What You Need to Know to Keep Your Kids' Teeth Healthy

Quiz: Test Your Tooth IQ

1. You should begin flossing for your child as soon as his teeth are touching.
2. The AAPD recommends a child should first visit the dentist by age 1 or when the first tooth appears.
3. You can let your child have unlimited sugary snacks and drinks with no dental health repercussions.
4. The recommended time for cleaning is 2 minutes of brushing and 1 minute of rinsing.
5. Once your teeth are straight from braces, you don’t ever need to wear your retainer.
6. Kids miss more than 51 million hours of school due to dental pain or cavities.
7. Obtaining dental care within 30 minutes can be the difference between saving and losing a tooth.
8. Cooked starches such as breads, pasta, and potato chips can lead to cavities because they frequently take longer to clear the mouth than sugary foods.
9. There is no difference between the fluoride in toothpaste and water other than concentration.
10. Cheeses such as aged cheddar and mozzarella are not good to eat because they exacerbate the acids that attack teeth.

When should my child start using fluoride toothpaste, and what are the effects if she swallows too much fluoride?
The literature just changed. The ADA now recommends that children should use fluoride toothpaste—no more than the size of a grain of rice—as soon as teeth start to come in. You definitely want to monitor children using fluoride toothpaste because swallowing too much toothpaste (the whole tube) can be toxic. A milder effect of swallowing too much fluoride is brown or white spots on teeth, called fluorosis.
—Erica Fish, D.D.S., of M.E. Smiles Dental PC, which has locations in Hartsdale and White Plains

Protect Your Brush: A 2005 study on the National Institutes of Health’s PubMed.gov shows that when toilets are flushed, bacteria can contaminate surfaces in the bathroom—including your toothbrush if you leave it on the counter! If you don’t have a place to store your toothbrush where it won’t be exposed, the IntelliDent Toothbrush Shield is a good solution. Made of non-woven material, it acts like a surgical mask for your toothbrush. Each breathable, quick-drying shield is individually sealed and protects against 99 percent of airborne and surface bacteria for up to seven days. Now that’s a clean mouth! ($5.99)

Ivory Inflation: The price of a tooth went up 23 percent, according to a 2013 survey by Visa. That means children are receiving an average of $3.70 per tooth! Not sure how much you—um, we mean the Tooth Fairy—should leave your child when he loses a tooth? Visa’s Tooth Fairy Calculator (a free app in the iTunes app store) will tell you what other children in similar family situations are getting under their pillows. Just enter your gender, age, education, state, marital status, family size, and household income to find out how much your child should get.