{"id":12746,"date":"2025-09-11T13:13:55","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T13:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/?p=12746"},"modified":"2025-09-23T08:08:27","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T08:08:27","slug":"a-paediatric-dentists-guide-to-keeping-little-teeth-healthy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/childrens-health\/a-paediatric-dentists-guide-to-keeping-little-teeth-healthy\/","title":{"rendered":"A paediatric dentist\u2019s guide to keeping little teeth healthy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2;color:#32373c\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-profile-box round ab-has-avatar ab-font-size-14 ab-block-profile ab-profile-columns\"><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-avatar-wrap\"><div class=\"ab-profile-image-wrap\"><figure class=\"ab-profile-image-square\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" class=\"ab-profile-avatar wp-image-12747\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/11130315\/vicky-1757595794-IMG_2391.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/11130315\/vicky-1757595794-IMG_2391.jpg 400w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/11130315\/vicky-1757595794-IMG_2391-125x125.jpg 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-content-wrap\"><h2 class=\"ab-profile-name\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Dr Abigail Moore<\/h2><p class=\"ab-profile-title\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Paediatric Dentist, Dublin<\/p><div class=\"ab-profile-text\"><\/div><ul class=\"ab-social-links\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A healthy smile starts long before the tooth fairy arrives. Childhood dental decay is common but completely preventable. A few simple habits can protect your child\u2019s teeth for life.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-brush-together-twice-a-day\"><strong>Brush together twice a day<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>From the first moment a tooth appears, we need to start cleaning. Kids need assistance with brushing until around age seven. Even after that, supervision is required to ensure it isn\u2019t forgotten. Make it a family routine \u2014 mornings and bedtime \u2014 so they build healthy habits early. Brushing is non-negotiable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-use-fluoride-toothpaste\"><strong>Use fluoride toothpaste<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Fluoride strengthens teeth and is your child\u2019s best defence against cavities. Children over two should use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste with 1450ppm fluoride. Press the paste into the brush, so it is released gradually during brushing. At the end, spit but don\u2019t rinse out; the toothpaste residue continues to harden the teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Every time we eat something, <br>acid is created in the mouth, <br>which damages teeth.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stick-to-milk-and-water-only\"><strong>Stick to milk and water only<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Fruit juices, cordials and smoothies (even the \u2018no added sugar\u2019 or organic ones) are full of acids and natural sugars that can damage teeth. Keep these for special occasions and stick to milk or water as everyday drinks. Only offer water after the nighttime brush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-watch-the-snacking-food-free-time\"><strong>Watch the snacking: food-free time<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Every time we eat something, acid is created in the mouth, which damages teeth. Sugary and sticky foods create more acid, but all foods generate some. The more often teeth are attacked, the more they are damaged. Teeth need time in between the acid attacks to recover. So, it\u2019s not just what children eat but how often. Aim for three main meals and two snacks a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-don-t-wait-for-the-school-dentist\"><strong>Don\u2019t wait for the school dentist<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Bring your child for their first dental visit when their first tooth appears; it helps build positive, stress-free experiences early. Bring your child along to your visit or with a sibling. This not only makes the dentist a familiar setting but also prevents problems from developing. Over one in three Irish five-year-olds has cavities, so early detection and targeted professional advice can prevent problems and ensure healthy smiles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A healthy smile starts long before the tooth fairy arrives. Childhood dental decay is common but completely preventable. A few simple habits can protect your child\u2019s teeth for life. Brush together twice a day From the first moment a tooth appears, we need to start cleaning. Kids need assistance with brushing until around age seven. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/childrens-health\/a-paediatric-dentists-guide-to-keeping-little-teeth-healthy\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":12748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3099],"tags":[5981],"class_list":["post-12746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-childrens-health","tag-childrens-health-wellbeing-2025"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/11131103\/vicky-1757596261-AdobeStock_119740918-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/11131103\/vicky-1757596261-AdobeStock_119740918-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"henryphillips","author_link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/author\/henryphillips\/"},"vicky_index_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12746"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12750,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12746\/revisions\/12750"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}