Oral Hygiene & Cleaning

Brushing 

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

You can start cleaning your child's teeth as soon as they start to emerge, with a damp, soft cloth. As your child gets older (3+), you can start usinh a toothbrush and a small dab of tooth paste.

At about the age of 7, your child can begin learning to brush his or her own teeth. With careful supervision at first, allow your child to practice brushing. Make sure he or she is being thorough, cleaning each tooth, and not swallowing the toothpaste.

Brushing Technique

Good brushing technique is fundamental to good oral health.

When teaching children to brush, make sure that they:

• Brush in little circles, right up to the gum line
• Hold the tooth brush at an angle (not flat) against the teeth
• Brush thoroughly and carefully, making sure to clean each and every tooth
• Brush every surface of each tooth
• Brush the tongue and the roof of the mouth
• Brush for no less than 2 minutes
• Rinse out all the toothpaste out with water when done

Brushing Frequency

Children should brush 2 - 3 times a day, just like adults should.

The best times to brush include:

• first thing in the morning
• just before bed
• after each meal
• when they  arrive home from school

Flossing

In conjunction with brushing, flossing is an extremely important factor in maintaining good oral health. Flossing your child's teeth can begin as soon as two baby teeth have erupted beside each other. The gums may bleed a bit at first, as your child adjusts, but don't worry about this. Just be as gentle, and use a soft, flexible floss.

Flossing Technique 

Flossing isn't just a matter of running some floss between two teeth. When you teach your children to floss, make sure that they

• Wrap the ends of the floss around their 2 index fingers, leaving about and inch of floss between them.
• Hold the floss taut, and run it up and down the sides of each tooth, along the gum line (this may require a few tires, if the two teeth are 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

Make sure your children floss once day at the very least. Additional flossing may be necessary if your child has eaten something sugary, or if a piece of food is noticeably stuck between the teeth.