should be small and soft. It’s good to let your baby try the toothbrush in their mouth but a parent needs to brush. Most children don’t have the dexterity to clean all of their teeth properly until about age 8, so a parent needs to  brush also until this age. Let your child have a go at brushing first, then a parent needs to brush as well.

Start off using a smear of baby fluoride toothpaste, then as your child gets older, encourage them to spit and rinse the toothpaste out when finished brushing. As soon as you are confident the child is not swallowing the toothpaste, it is advisable to move to a higher strength fluoride toothpaste as this will protect teeth more effectively.

Limit in between meal snacking as the more frequently that food is consumed, the greater the number of acid exposures and the greater the chance of tooth decay.