Encouraging healthy habits starts young. Your child should visit the dentist by their first birthday, or within six months of the first tooth erupting, but for the most part, taking care of their teeth, especially the milk teeth that create space in the jaw for the permanent teeth, is a job which must be done daily at home.
Roodepoort family dentist Dr Natascha Andrews says, “Washing their gums as part of your regular oral hygiene routine is essential until more teeth have erupted.”
How much is enough
From three months to three years, use a rice grain size amount of toothpaste, and then increase to a pea-size amount of toothpaste. Andrews loves Elgydium Plaque Disclosing Toothpaste, which can be used from the age of seven. “It is the first toothpaste which colours dental plaque remaining after brushing, showing you and your kids which spots you’ve missed.”
Professor Nadia Mohamed, Head of Paediatric Dentistry at the University of the Western Cape says that parents should brush their children’s teeth until they are six years old. “Between six and 10 years, parents should assist, and from 10 years onwards, children should be able to brush their own teeth using age-appropriate fluoride toothpaste. Make sure it is not swallowed and don’t forget to brush the tongue. Teeth should be brushed twice a day, with no eating or drinking once brushing is complete,” says Mohamed.
“Even though it can be tough to get your child to stand still, flossing is the only way to clean the plaque that accumulates between teeth and below the gums, which are areas where a toothbrush can't reach and decay often begins,” Andrews says. Toothbrushes must be changed every three months or when bristles begin to splay.
How to get your toddler to cooperate
“The point of brushing at this age is to establish healthy habits, which is hard to do when everyone is stressed out or crying. Remember that your little one is not just going to co-operate. You are intruding on their playtime, but eventually they will learn that brushing their teeth is part of a routine. As a parent, you set the tone for how your child will approach oral hygiene as they grow. When you make it a priority, they’ll learn to make it a priority too,” Andrews says.