25 Mar 20

Caring for your baby or young child’s teeth can’t start soon enough - even before the teeth actually come through. Good habits, started young, should last a lifetime.

Figures from Public Health England show, though, that children’s dental health is often poor, with almost a quarter of five-year-olds suffering tooth decay. Children even as young as three have been shown to have visible decay, and tragically tooth extractions are the most common cause of hospital admissions in their early years.

And yet tooth decay is largely preventable. In order to give your child’s teeth the best protection, here’s Bino’s Guide to children's dental care.

  • Before the first teeth appear, wipe your baby’s gums with an infant gum massager or clean damp gauze
     
  • As soon as the first teeth start to appear, begin getting them used to toothbrushing. Make it fun so that they enjoy the routine and get used to it each day
     
  • Show them a good example – let them see you brushing your teeth regularly
     
  • Ideally encourage them to brush twice a day, in the morning and before bedtime
     
  • Put a small smear of BioMinTM F for Kids* onto a soft toothbrush designed for children
     
  • Brush with small circular movements, working methodically around the mouth
     
  • As well as the teeth, brush onto the gums
     
  • Teach them to spit out without rinsing, so that the toothpaste stays on the teeth and continues to protect them
     
  • Continue to supervise their toothbrushing until they are at least seven
     
  • As your child gets older an electric toothbrush can be helpful and can help them do a better cleaning job
     
  • Take your child along to the dentist as young as you can, so they can learn that it does not have to be a scary place. They can start having checkups as soon as your practice recommends it. Most dental surgeries have a range of activities to engage children, especially during events like Smile Month, as well as resources and information to support parents and help make dental visits fun**
     
  • Sugary food in the diet, as well as sweets and fizzy drinks, can cause decay and dental erosion. Try and keep sugary food and drinks just to mealtimes, and offer healthy snacks like cheese, vegetables and fruit. Some foods are more sugary than you might expect, like smoothies and dried fruit, so keep those to a minimum. Water and milk are the best drinks to offer children
     
  • You can download and print a range of "colouring with Bino" sheets for your children to enjoy at home.
*New BioMin F for Kids has been shown to offer outstanding protection to children’s teeth. Based on the same innovative technology as original BioMin F, BioMin F for Kids releases a controlled and continuous supply of fluoride, calcium and phosphate to form a protective barrier on the teeth, strengthening tooth enamel and remineralising initial surface damage.
**Bino is a fun dinosaur character developed for BioMin F for Kids, to capture their imaginations and encourage toothbrushing.