Testing Your Knowledge: Do Your Children Have Good Oral Health?
Ensuring that your children have good oral health is (or should be) the goal of every parent or caregiver. But how confident are you about this topic? The following true/false quiz will help you evaluate your expertise while learning more about keeping your child's teeth healthy.
- All children older than 6 months should receive a fluoride supplement every day.
- Parents should start cleaning their child's teeth as soon as the first tooth appears.
- Parents should start brushing their child's teeth with toothpaste that contains fluoride at age 3.
- Children younger than 6 years should use enough toothpaste with fluoride to cover the toothbrush.
- Parents should brush their child's teeth twice a day until the child can handle the toothbrush alone.
- Young children should always use fluoride mouthrinses after brushing.
- False. Check with your child's physician or dentist about your children's specific fluoride needs. If your drinking water does not have enough fluoride to help prevent cavities, parents of a child older than 6 months should discuss the need for a fluoride supplement with a physician or our office.
- True. Start cleaning as soon as the first tooth appears by wiping the tooth every day with a clean, damp cloth. Once more teeth erupt, switch to a small, soft-bristled toothbrush.
- False. Parents should start using toothpaste with fluoride to brush their childrenÃ¢Â€Â™s teeth at age 2. Only use toothpaste with fluoride earlier than age 2 if the child's doctor or our office recommends it.
- False. Young children should use only a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste. Fluoride is important for fighting cavities, but if children younger than 6 years swallow too much fluoride, their permanent teeth may develop white spots. Using no more than a pea-sized amount of toothpaste with fluoride can help prevent this from happening.
- True. Because children usually do not have the skill to brush their teeth well until around age 4 or 5, parents should brush their young children's teeth thoroughly twice a day. You should continue doing this until the child can demonstrate a proper brushing technique.
- False. Fluoride mouthrinses have a higher concentration of fluoride than toothpaste containing fluoride. Children younger than 6 years of age should not use fluoride mouthrinses unless your child's doctor or our office recommends it. Young children tend to swallow rather than spit it out, and swallowing too much fluoride before age 6 may cause the permanent teeth to have white spots.
If you feel you missed too many of the above questions, read the Dear Doctor article, “Oral Hygiene Behavior.”