Fluoride

Parents should pay attention to the amount of fluoride their child receives. Too much fluoride can cause tooth discoloration, and too little fluoride can cause teeth to be more susceptible to cavities.

Bottled waters need to be on the list of items that parents must check before giving to their child. Some bottled waters have little or no fluoride at all.

"This is a problem when parents are giving their children only this 'designer' water from a bottle," says Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) spokesperson Heidi Hausauer, DDS. "In my own practice, I've seen an 8-year-old girl come in with eight cavities. The fact that she's been drinking only non-fluoridated water could have been a contributing factor. Most of the tap water in this country is properly fluoridated, so it's best if the child receives most of the water straight from the faucet."

When introducing toothpaste, the AGD recommends using a small pea-sized dab.

"Parents should be brushing their child's teeth with this amount until the child is 6 years old," says Dr. Hausauer. "Until this age, children don't have the dexterity to brush by themselves properly and they tend to swallow the toothpaste and ingest the fluoride, which can put them at risk for fluorosis (tooth discoloration)."