Oral health (0 - 5 years)

An illustration of an open mouth showing the position and name of the primary teeth. A chart shows the names of the teeth, when teething may start and when they may start to fall out ready for the permenant teeth.

Upper Teeth – Teething starts – Tooth Fairy Visits

• Central incisor: 8–12 months – 6–7 years
• Lateral incisor: 9–13 months – 7–8 years
• Canine: 16–22 months – 10–12 years
• First molar: 13–19 months – 9–11 years
• Second molar: 25–33 months – 10–12 years

Lower Teeth – Teething starts – Tooth Fairy Visits

• Central incisor: 6–10 months – 6–7 years
• Lateral incisor: 10–16 months – 7–8 years
• Canine: 17–23 months – 9–12 years
• First molar: 14–18 months – 9–11 years
• Second molar: 23–31 months – 10–12 years

Children aged up to 3 years old

• Start brushing your baby’s teeth as soon as the first tooth breaks through.
• Use an age-appropriate toothbrush, with a small head and soft to medium bristles.
• Brush teeth twice a day for 2 minutes; last thing at night and on one other occasion.  
• Use a child or family toothpaste containing no less than 1,000ppm fluoride (check on the box or tube), this prevents dental caries/decay.
• Use no more than a smear of toothpaste (a thin film of paste covering less than three-quarters of the child’s brush head).
• Make sure children don’t eat or lick toothpaste from the tube.
• Not all children like having their teeth brushed, so you may find making it into a game, or using toothbrushing songs or a fun timer to brush for 2 minutes can help them.

Children aged 3 to 5 years old

• Once your child is over 3 years old you can use a child or family toothpaste with 1,350ppm -1,500ppm of fluoride to prevent dental decay.
• Use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste.
• Brush teeth twice a day for 2 minutes; last thing at night and on one other occasion.
• Not all children like having their teeth brushed, so you may find making it into a game, or using toothbrushing songs or a fun timer to brush for 2 minutes can help them.
• Use a mirror to help your child see where and how the brush is cleaning their teeth.
• Encourage your child to spit out the bubbles from toothbrushing and do not to rinse their mouth with water. This helps the fluoride in the toothpaste to protect the teeth for longer.
• Carry on helping your child brush their teeth until you’re sure they can do it well enough themselves. This will normally be until they’re around 7 years old.
• Remember toothpaste is a medicine and should be stored out of your child’s reach.
• Replace your child’s toothbrush around every 3 months or sooner if the bristles are not in good condition.

How do I brush my child’s teeth? (6 months to 7 years)

Looking after your baby’s teeth.

Diet

• Follow Introducing solids (weaning) guidelines from your health visiting team. Encourage them to eat savoury food and drinks with no sugar. Check if there is sugar in pre-prepared baby foods (including savoury ones), rusks and ‘baby drinks’ and do not add sugars to weaning foods or drinks. Read more about food labels.
• Plain milk or water are the best drinks for children to avoid tooth decay.
• If you choose to give your child sweet foods or fruit juice, only give them at mealtimes. Remember to dilute 1 part juice to 10 parts water. Your child should have no more than 1 drink of fruit juice (150ml) in any 1 day as part of their 5 A Day.
• ​​​​​​​​​​If your child needs medicine, ask the pharmacist or GP if there’s a sugar-free option.

Bottles, cups and dummies

• Bottle use should be stopped by the age of 1 year old and any drinks should be from a non-valved free-flowing cup.
• Introducing a non-valve, free-flow cup will encourage your child with development and enable them to learn to sip to drink, rather than to suck.
• After the age of 1 year old do not put your child to bed with a bottle or any drink other than plain water, as this can cause tooth decay.
• Use of a dummy is parental choice, if you have introduced a dummy for your child, it is important to remove the dummy before they are 1 year old. Long-term dummy use can lead to dental problems such as misalignment of teeth and potential speech delays, making it important to wean them off dummy use from 6-12 months of age.
• Dummies dipped in anything sweet can lead to tooth decay.
• For advice on how to stop dummy and bottle use you can visit our How to transition away from a dummy and bottle page.

• Register your baby with a dentist and try to get a dental visit before their first birthday.
• Take your child with you when you go for your own dental appointments, so they get used to the idea and the dental environment.
• Take your child to the dentist as often as the dentist recommends (at least once a year).
• NHS dental treatment for children is free, but not all dentists will take on new NHS patients.
• More information on dental health can be found on nhs.uk. You can also find dental practice information using the NHS search feature.

This website and series of videos from Derbyshire County Council on oral health include lots of useful advice:

Keeping your child's mouth healthy

Visiting the dentist

Making brushing children’s teeth easy (and fun)

A balanced diet can help keep your family's teeth healthy