Toddler teeth

Useful information on toddler teething, cleaning milk teeth plus advice on a healthy baby diet and soothing teething pain .

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Your toddler will continue to teethe until the end of his or her second year. The most painful teeth to push through are the molars. They are big and blunt and come through slowly, between twelve and fifteen months, whilst second molars appear around your child's third birthday. Toddler teething is likely to make your child grumpy and miserable. The cheek on the side where the tooth is coming through will probably be hot and red and eating may cause pain. Sucking from the breast or a bottle may make the gums hurt, but this should only last a few days with each tooth.

There is very little you can do to help your child, rubbing your child's gums may help or rubbing in a little teething gel. A cold carrot may help, allowing your child to put it exactly where it is needed. You may also find that cold weather may make things worse, it may be worth keeping your child's face protected or even keeping him or her indoors until the worst is over.

Your toddlers diet is key to ensuring strong teeth that resist decay. Your child needs to get plenty of calcium, vitamin D and dairy products. Offer a beaker, rather than a bottle and try to stick to meal times rather than snack and juice between meals. Also check your child is getting sufficient fluoride, though not too much. Fluoride is key in strengthening tooth enamel, and resisting decay, but too much can lead to flurosis (a white mottling on your child's teeth). Get a dentist's advice before taking fluoride drops and do not let your toddler swallow too much toothpaste.

It may be worth trying to prevent your child from having sweets until the age of two, but this may be easier said than done. Sweets are not good for your child's teeth, but it is worth being sensible about all sweet products rather than banning sweets. A slice of cake or a piece of chocolate is less harmful than a lollipop which your child may spend a long time sucking. Fragments of chewy cakes and sweets tend to stick between the teeth and stay there until your child next brushes his or her teeth, or even past it. Raisins, dates and other dried fruits, both loose or in bars, can also cling to your child's teeth and unrefined sugar can also do considerable harm. Try to select sweets carefully and control the manner in which your child eats them. Choose types which dissolve quickly, such as chocolate or fondant sweets. Make sure your child has a drink of water as soon as possible after finishing, and make sure that the next teeth cleaning session is thorough.

It is important to make teeth cleaning part of the daily routine, at least twice a day, making sure the final time is after your child's last meal so that food remnants do not stay in the mouth all night. Show your child how to clean his or her own teeth, brushing up and down or in small circles, rather than side to side. Aim to clear all food from on or between the teeth. Use a small soft toothbrush with a pea sized amount of children's fluoride toothpaste. It is advised that your supervise teeth cleaning until the age of seven.

Start taking your child to the dentist with you so he or she can get used to going. Modern dentistry is increasingly preventive rather than curative. Try to make regular dental care part your child's routine. It is important to look after your child's first teeth as they have nearly a decade of hard work and their health and spacing is vital to your child's second teeth.