To help your kids have healthy teeth

A regular teeth-cleaning routine is essential for good dental health. Follow these tips and you can help keep your kids’ teeth decay free:

Start brushing your baby’s teeth with fluoride toothpaste as soon as the first milk tooth breaks through. Fluoride paste helps prevent and control tooth decay.

All children can use family toothpaste containing 1,3501,500ppm fluoride so long as you supervise brushing until the age of seven and make sure they don’t eat or lick toothpaste from the tube.

Below the age of three, children should use just a smear of toothpaste.

Children aged between three and six should use a pea-sized helping of toothpaste.

Your child should brush their teeth for about two minutes twice a day: once just before bedtime and at least one other time during the day.

Encourage them to spit out excess toothpaste but not to rinse with lots of water as it’ll wash away the fluoride and reduce its benefits.

From the age of seven or eight they should be able to brush their own teeth. But it’s still a good idea to watch them now and again to make sure they’re doing it properly and for about two minutes.