Dental care tips for babies and children.

Caring for our children’s teeth when they’re young makes an enormous difference to their dental health as adults. It will even impact on their long-term general health too. To help you follow a great oral hygiene routine at home, here are a few dental care tips for babies and children.

Jessica Walklate, our SpaDental Whitchurch oral hygiene therapist, has put together a few useful tips.

Dental care tips for babies and children.

You can begin cleaning a baby’s gums even before a tooth comes through. To begin:

• cradle your baby’s head for security
• wipe the teeth and gums gently with damp gauze on a finger
• once teething begins, add a rice-sized smear of fluoride toothpaste

Continue brushing children’s teeth twice a day until the child turns 7:

• the most important time is just before bed
• stand, or sit, behind the child
• set a timer and brush methodically around all tooth surfaces for 2 minutes
• use a pea-sized smear of fluoride toothpaste (no less than 1000ppm) on a small-headed soft brush
• spit toothpaste out, avoid rinsing with water so the fluoride can work on protecting teeth
• from 7 children can brush for themselves, however an adult should still supervise

Protect children’s teeth from sugar:

• introduce a free-flow cup at 6 months
• from the age of 1 discourage feeding from a bottle
• don’t add sugar to weaning foods and drinks
• avoid sugary food or drinks for at least 1 hour before bedtime
• sugar intake should be kept to meal times (as a dessert)
• use sugar-free medication whenever possible

General dental care tips for babies and children are useful, but not enough. We recommend personalised advice and a tailored routine.

Oral care needs differ from child to child. We therefore recommend a regular appointment with a dentist so that your babies and children receive the best individual oral health support.

SpaDental Plymouth and Whitchurch are registering babies, children and teens as NHS patients, to support government initiatives to improve the dental health of children.

Please note that adults wishing to be registered as NHS patients at our mixed practices (Plymouth and Whitchurch) are not registered directly, but are added to the waiting list.

Upcoming Children’s Days:

• Whitchurch: Tuesday 7th August
• Plymouth: Tuesday 31st July & Thursday 23rd August

SpaDental Plymouth and Whitchurch organise special days during half-term breaks and school holidays to prioritise children’s appointments. Why not get in touch to make an appointment for your children?

Useful links:

• Contact the Plymouth team
• Contact the Whitchurch team
• external link to NHS dental care information 

Useful Links & Information