While I was at the Dentist last week with the kids, I took the opportunity to pick his brains and get his best tips for cleaning kids teeth.
This is not an exhaustive list but his tips serve as a good reminder for us all. Lets face it the dentist is not a favourite place for many people haha
Here are his 8 tips:
- Brush teeth morning and night. Brushing before bedtime is especially important.
- Once you have brushed your teeth at night, only drink water
– even a drink of milk contains sugar, so this is a no no. 
Brush teeth for at least 2 minutes. It is a good idea to actually set a timer for this as 2 minutes feels like a very long time when you’re cleaning your teeth – trust me!- Children do not have the coordination necessary to brush their teeth thoroughly until about 10 years old. So encourage your kids to brush their teeth but then still have an adult finish off at the end.
- Electric toothbrushes are preferable and the rechargeable ones at that. (Battery operated ones tend to lose their cleaning power as the battery runs down).
- Limit snacks throughout the day – especially sugary ones that are going to sit on the teeth all day. As a general rule of thumb, eat 3 meals and 2 snacks each day.
- Cleaning teeth is another monkey see, monkey do activity. If your kids see you brushing your teeth and keeping good oral hygiene they will mimic you.
- Find a great Dentist and have a check up every 6 months. (I am really trying not to portray my fear of going to the Dentist on my kids. We have found a good one, who is excellent with the kids and it makes all the difference).
We only get 2 sets of teeth in our lifetime and the adult ones need to last around around 70-80 years! With these tips you can set your child up to have healthy teeth for their lifetime.
SMILE!
