Teaching your child good oral hygiene techniques is an investment in his health that will bring him benefits throughout his life. It is important to set a good example. Thus, by caring for your own teeth, your child receives the message that oral health is important. Everything that makes dental hygiene fun, such as brushing your teeth together with your children or allowing them to choose their own toothbrushes, encourages effective and stable oral hygiene over time.

To help your children protect their teeth and gums and reduce the risk of developing caries, teach them to follow these simple steps:

• Brush teeth at least two times a day, ensuring that bacterial plaque (the sticky film that forms on teeth and is the cause of caries) is completely removed.
• Choose a balanced diet, avoiding the consumption of starches and sugars. When you eat these foods, try to do it at meal times and not in between meals. The additional saliva produced during a meal helps to rinse out the food from the mouth.
• Bring your children to the dentist for routine check-ups.

There are various mobile applications that show kids how to care for dental health in a fun way. We encourage you to discover them!

It is important to supervise your children while they brush their teeth until they master these simple steps:

• Use a small amount of toothpaste (the size of a pea) with the proper amount of fluoride. Make sure that your children do not swallow the toothpaste.
• With a soft-bristled toothbrush, brush the inside surface of each tooth first, where plaque accumulates the most. Angle the toothbrush bristles towards the gums and brush gently from the gums towards the tooth.
• Brush the outside surface of all the teeth with circular movements.
• Brush the chewing surface of each tooth by holding the brush perpendicular to it, and making backward-forward and forward-backward movements.
• It is always necessary to brush the tongue and the inside of the cheeks.

Given that dental floss removes food remains and the plaque that accumulates between the teeth, which is beyond the reach of a toothbrush, it is recommended for children to begin using dental floss from four years old onwards. The majority of children are able to begin using dental floss by themselves by eight years old.

Fissure sealants are highly effective barriers against caries, as they are thin layers of plastic applied to the chewing surface of teeth, where most caries develop. The application of a sealant is painless and it can be done with a single visit to the dentist. He will tell you whether a sealant is necessary for your children.

Fluoride is one of the ways to help prevent the deterioration of teeth. It is an element that strengthens tooth enamel. Ask your dentist which toothpaste to use to get the right amount of fluoride. For children under 6 years old, it is advisable to use a toothpaste with 500 parts per million fluoride.

A balanced diet is essential for your children to develop strong and caries-resistant teeth. Aside from the whole range of vitamins and minerals, a child’s diet should include a lot of calcium and phosphorus, and the adequate levels of fluoride.
Frequent snacks between meals is your children’s teeth’s worst enemy. The sugars and starches found in many foods such as cookies, sweets, dried nuts, soft drinks, crackers, and potato chips combine with plaque on teeth to create acids. These acids attack tooth enamel and may lead to caries.
Each “bacterial plaque attack” may last up to 20 minutes after eating. Even a small mouthful may lead to plaque creating acids. This is why it is better to avoid snacking between meals.

Consult the dentist immediately after an injury to your child’s mouth. He will examine the affected area and determine the most appropriate treatment.
If your child experiences pain due to a broken or chipped tooth, visit the dentist immediately. If you wish, he may prescribe a pain reliever until the dental appointment. If possible, keep the part of the tooth that broke off and take it to the dentist.
If he accidentally loses a tooth, take him to the dentist as soon as possible. Avoid touching the tooth and do not clean it. Keep it in water or milk until reaching the dental clinic. It is possible for the tooth to be placed back in the child’s mouth by means of a procedure called reimplantation.

Instilling good oral hygiene habits is one of the most important health lessons that you can teach him. This means helping him brush his teeth at least twice a day, showing him the right way to use dental floss, avoiding snacking between meals, and taking him to see the dentist regularly.
The majority of dentists recommend that children should start seeing a dentist by the age of two. This offers the opportunity to monitor the child’s tooth growth and development, and it will give you the opportunity to learn about the development of the teeth, the need to use fluoride, how to help your child maintain proper oral hygiene, how to resolve your child’s oral habits (such as using a pacifier), key aspects on diet and nutrition, and how to prevent oral lesions.
Always tell your child that visiting the dentist is a positive experience. Explain to him that this will help him maintain good oral health. By encouraging a positive attitude, you will increase the chances of your child visiting the dentist regularly throughout his life.

The primary (baby) teeth begin to erupt around six months of age and continue doing so until approximately two years of age (although this can vary from one child to another). This leads to discomfort in the gums of many children, which frequently irritates them. You can reduce discomfort by rubbing his gums with a finger, a cold spoon or a chilled teething ring. There are also analgesic gels or products that may be used when pain is most acute. Consult the dentist or the pediatrician regarding these products. If your child runs a fever while teething, the best thing to do is to see the doctor to rule out the possibility of any other type of disorder.