Oral hygiene for children
Looking after oral hygiene from the earliest age is key to your child’s health and proper development. Daily oral care depends on your child’s age.
Before the first tooth appears (up to about 6 months)
Caring for your child’s mouth should start in the first months of life. This not only keeps the mouth clean, but also gets your baby used to having this area looked after.
What should you do? Every evening, before putting your baby to bed, clean the inside of the mouth and the gums. You can use special baby-friendly accessories for this, such as silicone finger brushes that you slip onto your index finger.
Why is it important? Regularly cleaning your baby’s mouth keeps it clean, which is very important for healthy teeth and gums. Introducing this routine early also helps your child get used to it and makes caring for teeth and gums easier later on.
After the first tooth appears (6 months – 2 years)
For cleaning your child’s teeth at this age, we recommend a soft toothbrush with a small head, smoothly rounded bristles and a handle that is comfortable for the parent. This kind of toothbrush is best for a baby’s delicate mouth. Remember to clean the tooth surfaces thoroughly, removing any food debris and gently massaging the gums.
Up to the age of 3, use a toothpaste containing 1000 ppm fluoride in a very small amount. Fluoride strengthens the structure of the enamel. It helps prevent tooth decay by slowing enamel demineralisation, affecting bacterial metabolism and supporting remineralisation, which makes teeth more resistant to decay.
Choose a toothpaste with a mild taste so that your child accepts it easily. Remember that up to the age of 3, any excess toothpaste should be wiped off the teeth with damp gauze.
Remember to brush in the morning and in the evening. If your child is breastfed or formula-fed, also brush their teeth after night feeds, but use a fluoride-free toothpaste, for example one with xylitol.
Oral care for preschoolers (3 – 6 years)
For your preschooler’s basic oral hygiene, you can use a toothbrush (manual, electric or sonic) and toothpaste. A manual toothbrush should have a small head and soft, rounded bristles.
Use a toothpaste containing 1000 ppm fluoride. Apply a pea-sized amount. Teach your child to spit out the toothpaste rather than swallow it. Swallowing larger amounts of fluoride toothpaste can cause white spots on the teeth.
Until the age of 7–8, you should brush your child’s teeth yourself, while teaching them to do it on their own.
Brush your child’s teeth in the morning and in the evening. You can also use a water flosser and floss. A water flosser cleans between the teeth and massages the gums with a pressurised stream of water. Floss is great for cleaning the spaces between teeth. Some flosses also contain ingredients that protect against decay (fluoride) or fight bacteria (chlorhexidine).
An easy brushing technique is the Fones method (circular movements). Place the bristles at a right angle to the long axis of the teeth, then make circular movements to clean the cheek and lip surfaces of the teeth. Clean the chewing surfaces with horizontal scrubbing movements.
Another method is the roll technique. Use it once the first permanent molar has come through. Point the bristles towards the gums at a 45° angle to the tooth surface and make rolling, sweeping movements from the gum towards the chewing surface. Clean the chewing surfaces with scrubbing movements.
Brushing teeth for school-age children (7 – 14 years)
Children of this age should already be able to look after their own oral hygiene. They can use manual, electric or sonic toothbrushes. It is important that the toothpaste contains 1500 ppm fluoride and that they apply 1–2 cm of it to the brush.
Your child should brush at least twice a day – in the morning and in the evening.
At this age you can also add mouthwashes. Fluoride mouthwashes help strengthen tooth enamel. Remember, though, to use fluoride mouthwash at a different time than brushing with fluoride toothpaste, so your child does not exceed the recommended amount of fluoride. Mouthwashes with chlorhexidine are used as a treatment and should be recommended by a dentist for specific problems.
