It is important to get a proper dental care routine in place once your baby’s teeth start to come through. From teething to milk teeth there are different practices and products to help parents do the best for the welfare of the child’s teeth. When teething the main aim is to sooth swelling and irritated gums with cool chewing toys and anti inflammatory products like Bonjella once this period is over there’s a general relief as the crying and flare ups ease off but your not out of the woods yet there are some vital tips from dentists on how to deal with the baby’s first milk teeth and what you should be doing to best take care of them.



Milk or first teeth will start to appear anywhere from 4 to 9 months but some children can take as long as 18 months before their first teeth start to appear. Before the teeth appear it is recommended that the gums are kept clean even with no teeth there this is done by rubbing your clean finger along the gum line removing any milk residue that maybe lying there. Keeping your finger cold by pressing it against some ice while messaging the baby’s gums will also help ease teething pains.



Once the first teeth start to come through it is recommended that you start to teach the baby to brush using a tooth brush is optional but it is good to get the baby started on the brushing routine as soon as possible. You don’t have to use toothpaste at first but there are plenty of baby toothpastes available
that do not contain fluoride as this can be harmful to the baby. Use a tiny pea sized amount of fluoride free toothpaste on the brush and give it to the baby using your hand to show him what to do he wont get the hang of it at first but will pick it up very quickly.



Follow this procedure twice daily in the morning and in the evening before bedtime to kick start the routine. It is not always possible to brush after every meal so twice daily will be sufficient and encouraging them to brush after a meal when possible. When it comes to flossing leave until the toddler is about two as this can be tricky to achieve you don’t want to leave the child alone with a yard of floss so you have to do this part yourself. It is not that necessary to floss this young but if you want to get started just so the child can get used to it that’s fine but be careful as the gums can be very fragile at this young age.



This is a good time to keep your eyes peeled for any cavities that may be developing. Cavities will present themselves as a discoloration on the tooth and pitting if you have any concerns you should raise these with your dentist as it can be a simple case of bottle feeding before bedtime or leaving a bottle of juice with the child overnight and this is a habit you may want to break for future reference I mean you wouldn’t eat a meal and then go to bed without brushing it’s the same for a small child. Prevention is better then cure so if you get into good habits and procedures when the child is this young it can prevent a whole lot of damage later on.