The WDA offers the following facts and guidelines to educate new and seasoned parents and caregivers about dental care for children. The U.S. Surgeon General emphasizes the link between oral health and overall health. Parents and caregivers play an important role in guiding kids’ good oral hygiene habits that help keep the rest of their body healthy, too. Follow these simple guidelines: 

• Get in the routine of cleaning your child's teeth twice a day - once after breakfast and again before bedtime. For children who don't have teeth yet, wrap a wet washcloth around your finger and gently wipe the gums. This removes plaque and helps the child get used to having something inside his or her mouth. 

• Start brushing an infant’s teeth when the first tooth emerges using an infant toothbrush. Brush a child's teeth twice a day with a fluoridated toothpaste - a pea-sized amount for children 2 to 5-years-old and a smear of toothpaste for children younger than 2. Fluoride is important for healthy teeth and gums. If your local drinking water isn't fluoridated, ask your dentist whether your child needs to take a supplement.

• If your child uses a pacifier, your dentist will probably encourage you to wean the child by age 2 to prevent potential bite problems.

• The American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommend that children be examined by a dentist within six months of the eruption of their first tooth and no later than age 1. This is because early examination and identification of high-risk children by a dentist followed by appropriate intervention (e.g., fluoride varnish, treatment of small cavities, referral) combined with education of parents and caregivers can prevent dental disease and significantly reduce the long-term costs and pain associated with undiagnosed decay.
  
  The 1-year-old exam is a relatively inexpensive procedure. This cost-effective examination and intervention by a dentist can provide long-term savings by facilitating early detection of cavities risk and decay and averting serious consequences (e.g., lack of physical development, decreased ability to learn, frequent emergency room visits and hospitalization, overall diminished oral health and related quality of life or even death).

• Start flossing your child's teeth as soon as two teeth start to touch each other. Back molars are hardest to reach and are at the greatest risk of decay. Kids don't have the dexterity to floss well until about age 12, but you can still help them floss their teeth. A simple helpful position is for the parent to sit on the sofa with the child resting his or her head in the parent's lap. To observe how the parent flosses, the child can hold a hand-held mirror. Flossing should become a daily routine, with the child performing the task alone once the flossing technique has been mastered.

• Usually at age 3, children have the manual dexterity to brush their own teeth, but a parent should always brush after the child to get any areas missed. The WDA recommends using only a pea-size amount of any fluoridated toothpaste and supervising the child to make sure the child spits the toothpaste out rather than swallows it. Also, help your child get into the habit of brushing after meals. 

• Fluoride treatments are topical applications that help prevent tooth decay. Fluoride helps strengthen weak areas of the teeth. A dentist will recommend if/when such applications are necessary based on a cavity-risk assessment, which is done when the dentist examines the child and when a health history is on file for the child. 

• Children can expect to lose their first tooth around age 6 or 7, with the final baby tooth falling out by about age 12. If an infant does not get his or her first tooth until late, the baby teeth may fall out at a proportionately later date. The WDA discourages teachers or other adults from holding any type of contest to see which student loses a tooth first or who will lose the most teeth in order to prevent children from removing baby teeth too soon. 

• Generally, the first teeth to erupt are usually the lower front, but do not worry if the upper teeth come in first. Top teeth should overlap the bottom teeth. 

• Between the ages of 6 and 8-years-old, children are ready to receive dental sealants. A dental sealant is a thin plastic film painted on the chewing surfaces of molars and premolars (the teeth directly in front of the molars) to prevent plaque from collecting in the pits and fissures of those teeth. Acting as a barrier, the sealant prohibits small particles of food or bacteria from penetrating areas of teeth more susceptible to decay. As long as the sealant remains intact, cavities will not develop in the area covered by the sealant. 

• Into the teenage years, parents will need to encourage and reinforce the daily brushing and flossing to ensure a healthy mouth heading into adulthood.

 
Sources: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and American Dental Association