Oral Hygiene & Cleaning

Brushing 

Easily the best thing you can do for your children's oral health is to get them into a regular brushing (and flossing) routine.

As soon as your child's teeth start emerging, you can start cleaning them gently with a soft cloth and a bit of water. As your child gets older (3+), you can introduce a toothbrush and a small dab of tooth paste.

Around the age of 7, you can begin teaching your children to brush their own teeth, with careful supervision at first to make sure they're being thorough and cleaning each tooth, and to make sure they don't swallow the toothpaste.

Brushing Technique

Good brushing technique is fundamental to good oral health.

When teaching children to brush, make sure that they:

• Brush in small circles, right up to the gum line
• Hold the tooth brush at an angle against the teeth
• Brush slowly and carefully, making sure to clean each tooth
• Brush every surface of each tooth
• Brush the tongue and the roof of the mouth
• Brush for a minimum for 2 minutes
• Rinse all the toothpaste out with water at the end

Brushing Frequency

Just like adults, children should brush 2 - 3 times a day.

Good times to brush include:

• first thing in the morning
• right before bed
• after meals
• right when they get home from school

Flossing

Along with brushing, flossing is the best way to ensure that your child maintains good oral health. You can begin flossing your child's teeth as soon as two baby teeth have erupted next to each other. There may be a little bleeding at first, as your child adjusts; don't worry about this. Just be as gentle as possible, and use a soft, flexible floss.

Flossing Technique 

Flossing isn't as simple as running floss between two teeth. When teaching children to floss, make sure that they

• Wrap the ends of the floss around their index fingers, leaving about and inch of floss in between.
• Hold the floss taut, and run it up and down the sides of each tooth at the gum line (some teeth require more than one try if they're very close together).
• Move along the length of the floss so that a fresh section is used between each pair of teeth.
• Don't forget to floss behind the very back teeth, too!

Flossing Frequency

Flossing should take place at least one time each day, but additional flossing should be done if a piece of food is noticeably lodged between the teeth, or if your child has eaten something sugary.