One of the many things that will be on your mind as the parent is how to best prevent your child from developing cavities. Many people have seen young children with silver teeth due to the many fillings they had to have and heard the parent say they don't understand why their child has cavities because they brush their teeth. If this is in fact the case and those children were brushing their teeth, then there were other factors that led to them needing fillings. You want to be sure you take all the steps that you can to prevent your child from having cavities, and here are some of the steps you can take: 

Start from infancy

Even when your child is an infant, you should already be thinking about their teeth. As soon as you see those tiny white bumps showing up just under the surface of their gums, you should be using a clean, soft, moist baby washcloth to wipe their gums after feeding them. After their teeth appear, you want to use a baby toothbrush that is very soft and a toothpaste made for infants and begin brushing their teeth while being very gentle. Never put your baby to bed with a bottle, and try to limit the amount of juice that you give them. 

Teach your toddler

Continue explaining the importance of brushing and flossing to your toddler and have them brush their own teeth. However, you also want to brush them again yourself to make sure they have been brushed properly to avoid cavities. Work with your child to teach them how to remember when it is time for them to brush their teeth on their own. This way, when they are older, this will be something that they automatically include in their regular routine when they wake in the morning and before they go to bed in the evening. 

Don't skip the dentist

As soon as those little baby teeth come in, you are going to want to take your baby to see a dentist at a pediatric dental clinic. They will make another appointment each time you are checking out. Always make it to all of the appointments with your child, or if you must reschedule, don't push it way out. Regular visits help ward off cavities, and they also help your child to think of their visits to the dentist as something that is not frightening at all.