Text alternative: Healthy smiles for under five

Food and drinks

• Offer your child healthy snacks like cheese, vegetable sticks, fresh fruit, and plain yoghurt.
• Water is the best drink for everyone.
• Limit your child's frequent snacking on sticky food like cakes, chips, biscuits, pastries, lollies and chocolate.
• Avoid giving your child sweet drinks like fruit juice, cordials and soft drinks.

Brushing teeth

• Clean your baby's teeth as soon as they appear with a toothbrush and water.
• From 18 months brush your child's teeth, morning and night, with an appropriate fluoride toothpaste.
• Use a small, soft toothbrush with a small amount of toothpaste.
• Help your child with brushing until they are 8 years old.

Dental check-ups

• Have your child's teeth checked at ALL child health visits.
• Parents are encouraged to gently lift their child's lip to look for early signs of holes.
• Have your child's teeth checked by a dental practitioner by your child's 1st birthday.
• Make a dental appointment before your child starts school.

Looking after your baby's teeth

• Put your baby to bed without a bottle. Putting a baby to bed with a bottle with something sweet in it like juice, milk or formula, soft drink or cordial can increase the risk of holes in their teeth.
• A cup can be offered to your child at around 6 months of age. You can offer water, expressed breast milk or infant formula from a cup.
• Clean baby's mouth and gums with a soft, clean cloth.
• Clean your baby's dummy with water and not your own mouth.

Dental services in NSW

NSW Public Dental Services provide free dental care for all children under the age of 18 with a Medicare card. NSW Public Dental Services also provide free dental care for adults residing in NSW that hold an Australian government concession card. Find out more about NSW Public Dental Services.

Some Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHO) provide dental care for their community. Each ACCHO may have different eligibility criteria and appointment processes for their dental programs. Find out more about Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations.

To find a private dentist visit the website of the Australian Dental Association.

Some children (between 0 and 17 years) may be eligible for the Commonwealth Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS). Find out more about the Commonwealth Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS).