Caring for Your Child's First Teeth: A Parent's Guide

"They're just baby teeth, they fall out anyway." We hear it a lot, and it's the most expensive myth in children's dentistry. Baby teeth hold space for adult teeth, shape speech and chewing, and a decayed baby tooth can damage the permanent tooth forming underneath it. Here's what actually matters, stage by stage.

Before the first tooth

Wipe your baby's gums with a clean, damp cloth after feedings. It clears bacteria and gets your child used to the routine. And avoid putting a baby to bed with a bottle of milk or juice; it bathes the gums in sugar all night.

First tooth to age 3

Start brushing twice a day as soon as the first tooth appears, using a rice-grain-sized smear of fluoride toothpaste. Book the first dental visit by their first birthday or within six months of the first tooth. Early visits are short and positive, and they let us catch issues with teething, bottles, and pacifiers early.

Ages 3 to 6

Move up to a pea-sized amount of toothpaste and teach spitting, not rinsing (a little leftover fluoride keeps protecting). Keep helping with brushing; most kids don't have the coordination to brush well alone until around age eight. This is also when we typically apply sealants to protect the deep grooves of molars, where most childhood cavities start.

The habits that matter most

Water as the everyday drink, juice as an occasional treat, snacks at set times rather than all-day grazing, and a matter-of-fact attitude about dental visits. Kids borrow their anxiety from us; if you treat checkups as normal, so will they.

Thumb-sucking and pacifiers

Both are completely normal in infancy and usually resolve on their own. If the habit continues past age three or four, mention it at a checkup; we'll monitor how the bite is developing and share gentle strategies that work better than nagging.

Ready for your child's first visit? Our team makes it fun, we promise. Learn about our children's dental care or request an appointment.