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Practice logo: a smiling tooth inside a rounded squareKids Smile

For parents

Dental care for children: what counts at home

Two appointments a year add up to roughly an hour. The other 8,759 hours are what decide the outcome. That is not bad news — it just means the important part happens at home.

A family of four brushing their teeth together in the bathroom

By age

  • From the first tooth

    Start before it gets complicated

    Brush twice a day. At this stage regularity matters more than thoroughness — the routine should feel normal before your child is old enough to object.

  • 2–5 years

    They try, you follow up

    Let your child brush first, then brush again systematically yourself. Standing behind them with their head supported gives you the best view.

  • 6–9 years

    Watch the new molars

    The first permanent molars sit lower than their neighbours and get skipped again and again. Brush those teeth deliberately, holding the brush across them.

  • 10+ years

    Add the spaces between

    As teeth sit closer together, the brush alone no longer reaches. What to use between them depends on how the teeth are positioned.

Technique in three sentences

Systematic rather than random: always the same order, so no surface gets forgotten.

Outer surfaces, inner surfaces, chewing surfaces — each one deliberately. Small jiggling movements rather than broad scrubbing.

Two minutes is a reasonable target, but completeness beats the stopwatch.

Diet: what actually matters

For teeth, what counts most is how often sugar enters the mouth — not the total amount over the day.

  • Sweet things straight after a meal rather than spread through the afternoon.
  • Water or unsweetened tea between meals instead of diluted juice.
  • No bottle or sippy cup with sweetened contents for constant sipping.
  • Nothing but water after brushing in the evening.

What is recommended at each age is covered in detail in brushing a baby's teeth and choosing toothpaste for children.

Related guides

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    Brushing a baby's teeth

    The short answer: with the first tooth. The longer answer is about amount, technique and handling resistance.

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    Toothpaste for children

    What matters in children's toothpaste: fluoride content, amount, and why sources should not be stacked.

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  • A sleeping baby with a pacifier on a white knitted blanket

    Dummies & thumb sucking

    Why duration matters more than the dummy itself — and what makes stopping easier.

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Brushing not working?

Bring it up at the appointment. A small change often helps more than more discipline.

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