12 Nov 2nd to 8th August 2021 is Dental Health Week.
Here’s 5 Top Tips to Beautiful Teeth
1. Start Cleaning Teeth Early –Babies and Toddlers 
As soon as the first tooth appears start by wiping with a clean, damp cloth every day. When more teeth come through, switch to a small, soft toothbrush – but no toothpaste. You can sit your child on your knee, facing away from you, supporting their head with your arm. Begin using toothpaste with fluoride when your child is 2 years old. You can use a fluoride toothpaste earlier if your child’s doctor or dentist recommends it.
2. Supervise Brushing 
Brush your child’s teeth twice a day until your child has the skill to handle the toothbrush alone. This could be around age six or possibly a little earlier. When they start brushing let them do their own teeth then brush their teeth straight afterwards to make sure they didn’t miss anything, particularly along the gum line.
3. Use The Right Amount of Fluoride Toothpaste 
We need fluoride to fight cavities but if children under six swallow too much toothpaste it can cause white spots on their permanent teeth. To avoid this, use only a small amount of toothpaste (about
the size of a pea). Teach your child to spit out the toothpaste and to rinse well after brushing. You can get milder, low fluoride toothpastes for kids under six.
4. Introduce flossing 
Once any two of your child’s teeth touch each other, it’s time to start flossing. The tiny gaps between teeth that a toothbrush can’t reach make a perfect hiding place for food particles and bacteria. Try and do this once a day.
5. Healthy Snacking
Tooth decay is caused by how frequently we snack and how long you are exposed to food at any one time. This doesn’t mean just lollies and fizzy drinks; this includes foods that are high in natural sugars or starch. Every time we eat our teeth are exposed to the sugars in food. The bacteria in our mouths (plaque) use these sugars to make acid, and if teeth are exposed to this acid long enough holes develop – this is known as tooth decay.
The habits your children form today are the ones they will take through life and will have a dramatic effect on their overall health. 