Parental guidance: Timing tooth brushing

Should I be having my child brush his teeth upon waking up so his mouth is clean before eating? Or is it better to have him brush after breakfast?

"It's probably better to wait for after breakfast," says Ron Kosinski, chief of pediatric dentistry at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park. "If you brush before breakfast, you would need to brush again after breakfast."

The recommendation is for children to brush at least three times a day, after breakfast, lunch and dinner, Kosinski says. He'd add another brushing after any sticky snack, such as Gummi Bears, Air Heads or Skittles. (Don't get him started on Gummi vitamins - he's not a fan. "Bad for your teeth," he says.)

Although it's theoretically possible to injure gums by overbrushing, Kosinski says he has rarely seen a child who has caused damage by brushing too much. In fact, children often don't get that after-lunch brush in because they don't bring a toothbrush to school, he says. Confession: His own kids, ages 6 and 11, don't. But in an ideal world, they would.

And while we're on the subject of pediatric dental health, Kosinski says flossing should begin as soon as a child has teeth with no spaces between them, including their baby teeth. This could be as soon as the 2-year molars come in; parents might have to floss between the child's back teeth but not the front and vice versa, he says.