How do you look after children's teeth, and does fluoride matter?
By brushing twice daily with fluoride toothpaste and controlling the frequency of sugar rather than the total amount — and yes, fluoride matters, with an evidence base among the strongest in preventive health.
Why frequency matters more than quantity. Every time sugar is eaten, oral bacteria produce acid that demineralises enamel for a period afterwards. Saliva then repairs it. Six sweets at once causes one acid attack; six sweets spread through the day causes six, with no recovery time between. This is why grazing and sipping sugary drinks are far more damaging than a single dessert.
What fluoride actually does. It is incorporated into the tooth surface, making enamel more resistant to acid, and it promotes remineralisation of early damage. The effect is primarily topical — from contact with the tooth — which has practical consequences:
Spit, do not rinse, after brushing. Rinsing with water washes away the fluoride that would otherwise continue working. This one habit is a genuinely significant change and is widely unknown.
Use the right concentration. Guidance specifies fluoride levels by age, and children's toothpaste that is too weak provides less protection than intended.
Use the right amount — a smear for under-threes, a pea-sized amount thereafter.
Supervise brushing until around seven, since younger children lack the dexterity, and brush for them where needed.
The other practices that matter:
Brush last thing at night and one other time. Night matters most, as saliva flow falls during sleep.
No food or drink except water after brushing at night.
Avoid sugary drinks entirely where possible, and never in a bottle or at bedtime.
First dental visit by age one, which is free for children and is about familiarity as much as examination.
Fissure sealants and fluoride varnish, applied professionally, which have good evidence.
Baby teeth matter. They guide adult teeth into position, and decay causes pain, infection and missed school. Tooth decay is a leading cause of hospital admission in young children, and it is almost entirely preventable.
General information, not medical advice.