Prevention of Tooth Decay

Regular toothbrushing with fluoride tootpaste will reduce the risk of  tooth decay

• Start brushing as soon as first baby (deciduous) tooth  appears
• Brush twice a day - last thing at night  and at least one other time each day
• Children under 3 years should use a toothpaste containing no less than 1,000 ppm fluoride.
• Children under 3 years should use no more than a smear of toothpaste (a thin film of paste covering less than three-quarters of the brush)
• Children between 3 and 6 years should use no more than a pea-sized amount
  of toothpaste.
• Do not allow children to eat of lick toothpaste from the tube
• Children need to be helped or supervised by an adult when brushing until at least 7 years of age.
• Rinsing with lots of water after brushing should be discouraged "

  Page last edited: 28 April 2010

  Links from Scottish Dental

  Title	Source	Type
  Prevention and Management of Dental Caries in Children Guidance from SDCEP providing clear and consistent advice to support the dental team to improve children's experience of dental care and children's oral health. View details	SDCEP	Practice guideline
  Delivering better oral health: An evidence-based toolkit for prevention Evidence-based prevention advice for primary care developed by Department of Health and the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry. View details	Department of Health	Website
  Caries Diagnosis,risk assessment & Management Principles of caries diagnosis and management from Michigan University View details	Academic Institution	Website
  Practitioner Review of Prevention of Early Childhood Caries: A systematic review Systematic Review of Prevention of Early Childhood Caries from The Scottish Evidence Based Child Health Unit. Funded by Health Scotland View details	NHS Scotland	Systematic Review
  Drug Prescribing For Dentistry SDCEP guidance bringing together advice on dental prescribing from the BNF and BNFC and presents it in a problem-orientated style. View details	SDCEP	Practice guideline
  Evidence-based clinical recommendations for the use of pit-and-fissure sealants Brief summary of American Dental Association recommendations from Oral Health Specialist Library View details	Oral Health Specialist Library- Eng&Wales	Practice guideline
  Preventing Dental Caries in Children at High Caries Risk SIGN Guideline No. 47. Full text HTML format. View details	SIGN	Practice guideline
  Prevention and management of dental decay in the pre-school child SIGN Clinical Practice Guideline No 83. Also includes Quick reference summary in PDF. View details for this option. View details	SIGN	Practice guideline