Top tips for tiny mouths

Here are our top tips for setting healthy habits when it comes to their dental care:


1. Use a toothbrush recommended by your dental team and get your child to choose their favourite colours or characters

2. Always supervise and assist children in toothbrushing until they are old enough to do it properly and independently 

3. Use a small torch to check all areas of children’s mouths and encourage them to do this using a mirror

4. Use a fluoride toothpaste and make sure that the fluoride content is suitable for their age group:

• Under three years old – 1000ppm (parts per million)
• Over three years old – 1000-1500ppm

5. Find a toothpaste that they like the flavour of – there is a wide range on the market

6. Children easily swallow toothpaste so it’s best to use a smear of toothpaste for babies and children up to three years of age, and a pea-size amount for children aged three to six

7. Brush for two minutes, twice a day. This should be last thing at night and on one other occasion during the day – usually in the morning

8. Divide brushing into four sections in the mouth and brush each quadrant for 30 seconds – upper left, upper right, lower right, lower left. Brush each surface of every tooth – outside, top, and inside

9. Spit the toothpaste out after brushing but don’t rinse. Rinsing may wash away the protective fluoride