This oral health article is brought to you by Unilever GhanaCLOSEUP Day + Night Brushing Campaign. Brushing Day And Night: Why is it worth the effort twice a day? Your child's teeth are particularly vulnerable to decay. The enamel on milk teeth is not as hard as it is on adult teeth – even new permanent teeth are weaker for the first few years. The millions of bacteria in your child’s mouth can wreak havoc on their teeth if they’re not carefully cleaned away. Toothache can interrupt eating; sleeping and education at critical times when children need nourishment and rest in order to grow and learn. Decay and the early loss of decayed milk teeth can have a direct impact on the health of your child's permanent teeth. Bad teeth can also be disfiguring! To help avoid these problems, dentists recommend that children brush their teeth at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste: once in the morning and once after the last meal of the day. This will not only help brush away the bacteria, but fluoride also helps to strengthen teeth and protect them from decay. Brushing day and night with fluoride toothpaste can cut tooth decay by up to 50% for children, compared with brushing just once (Pine et al., International Dental Journal 2000; 50: 312–323). About Your Teeth And Mouth What are teeth made of? All teeth are structured in the same way. The part you can see in your mouth above the gum line is called the crown, and the part that goes down below the gum line, anchoring the tooth into the jaw, is called the root. Teeth are composed of three key materials:

1. Enamel covers the crown of the tooth. It is a white, very hard mineral substance made mainly from calcium and phosphate. Enamel needs to be extremely hard to withstand the forces of biting and chewing as well as changes in temperature between hot and cold foods or drink. In fact, not only is it the hardest substance in your body, but enamel is one of the hardest naturally occurring substances on earth.
2. Dentin makes up the bulk of the tooth and lies just under the enamel. It is yellowish and is made of similar materials to enamel, although it is not as hard. It is protected by the enamel, and in turn protects the pulp of the tooth (see below). The dentin is sensitive, so when tooth decay reaches the dentin, this can start causing pain.
3. Pulp forms the core of the tooth and contains all the nerves and blood supply to nourish the dentin. If tooth decay reaches the pulp of a tooth, it can result in a nasty infection and abscess.