1) Establish a dental home for your child’s first tooth. It is a lot easier to prevent cavities if you learn how before the cavities have started.
2) A clean tooth will not decay! Do you get your teeth clean? Most people brush longer than necessary but are not effective cleaning their teeth. Find a dentist whose primary objective is teaching you how to evaluate your own tooth cleaning and knowing your teeth are truly clean each day.
3) Floss the teeth you want to keep. 9 out of 10 of the fillings I do are because of cavities between teeth where the tooth brush cannot clean. 100% of the gum disease adults struggle with and lose teeth from started between their teeth.
4) Monitor your snacking frequency. Simple carbohydrates (sugars and cooked starches) feed the bacteria that cause cavities. The more frequently those bacteria are fed through the day, the more frequent your teeth suffer acid attack and the higher your risk grows for cavities.
5) Drink water. Sipping sweet beverages is the simplest way to feed those bacteria and provide multiple cavity causing attacks by the bacteria. It also promotes overgrowth of the cavity causing bacteria so they become the predominant bacteria in your mouth.
6) Drink more water. All the sweetened beverages are highly acidic. These acids will attack the surface of the teeth, softening the entire surface and making it easier for the cavity causing bacteria to do their damage.
Dr. Scott Thompson - Winning With Smiles Pediatric Dentistry