The definitive guide to protecting children's teeth.... what are your best teeth-saving tips?

[carriemumsnet]

We're wanting to put together a definitive guide to how to care for your child's teeth. We think there's a lot of advice on nutrition and gen health, but - and maybe it's just us - somehow the health professionals assume we know about teeth and quite a lot of us don't.

We're looking for a mixture of how to get a reluctant toddler to clean their teeth, best toothbrushes etc plus general facts and info that may or may not be widely known. For example it took me watching my 5 year old ds having all his milk teeth filled (and several taken out) to learn that:

You should give all sweet things in one go - better (for your teeth - not necessarily your waistline) eat six mars bars in one sitting and then nothing all week, than have a bit every few hours/ every day.

You should have sweet snacks with meals, not in between.

That raisins and dried fruit are the work of the devil - worse than sweets? Likewise fruit juice though I think a straw makes it better than a sippy cup?

That giving a baby/toddler a bottle of milk to fall asleep with causes decay.

That if you have to give sweet stuff between meals, you should give the child cheese, an apple or water afterwards to try and neutralise the sugar.

(So apples are OK, apple juice not OK)

Perhaps that's all obvious/ well known, but we don;t think it is to everyone and it's certainly not made clear by all HV's/ docs - and by the time you get to see a dentist it's often too late.

So please post your tips and your facts/info here and if we have any Mumsnetter dentists who'd like to give our guide the once over once we've compiled it, we'd be delighted to hear from you.

Thanks in advance

edit - ds3 is better at brushing than his brothers...

1. pick your parents wisely, a lot of how resistant you are to decay is down to your genes. Some people are just more prone to having problems with gums/tartar/decay than others.
2. If you have not picked your parents well, use a flouride toothpaste and SPIT DON'T RINSE. That leaves some of the toothpaste around the teeth to do its work, especially useful overnight or after sweet stuff. Don't swallow flouride toothpaste, too much fluoride is not good, although I think it is mostly that they are discoloured - sometimes grey and not just white patches.
3. Best toothbrush I've found is one that has an elephant head shape covering the brush part, clips on and off, keeping the brush clean - no nasty bugs settling on it which will then just go straight in the mouth. Not that it is any more fun than any other toothbrush but it keeps cleaner.
4. All the other stuff about not just drip feeding sugar and sticky sweet things all day long is also key. The less time that sugar is in contact with the teeth the better.

I think different people's teeth have different tolerance levels. Some are stronger than others. My ds, 6, has strong, healthy teeth that have been through regular amounts of pure juice, sweetened soya milk and a healthy measure of sweets over his life so far! BUT his brother, 3, has been through something very similar and only a few weeks ago I realised his 4 front milk teeth are rotting at the top . I feel guilt, guilt and more guilt . I think coz the other ds teeth are fine I didn't keep a close enough eye on little one's!! Oh dear, oh dear! LET THIS BE A WARNING !! Hence my theory of different tolerance levels etc, etc.Have severely reduced and watered all drinks down and encouraged more water consumption since! Hope this can help everyone and stop the rot!!

crisps are, apparently, dreadful for causing cavaties. Also, when kids able to brush teeth unaided, invest in one of those sonic toothbrushes - all the family can use it and, cos it's on a timer, it makes sure the kids actually clean teeth for correct time. Most importantly, it's the don for actually cleaning teeth really well.

eat cheese after fruit or fruit juice or fruit shoots lol to neutralise acid

dont brush teeth after fruit fruit juice or fruit shoots as this makes the acid effect worse

avoid abs

It is better that you brush your childs teeth than the child it self. Spend 5 minutes brushing really well and then rinse. Use the correct aged tooth-brush and tooth paste. Brush 2-3 times a day and try to avoid sweets and choclate. (choclate contains caffein). I give my ds ice lollys that i make with juise and he really likes them you can put fresh pices of fruit in to.Lots of yogurt and semi fat milk is good. And start brushing from the time the first tooth comes out. Hope it helps..

Be VERY careful when agreeing to antibiotics for your 6month - 18 month child. This is when the adult teeth are forming inside your precious' head, just behind the milk teeth that will be appearing - and many antibiotics, even those routinely prescribed for babies/toddlers, can be harmful at this stage and attack the developing enamel. Fast forward 6-7 years, and you may notice a mottling of the first adult teeth that come through, and particularly in the 6yr molars at the back. This means the enamel is compromised/non-existant, and within the space of six months of the teeth appearing, they are totally decayed. This happened to my 7-year-old who had to have two enormous fillings. This from a family that is stringent about teeth-cleaning and draconian about sugar consumption! He will likely need root canal treatment within the next two years. These teeth cannot be replaced. The condition was only in his first two lower front adult teeth that came through, at the same time as the two molars - all the other adult teeth, including the other two molars, are absolutely fine, as these appeared some months later, indicating that they were developing at a different time. When he was a year old, he had three courses of antibiotics very close together - our advice is that it was these three doses that coincided with these particular teeth forming, and the damage was done. Completely unseen. It's scary. Just be sure, if you're being offered antibiotics at such an early age, that it is ABSOLUTELY essential. Ear infections, throat infections, even tonsillitis are generally not fatal - you can keep your baby comfortable and fevers down by being extra vigilant if they're ill. Just be careful with antibiotic use.

Agree with the water thing. My dd only drinks milk and water (her choice) and has by far the best teeth of my three children.

I work for a dentist..we recommend toothpaste with more than 1000ppm of fluoride from birth!

well, obviously not BIRTH but when they get their first teeth

didn't know that about antibiotics. Wish they would tell you this kind of stuff at the time they prescribe it. Dd had antibiotics so often because she had almost non-stop scarlet fever and ear infections. I never heard a thing about it causing damage to teeth.

My dm was told that my sister's MS may have been caused by the amount of antibiotics she was given as a small dc. We don't know for sure though

I live in Rome and our doctor was pleased that my almost 3 yr old twins drink water only and always after meals...occasional drinks of milk...no juice at all. Didn't know sultanas were bad. Thanks! My two love kinder eggs and small amounts of gelato..I give them water afterwards. They brsh teeth at the table after dinner...then I help with back teeth and any visible food. They see me do mine mornings too, but I just haven't managed the 2nd brushing in the mornings yet. We use winnie pooh tooth brushes and paste...maybe adult toothpaste is better? Confuse about floride...in Itay there is mixed feedback about it too! hmm

From the time I was about 4, my mother taught me that, if I couldn't brush my teeth after a meal, I should "sloosh" water (I use warm - too chicken for cold!) around my mouth and between my teeth and then spit it out. It removes excess food debris from your teeth so that it's not sat there for long periods. I still do this now and am convinced that it has helped me maintain good teeth; I'll certainly be teaching my daughter to do the same once she is old enough.

Nothing to do with the tipic but I do like your name TRQ - has it anything to do with 'lord' ridley?

My kids are now 26, 23, 19 & 15 and have no fillings - I am v proud of this because I neglected my teeth badly, and was determined that they shouldn't suffer what I have. (Actually DC4 does have a couple of small molar fillings but only because he has imperfect enamel)

The fluoride thing is tricky; my older 2 actually took daily tablets for several years (no idea now what dose was in them) because there is no fluoride in our water at all, and their teeth are the best and whitest of all 4, so I wouldn't be too panicky about overdosing with fluoride.

I was incredibly strict about sweets and pop, never gave raisins, and diluted fruit squash at least 10-1.

Also I always brushed their teeth for them - all of them - until they were very very old; I don't remember what age but probably 14 (no I'm joking! But def 10 or 11). All their toothbrushes always had a small soft head. And they had strict 6-monthly checkups from a v early age (we have fab dentists)

apples don't neutralise sugars .. apples raise sugars .. lump of cheese after apple or other fruit neutralises the sugars .. water doesn't

don't teach them to rinse after brushing.. teach them to spit

dont' brush teeth within half hour of eating

get dentist to seal baby teeth

If raisins are the devil's food as far as teth are concerned, then malt loaf is also pretty bad too I guess?

I think standing in the bathroom whilst they are cleaning is --pretty- boring but necessary as they get more independent but also more likley to not brush properly.

When DS1 was about 6 we let him use a 'disclosing' tablet to show how much plaque was left after he'd brushed! He was fascinated, and his brushing has been much better ever since...

never give them fizzy drinks

according to my dentist thats the one thing that destroys teeth more than anything

mine have had sweets but very very few fizzy drinks and all have perfectly strong teeth (they are all over the place but very healthy)

I was told that my ds had a pronounced gag reflex. Dentist advised me to brush with his head on my lap (him kneeling with his back to me or on the bed). This works really well, I can get right to the teeth right at the back.

Macleans Big Teeth 1000ppm fluoride

Sorry, getting mixed up ... I meant Macleans Little Teeth...there are three of them
Milk Teeth 500ppm, Little Teeth 1000ppm and Big Teeth (don't know, never used it.

Don't let them play the game in the playground where they wrap each other up with a rope, then pull it - so wrapped child (with arms pinned to sides) crashes to playground so smashing both permanent front teeth

I love the dental hygienist who showed DD the horror pictures of teeth after braces removed when brace wearer has been drinking fizz and not cleaning. 3 years later she still only drinks water (whilst friends are getting drunk)