Young Patient's General Guide

Key Advice

Use fluoride toothpaste
Keep sugar to mealtimes
Visit us for regular check-up appointments

Brushing Tips

Children's teeth need to be brushed twice daily, after breakfast and last thing at night.

Begin brushing when your baby's first tooth appears, usually around the age of 6 months.

Use a soft dry brush with a small head so it's easy to get into the more difficult areas and we recommend changing it every 3 months.

It is best to help children up to the age of 7 to make sure inside outside and biting surfaces of their teeth are cleaned properly. Children under this age don't have the skills to do it properly themselves yet. Proper brushing takes at least 2 minutes.

Your Child's Sugar Intake

Our advice is to cut down the number of times a day your child has sugary foods and drinks. If the child is to consume these, please try to give them to the child only at mealtimes.

Sweetened drinks in baby bottles encourage decay to form very quickly within your baby's teeth. Therefore juice should be well diluted and given in a feeder cup or beaker. These are more likely to cause a problem if given at bedtime, during the night or as comforters for long periods of time.

Watch out for hidden sugars on labels, these include glucose, syrup, fructose sucrose, dextrose, maltose concentrated fruit juice, and honey. These all harm children's teeth. A hidden sugars guide can also be found on our website.

Try replacing chocolate, sweets, ice-cream, biscuits, cakes and sweet drinks with fruit, raw vegetables, cheese, crisps, crackers, bread, milk and water.

Fluoride Toothpaste

It is best to use fluoride toothpaste to clean your children's teeth. It strengthens teeth and makes them more resistant to decay. A small pea sized amount is plenty.

Encourage your child to spit out after brushing, but not rinse with water. This removes the fluoride left to work on your child's teeth after brushing.

Dental Visits

We feel this is the most important aspect of caring for your children's teeth.

Every child is different and visiting us regularly gives us the chance to detect, and take necessary action to prevent, dental problems.