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

Children under 18 years old with a Medicare card are eligible for free dental care through NSW Public Dental Services. Parents or guardians must sign a Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) Bulk Billing Patient Consent Form. If a child is not eligible for CDBS or has already used their benefit, care is still provided at no cost. For more information, visit the CDBS web page.​
 
NSW Public Dental Services also provide free dental care to adults who have a Medicare card and either hold or are listed as a dependent on a valid Australian Government concession card. To access NSW Public Dental Services​​ call: 1800 679 336.
 
If you need an Interpreter Service call TIS National services​​​ on 13 14 50.
 
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. 
 
To find a private dentist go to Australian Dental Association website. ​​