TCTooth Club
TOOTH CLUB PARENT GUIDE 2

Decay starts quietly.

You can see it long before your child can feel it.

A five-minute read for parents

Toothsie holding a magnifying glass beside a smiling girl

Pain is a late sign.

Decay in baby teeth can take hold in a matter of months, and a child will usually say nothing until it reaches the nerve.

Caught at the very first stage, it can often be stopped and reversed with preventive treatment. That window is the whole reason to look.

Toothsie inspecting a large tooth through a magnifying glass

Lift the lip.

Ten seconds, once a month. Here’s a simple check you can do at home.

  1. 1Sit them facing a window or a lamp, so the light falls on their teeth.
  2. 2Gently lift the top lip all the way up to the gum.
  3. 3Look along the line where the front teeth meet the gum. That is where it always begins.
A mother gently lifting her daughter’s top lip while Toothsie watches with a magnifying glass

What you might see.

Three stages, from healthy to needing a dentist promptly.

Close-up of healthy front teeth with pale pink gumsSTAGE ONE

Smooth and even.

Healthy teeth look whitish and smooth all the way down to the gum, with no band or patch of colour where the two meet. Gums are pale pink and firm.

Nothing to do. Keep brushing morning and night.

Close-up of front teeth with a chalky white line along the gumSTAGE TWO

A dull white line at the gum.

A chalky, opaque band running along the gum line on the top front teeth. It is the very first sign of decay, and it is the one almost every parent walks past.

Book a dental visit. At this stage it can often be reversed.

Close-up of a front tooth with a brown and black patch of decay near the gumSTAGE THREE

Yellow, brown or black.

The band has darkened, or there are dark spots and softened, crumbling edges. The enamel has broken down and this will not repair on its own.

See a dentist promptly. Do not wait for it to hurt.

Guidance drawn from the Lift the Lip screening tool used by state dental services and the RACGP Red Book.

Make it a monthly habit.

  1. 1Pin it to something you already do. Bath night, or the day you cut their nails.
  2. 2Let them look in your mouth first. It turns an inspection into a game.
  3. 3Take a photo each time. Changes are far easier to see side by side than from memory.
A little girl looking in her mother’s mouth while Toothsie sits beside them

Ten seconds a month is the whole ask.

Most early decay is found by a parent who simply knew to look. Now you do.

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This guide is general information for parents. It isn’t a diagnosis. If you notice any change in your child’s teeth, ask your dentist.

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