Children's Prevention

Brushing

• Start brushing your child's teeth daily as soon as the first tooth appears.  
• Brush at least twice per day with small, soft-bristled brush for at least two to three minutes. This ensures adequate time is spent cleaning all the surfaces of each tooth (See the Hippo Diagram) 
• Start using only a pea-sized drop of a Children's fluoride toothpaste when child is able to rinse. Make sure that your child gets in the habit of spitting out the toothpaste. 
• Use a Power Toothbrush.  They clean teeth better than manual brushes.    Battery–powered brushes by Oral B, Crest, or Colgate are suitable, inexpensive and widely available at drug stores.  If your child prefers a manual toothbrush make sure it is a children’s size with soft bristles.​

​​Notes on Brushing

• The key to getting your child to brush is to make it fun.  If you are enthusiastic about the activity, your children will be enthusiastic. Look for fun ways to engage your children in the activity. Make it seem as if brushing is a fun thing to do rather than a chore which must be done. 
• Help your child brush and floss.  Children do not have the manual dexterity to use a toothbrush or floss properly until they are about seven or eight so an adult should help to ensure thorough oral care. However always allow them to "brush" their own teeth under supervision and then follow up if needed
• Children are great emulators. They tend to want to do the things that their parents do. If your children see you brushing your teeth and displaying good dental habits, they will follow.

​​​Flossing

• ​Floss your child’s teeth. It is advisable to begin at about age three when their teeth begin to fit closer together in the back.  To improve access to the back teeth and make the job easier, we suggest using a “floss pick” which is also readily available in drug stores.

​Fluoride

• Give your child a nightly fluoridated mouthrinse when they can understand and perform the “rinse and spit” routine (about 4 or 5 years old.  This is not a mouthwash used to cover bad breath. It is a supplement to the topical fluoride treatments your child receives at the dentist’s office. However, it is not nearly as strong as the office version.
• Make sure your child receives a fluoride treatment at the time of their cleaning appointment
• Consider Fluoride supplements if you do not live in an area with fluoridated water. Dosage will depend on the water’s present Fl content (water testing required), and the age and weight of your child.  This should continue until the child develops wisdom teeth well into the teen years. We can write a prescription for these systemic fluoride vitamins after your water is tested.  Testing is very important because too much fluoride can lead to fluorosis where the new adult front teeth become mottled or have brown stains.

​Diet and Snacking

• Minimize your child's exposure to sugar.
• Reduce the time that sweet food stays in contact with the teeth. Limit sugared drinks (This includes Fruit juices and sports drinks), chewing sugared gum or sucking on candy over long periods of time.
• If you eat sugary drinks, cakes, cookies, breads do so at meal times and not as snacks.  The increased saliva flow during a meal dilutes sugars and helps wash them away.
• Choose nutritious, unsweetened snack foods.
• Read ingredient lists when choosing snacks. Molasses, honey, fructose, glucose and sucrose are all types of sugar.
• After your child eats sweet, sticky foods, brush your child’s teeth.
• When brushing is not possible, rinse the mouth with water or chew sugar-free gum.

Regular Preventive Visits
Start preventive visits  every six to nine months by the child's second birthday when most of the teeth have erupted.  Of course if you have any concerns or suspect your child has a dental problem before then, call us.  At preventive visits we :

• check for potential problems, such as decay or developmental problems, so they can be detected and treated early.
• We clean and polish their teeth,
• give a professional fluoride treatment,
• reinforce proper home care (brushing and flossing) and diet, and
• if necessary, give home fluoride recommendations.​

Caring for Infant Teeth at Home

Video:

Useful information from Government of Canada: Oral health for children - Canada.ca