Good job! Your childcare center is participating in a toothbrushing program and doing its part to prevent painful tooth decay and improve children’s ability to eat, talk, learn, grow, sleep, play, and have good self-esteem. But is the question, when is the best time of day for toothbrushing, keeping you up at night?
No worries! The most important thing you can do is to set a daily routine of brushing little teeth using the right amount of children’s fluoride toothpaste on a child’s toothbrush:
- a smear the size of a grain of rice for children up to age 3
- a pea for me by age 3
When to brush children’s teeth is not important. Pick a time in the childcare day that works for you and the team and just do it!
However, experts agree: Remind the parents in your program to always brush their children’s teeth in the evening at bedtime. No rinsing needed, and no eating or drinking after. That’s because the mouth makes less saliva during sleep, which increases the risk for tooth decay. Making sure that safe and healthy fluoride toothpaste is the last thing in the mouth at night reduces the chance of painful cavities.
When in doubt, remember what the American Dental Association recommends: For good teeth health, brush 2 times a day for 2 minutes!
