Oral Hygiene
Taking care of our teeth helps keep our smiles healthy and strong. Brushing our teeth every day helps wash away germs and keeps our mouths clean. Good oral hygiene helps us eat, talk, and smile comfortably, and it helps our teeth stay healthy as we grow. Taking care of our teeth is an important habit that helps us feel good every day.
Smile 4 Life
Parkview Nursery is a Smile4life school, we are committed to improving the oral health of children and young people. The programme develops solid foundations for good oral health through out life.
The Smile4life programme works through 4 tooth awards covering healthy eating and drinking, regular tooth brushing, promotion of healthy life styles and visiting the dentist.
Tooth decay is caused by frequent consumption of foods and drinks containing sugar. Keeping sugary foods to mealtimes is an effective way to reduce tooth decay and help children grow up without the pain and distress this can cause.
We promote healthy eating at snack time by providing sugar free/healthy food and milk and water for drinks.
We would therefore kindly ask parents to not bring in bottles, dummies, sweets, cakes and fizzy drinks.
Rhiannon Hughes is the oral support champion for smile4life in nursery. Please contact her if you need any advice or support.
We also look forward to working with AP Smilestars Supervised Toothbrushing Programme in the near future.
Dummy use
Stopping dummy use by around 1 year old is recommended because prolonged use can interfere with a child’s development. After 12 months, dummies can increase the risk of ear infections, as frequent sucking affects pressure in the middle ear. Extended use may also impact speech development, since having a dummy in the mouth reduces opportunities for babbling, sound imitation, and early word practice. Over time, continued dummy use can affect dental development, leading to problems with tooth alignment and jaw shape. Finally, relying on a dummy for comfort can delay a child’s ability to develop other self-soothing skills. Phasing it out around 1 year helps support healthy speech, hearing, oral development, and emotional independence.