These tips appeared next to a New York Times story, “Preschoolers in Surgery for a Mouthful of Cavities” which was published March 6, 2012 and available here. By Catherine Saint Louis.

 Dentists suggest a number of tips for parents to prevent the decay of baby teeth:

Take an infant to a dentist before the first birthday for an assessment of cavity risk, even if the child has only a few teeth.

In general, brush the teeth of children 2 or younger with a bit of fluoride toothpaste twice a day. At 2, start to use a pea-size dollop.

Reduce snacking. Eating any starchy or sugary food causes the pH level in the mouth to drop sharply, leaving teeth awash in an acid bath for 20 minutes until saliva normalizes the pH. The frequency of exposure to acid is more important than the sugar content of food.

Do not share utensils with a child or “clean” a pacifier in your mouth, then give it to your infant. Research has shown that parents or caregivers with active tooth decay can pass cavity-causing bacteria via saliva.

Brush preschoolers’ teeth for them. “They are not in a position to effectively brush their teeth until they are 7 or 9,” said Dr. John Hanna, director at the dental surgery clinic at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.