Working with our children to maintain proper dental hygiene habits is an important, healthy skill that they will carry with them throughout life. Accurate and effective dental hygiene ensures that our children look and feel their best and is imperative to preventing disease and illness. Here are 5 tips for keeping your child’s teeth in tiptop shape.

1. Take your child to the dentist regularly.  According to the NHS, children should visit the dentist at least once a year. However, based on their gums, teeth and mouth, the dentist may request more frequent visits.

2. Minimize the number of sugary and acidic foods and drinks your child consumes. An abundance of sugary foods and drinks can lead to cavities or dental caries and overloading on acidic foods and drinks is a known harbinger of dental erosion acid. Both ailments would require dental treatments to correct.

3.  Encourage your child to brush their teeth twice a day. Daily brushing removes particles of food and bacteria that can become lodged between the teeth and cause cavities. Brushing is a vital hygienic habit that helps to promote a healthy mouth and healthy teeth and gums. According to Bupa, it is important that children spit toothpaste out directly instead of rinsing it out with water. Rinsing toothpaste from the mouth hinders the effect of the fluoride found in toothpaste.

4.  Speak with your child’s dentist for advice about protective treatments. Some of the best methods for preventing tooth decay and loss in your child’s teeth are preventative and protective treatments, such as fluoride treatments or fissure sealants.

5.  Help your child implement a flossing routine. Brushing alone can’t remove all of the plaque and food that can be trapped between and on the surface of teeth. Bacteria also often hides just below the gum line of the teeth, a space that is particularly hard to reach with a toothbrush. Flossing ensures that each area of the mouth is cleaned and free of food particles and plaque, preventing cavities and tooth decay.