Your child’s oral health is very important to us.

Your Child’s Teeth

Toothbrushing

Brush for 2 minutes twice a day

You can make this more fun (and to make sure you do it for long enough!) by using a timer.
Use a toothpaste that has at least 1000 parts fluoride. After brushing, spit out the extra toothpaste, but don’t rinse afterwards.

As a guide, until your child can write properly, they can’t brush their teeth properly, so they need you to help them to make sure their teeth are cleaned well.

Visiting the Dentist

• Bring your child regularly to see us to that we can make them happy to be here and so we can spot any problems early.
• We would like to see you with your child from birth upwards so we can give you good advice even before their first tooth has erupted.

Fluoride

Fluoride is not in the water in our area. Brushing your teeth thoroughly with fluoride toothpaste is one of the most effective ways of preventing tooth decay.

• It is important for your child to brush their teeth regularly with a fluoride toothpaste – your dentist will advise on the appropriate strength for your child.
• Your dentist can can also apply fluoride varnish during routine visits as appropriate.
• Our Childsmile nurses and dentists can demonstrate good teeth brushing techniques for you and your child

Food

Sugar causes tooth decay. The most important thing is to limit the number of times your child has sugary snacks and drinks.

Try and keep sugary snacks to mealtimes only. Or better still, have none at all!

Good Snacks

Some good snacks are: Fresh fruit, cheese, raw vegetables, breadsticks, bread, crackers

Bad Snacks

Bad snacks include: Fizzy juice, flavoured water, lollipops, sweets, biscuits, jelly
Diet Drinks and fruit juices also decay teeth as these are very acidic.

The safest drinks are PLAIN WATER and PLAIN MILK