How much do you know about good oral care? How fresh is your child’s breath? And how do you know that when you brush their teeth, you do it right? Oral health remains integral to general health and should not be seen as separate entities. Oral health means more than healthy teeth and one cannot be healthy without oral health. Formation of primary dentition starts before the baby is born and continues through childhood. It is therefore important to practice good oral health from childhood. During their formative years, children need a lot of confidence to help them develop basic social skills so good oral health is paramount. Try this very simple way to determine a child’s oral health. When your child smiles does (s)he smile as confidently as a movie star or as shy as a kitten? Parents often think that baby teeth are not important as they are replaced by another set when the child is older. However, healthy baby teeth are important for children’s self-confidence and smile. They enable children to bite and chew properly. Baby teeth are necessary for clear speech and they guide the permanent teeth into the correct position. So how often and how well do you have to brush your child’s teeth? The following are good practices to remember when cleaning your child’s teeth:

• Place the toothbrush bristles at the gum edges where the gum joins the teeth and brush vertically towards the teeth
• Clean both inner and outer surfaces of the teeth as well as the chewing surfaces
• Bring the tongue out and brush it outwards or forwards and rinse You may find it easier to stand or sit behind your child, cradling their chin in your hand so you can reach their top and bottom teeth
• more easily.

Soft to medium tooth brush is preferable for children. Do not use hard brushes for children for fear of injuring the gums and other structures. Use a pea-size fluoride containing toothpaste to brush in order to effect healthy teeth. Encourage the child not to swallow the toothpaste during brushing. Brushing should be done twice in a day, morning and last thing before the child goes to bed in the evening. Proper teeth brushing to remove all the plaque takes about 2 minutes. When the bristles of the brush start to spread and no longer stand straight up, you need to change the brush. With proper use a brush lasts 2 – 3 months. ... More on Oral health care in our next article.