How to care for the teeth children aged 7+ with Dr Ranj and Supertooth!
A two minute guide to healthy teeth for children aged 7+ with Dr Ranj Singh as presenter and Gemma Oaten as the voice of his sidekick Supertooth! This is one of three videos made to give families information on when and how to brush their teeth.
The majority of BSPD members are Consultants or Specialists or Community Dental Officers in the field of paediatric dentistry. We believe that baby teeth matter and we want to do everything in our power to reduce the number of children with decay. Unfortunately, we see a lot of children with rotten teeth and we have to carry out extractions of decayed teeth under general anaesthetic. It’s frustrating to be treating children in a hospital operating theatre because dental decay is almost always preventable.
We would like it if families never had to make an emergency dental appointment because their child has rotten teeth which has caused toothache. There are no NHS dental charges for the treatment of children but, the point is that dental pain and dental emergencies are avoidable if teeth can be kept healthy. And that is BSPD’s mission!
Gemma and Ranj gave their time freely and generously to the BSPD videos to support our campaign for every child’s right to healthy teeth for life. It’s a fact that with good teeth you have better life chances!
The advice shared by Dr Ranj is based on the best available evidence, Delivering Better Oral Health, a Toolkit published by Public Health England.
The most important tips are:
· Choose a toothbrush with a small head
· Brush at least twice daily with a fluoride toothpaste, once at bedtime, so the fluoride stays on your teeth to protect them while you are asleep, and once at any other time of the day.
· Choose a toothpaste with between 1350-1500 parts per million of fluoride – the fluoride levels of a toothpaste are written on the side of the pack
· Brush all sides of your teeth for two minutes
· After you have brushed your teeth, spit don’t rinse so that the fluoride in the toothpaste stays active on your teeth.