The best way to protect your child’s teeth is to make sure they are well looked after at home. Make brushing a fun and enjoyable activity and set an example for your child.
You should start brushing your child’s teeth as soon as their first tooth appears. Brush the teeth every morning and evening.
When brushing your baby's teeth, make sure that all surfaces of the teeth are cleaned. Even if an individual tooth has not yet completely erupted, it must be carefully brushed.
Avoid offering unnecessary snacks and juice when your child starts to explore solid foods.
Children get their first teeth at the age of 6 to 8 months. However, please note that teeth erupt at an individual rate that is beyond your or your child's control.
There are 20 milk teeth in total, and they usually erupt during the first three years of life.
When teeth erupt, your child may produce a lot of saliva, and their gums may swell. Babies in particular may cry, and their temperature may rise.
You can ease your baby's symptoms
- with cooling chew toys
- by gently rubbing the gums with a brush
- by gently rubbing the gums with your own finger
- by giving an appropriate dose of painkiller, if necessary.
Brush your baby's teeth every morning and evening. In the evening, brush the baby’s teeth only after eating and before going to bed, as it's important for oral health to sleep with a clean mouth at night.
- You should start brushing your child’s teeth as soon as their first tooth appears.
- You should also start using toothpaste as soon as the first tooth erupts.
- Put a very small amount of toothpaste on the brush.
- Brush your baby's teeth gently.
- Clean the outer and inner surfaces of the upper and lower teeth, chewing surfaces and gum lines.
- The erupting teeth are not yet fully formed and therefore need special care.
- There is no need to rinse the child’s mouth after brushing.
- A small child will not yet be able to spit out the toothpaste. There is no harm in this, but it makes it important to follow the guidelines on the amount of toothpaste to use.
Look after your mouth and teeth together as a family. Most adults have a high level of caries-causing bacteria, mutans streptococci, in their mouths, which can also be passed on to children.
Bacterial plaque is removed by brushing the teeth twice a day.
The bacterial coating on the tooth surfaces causes decay. The bacteria turn sugars into acid, which causes acid erosion. The acid dissolves the tooth enamel, gradually creating decay.
The bacterium that causes cavities is transmitted through saliva. This is why you should avoid unnecessary saliva contact with the child.
By using full-xylitol products regularly in the family, you can reduce the transmission of caries and promote your child's oral health.
Breastfeeding is good for the healthy development of your baby's mouth and teeth.
Breastfeeding stimulates jaw growth and the ideal development of the masticatory muscles. Even prolonged breastfeeding has not been shown to be detrimental to the baby's bite.
Bacteria that cause cavities cannot use the lactose in breast milk as quickly as they can use regular sugar, because the antibacterial substances in breast milk prevent the lactose from breaking down in the mouth.
Factors that can increase the risk of decay in milk teeth include
- prolonged and frequent breastfeeding, especially at night
- sugary products in your child's diet
- poor dental hygiene and inadequate use of fluoride.
Healthy dietary habits together with careful daily dental hygiene are also beneficial for the oral health of a child who nurses for a long time.
A child has an innate need to suckle, but not all children need a dummy.
We recommend timing dummy removal at around 6–8 months of age, when your baby's need to suckle usually decreases. However, as the need to suckle is very individual, giving up the dummy can be difficult. Babies should stop using dummies by the age of two at the latest, as this would be advisable for the development of the teeth.
Long-term use of dummies or thumb sucking almost always leads to an anterior open bite. If the baby gets rid of the dummy early, the open bite will correct itself. Using a dummy for a long time can also cause a crossbite at the sides, and this can rarely be fixed without orthodontic treatment.
10 tips for getting rid of dummies
- Agree on situations in which the dummy can be used. For example, aim to use a dummy only when the baby is falling asleep and gradually phase it out altogether.
- No dummy when talking! Tell the child that you cannot understand what they are saying when they have the dummy in their mouth.
- Keep their mouth busy: talk, ask questions, let your child drink water with a straw, teach them to blow soap bubbles.
- Offer to replace the dummy with a privilege, such as a big child’s bed, chair, cutlery etc.
- Give the dummy away. Package it up and ‘gift’ it to a baby squirrel, bunny or chick, for example. At Christmas, the dummy could even be given to Santa to give to one of the baby elves.
- Let the child swap the dummy for a fun toy. You can also agree with the salesperson that the toy the child has chosen can be ‘paid for’ with the dummy.
- ‘Lose’ the dummy. If the child is missing it, divert their attention to something else.
- The dummy fairy, a relative of the tooth fairy, can swap dummies for fun toys.
- Cut off the top of the teat. When the child complains about it, tell them that the dummy is broken and suggest throwing it away.
- Have a big kid party and crown the party with a ceremony to give up the dummy.
