How to Keep Your Child’s Teeth Healthy

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General Considerations & Overview

Brush your child’s teeth twice a day with a soft toothbrush.
Floss your child’s teeth once a day to keep your child’s teeth and gums healthy.
Be sure your child eats a healthy diet.
Reduce your child’s amount of between-meal sugary drinks and snacks.
Take your child to the dentist every six months for a cleaning and check-up.
Avoid passing germs from your mouth to your child’s mouth. Avoid sharing spoons, drinks, ice cream cones or toothbrushes.
Avoid putting your child to bed with a bottle unless there is water in the bottle. Almost anything can cause cavities including, milk, breast milk and juice.
Avoid having your child use a sippy cup between meals or when going to nap or sleep.

Parent Education Brochures, from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD)
Frequently Asked Questions about dental health: What is Plaque? What is Calculus (Tartar)? What is Gingivitis? What is Periodontal Disease? How do Cavities Form?
Dental Hygiene: How to Care for Your Child’s Teeth, from the American Academy of Family Physicians
Includes: How can I best care for my child’s teeth? What about using fluoride tablets?, What are cavities? Is my child at risk for cavities? How can I help stop cavities? Does diet affect my child’s teeth? Is thumb-sucking bad for my child? When should I start taking my child to the dentist
Caring for your child’s teeth: factsheet on diet, dental hygiene and going to the dentist

After every feeding, wipe your baby’s gums with a clean baby washcloth.
Always wipe your child’s gums or brush their teeth before putting them to bed.
When your baby starts to get teeth, brush them gently with a child size soft toothbrush and water.
When your child is 2, and can spit out the extra toothpaste, you can use a pea size amount of child toothpaste.
Take your child to the dentist around the first birthday.

Dental Care for Your Baby, from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD)
The Importance of Baby Teeth
Baby’s First Tooth—Tooth Eruption Patterns
A Parent’s Guide to Tooth Eruption
Teething Trouble
Teething: How to Help Your Child
How to Care for Your Baby’s Teeth
Keeping Your Child’s Teeth Healthy, including: When should I start caring for my child’s teeth? What kind of dentist should my child see? How can I prevent cavities? What should I do if my child has a problems?
Prevent Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Brush your young child’s teeth after breakfast and at night before bed.
Children are not able to do a good job until about age 8.
Once your child is able to brush well, make sure he/she brushes after breakfast and before going to bed.
Brush your child’s teeth in little circles on the gums and on the teeth.
Before age 2, use only water or baby toothpaste without fluoride.
After age 2, and when the child can spit out the extra toothpaste, use a pea size amount of children’s toothpaste with fluoride.
Use floss to clean between your child’s teeth.

Oral Hygiene for Children
Dental Health: Brushing and Flossing Your Childs Teeth
Discover How to Get Your Child to Brush
Poster—Brush Up on Healthy Teeth: Simple Steps for Kids’ Smiles, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- In Spanish: Poster—‘Refresque Sus Conocimientos sobre Dientes Sanos: Pasos Sencillos para Sonrisas Infantiles,’ de los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC)
Quiz for Parents on ‘Brush Up on Healthy Teeth: Simple Steps for Kids’ Smiles’ from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- In Spanish: Cuestionario para los parientes 1 y Cuestionario 2, de los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC)
Oral Care Calendar. Prepared by the American Dental Association (ADA)
My Brushing and Flossing Journal—general information, not child-specific
Brushing Tips—general information, not child-specific
Tooth brushing animation—general information, not child-specific
How to Brush—general information, not child-specific; from the ADA

Use dental floss to clean between your child’s teeth.
Begin flossing for them, when their teeth touch.
Flossers (see picture, from http://www.dentekoralcare.com/) are easy to use on young children.

How to Floss—general information, not child specific; prepared by the American Dental Association (ADA)
Flossing Tips—general information, not child specific

City water contains fluoride.
If you use well water, ask your dentist if your child needs to receive fluoride treatments.
Fluoride helps strengthen weak spots on your child’s teeth.
It is very important for your child to drink water with fluoride.
Starting at age 2, and when the child can spit out the extra toothpaste, you can use a pea size amount of fluoride toothpaste on your child’s toothbrush.
Your child can receive a fluoride treatment at the dental visit.

Knocked out baby tooth: Take your child to the dentist as soon as possible.
Permanent tooth knocked out: Go to the dentist immediately. If the child cooperates, rinse the tooth in cool water and place it back into the socket and hold it there with a clean wash cloth. If you cannot place the tooth back into the socket, it is best to keep the tooth moist in milk. Place it in a clean container of water if no milk is available.
Fractured or chipped tooth: Call the dentist immediately. Rinse the mouth with water and take the piece of broken tooth with you to the dentist.
Toothache: Call the dentist and see the dentist as soon as possible. Rinse the mouth with water. Apply a cool cloth. Do not use heat or aspirin on the sore area.