Are you looking after your children’s teeth properly?

Dental care at home can determine a child’s oral health for life. That’s why it’s so important for whānau to be proactive about good oral health. It starts with looking after baby teeth as decay can affect a child’s eating, speech and development, and may even affect their adult teeth as well.

Young children don’t have the required skills to brush all their own teeth properly, so parents and child carers need to start brushing them as soon as they grow through the gums and keep brushing children’s teeth for them until they are about six years old.

Once a child can print their name clearly or tie their own shoelaces, they should be able to brush their teeth all by themselves, but you should still check their teeth are clean before bedtime.

Looking in children’s

mouths regularly will also give you a chance to see if there is anything wrong. Teeth should be white, so if you see anything brown or grey in a tooth, contact your dental clinic or phone Community Oral Health for free advice on 0800 TALK TEETH (0800 825 583).

Holes in teeth (tooth decay) are avoidable – here are tips to keep you and your children’s teeth healthy:

• Brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. •

Brushing in the morning and just before bed removes bacteria that can cause tooth decay, bleeding gums, bad breath, etc.

• Brush away any food that sits on teeth and gums overnight which can cause problems.

• Remember to brush gums too.

• Don’t rinse after brushing so the fluoride has time to soak in and strengthen teeth.

Only drink water between meals. Sweet or fizzy drinks cause tooth decay so avoiding them is best; even sugar-free fizzy drinks can cause tooth decay. And for parents – remember that baby teeth matter! • •