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