Oral Health Advice Checklist for Health Visiting Teams

The Mini Mouth Care Matters oral health advice checklist is a practical reference tool designed to support health visiting teams in providing consistent, evidence-based oral health advice at every contact, from the antenatal period through to two years and beyond.

Organised by age stage, the checklist covers the key oral health messages relevant to each point in a child's early development. From the antenatal period, it supports conversations about the importance of oral health for the whole family, fluoride toothpaste, healthy diet and the availability of free NHS dentistry during pregnancy. As the child grows, it guides professionals through advice on teething, the introduction of toothbrushing from the first tooth, transitioning away from bottles, introducing solid foods safely, and encouraging first dental attendance by 12 months.

For children aged one year and beyond, the checklist reinforces twice daily toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste, sugar reduction, healthy drinks and the importance of regular dental check-ups. It also signposts to trusted resources including NHS Better Health and First Steps Nutrition.

At each stage, the checklist prompts professionals to consider providing a mouth check for high-risk children or those with reported oral health concerns, linking directly to the mouth care guide for next steps.

This tool supports health visiting teams to embed oral health into every contact, helping families build good habits from the earliest opportunity and reducing inequalities in children's oral health outcomes.