Children's dental health: Paediatric dentists on how to avoid tooth decay  

One in three children has dental decay by the age of five. It's vital parents keep a close eye on their little ones' diet and practise oral hygiene from the time they cut their first tooth, say experts 

Dental decay affects one in three children by the time they’re five years old.

By the time children see paediatric dentist Dr Jennifer McCafferty, they won’t just have a problem with one tooth. “They’ll have multiple teeth in bother. I’ll see quite a number of cavities in the one child,” says McCafferty, who works at Citygate Specialist Dental Clinic, Cork.

McCafferty gets referrals from family dentists when patients are very young — and when the “extent of their dental needs” requires her services. “A large volume of children I see are treated under general anaesthetic in hospital. I see a lot of children with autism or where cooperation is limited.”