Parenting Club

9 - 18 Months: Toothcare

When will he cut his first tooth? Which toothpaste is best for tots? Should I take my toddler to the dentist? We answer all your toothcare questions

What to expect when
Dental hygiene
Reluctant brushers
Visiting the dentist
Cutting decay

What to expect when

Babies are occasionally born with teeth already showing, but they will usually cut their first one at around the age of six months.

Some children may be early teethers, while others will remain gummy until the age of one or more. But whenever it pokes through, the first tooth tends to appear in the middle of the lower jaw.

The full set of 20 milk teeth will probably be in place by the time your child is around two and a half years old.

Permanent teeth start to appear around the age of six, with front teeth the first to come through. Molars will appear behind the primary teeth rather than replacing them.

Dental hygiene

It is never too early to start a good dental hygiene routine, so begin brushing twice a day as soon as your baby’s first tiny teeth become visible.

Apply a minute smear of toothpaste to a small-headed brush with soft nylon bristles for babies, increasing this to a pea-sized amount for children aged five and over.

Use your finger to apply the toothpaste if you are nervous about using a brush. It is important, however, to accustom your child to the feel of a toothbrush, so switch to a brush as soon as possible.

Make sure your toothpaste is specially designed for children, containing a reduced level of fluoride, and encourage your child to spit after brushing.

Dentists recommend not rinsing after toothpaste has been applied, as doing so would reduce the benefits of fluoride.

Children should be starting to brush their own teeth at the age of four – but continue to supervise until you are sure they can do it thoroughly. This will normally be around the age of seven or eight.

Reluctant brushers

Some toddlers love to clean their own teeth, but for others it will become a battle. Stick to your guns – toothcare is not negotiable. It has to be done, whether your child likes it or not.

Hopefully the days of having to pin your child down while you scrub their teeth will quickly pass, once he realises this is one chore that is not going to go away.

It might be worth trying a novelty toothbrush – some play tunes or feature favourite characters. Others come with a built-in timer that beeps once you have brushed for the requisite two minutes.

Some parents report success after making up a story about a little mouse or other creature that lives inside your child’s mouth and wants to have his cave cleaned out.

Whatever you resort to, remember, it has got to be better than dragging a child to the dentist for a mouthful of fillings.

Visiting the dentist

Find yourself a child-friendly dentist and start making regular visits as early as possible. If you are a nervous patient yourself, try not to let it show.

Initially, your child may just enjoy a ride in the chair, but encourage frequent check-ups as soon as all your child’s milk teeth are through. This will get them used to the equipment, smells and feeling of being in the surgery and hopefully make them think that a trip to the dentist’s is really no big deal.

Cutting decay

You can drastically reduce the risk of tooth decay by limiting your child’s intake of sweets, sugary food and drinks.

Even fruit juice and supposedly healthy snacks such as dried fruit will attack your child’s teeth. It’s frequency rather than quantity that is the most damaging – if you give sweets as treats, make sure they are all eaten in one go rather than over a number of hours, and try to limit sugary juices and food to mealtimes rather than serving them as snacks.

Eating habits can be set very early in life, so from the first stages of weaning, try to favour savoury flavours over sweet. Use goodies like stickers, hairslides, books or small toys as treats rather than sweets and chocolate.