Support your child's tooth care
Keep brushing and dental advice manageable, especially when attention or sensory needs get in the way.
Not ratedgeneral health evidence
Start with the time you have
1 minute
Name the part of brushing your child finds hardest, so you can ask for help with it.
5 minutes
Check the NHS advice for your child's age and identify one brushing step to support.
15 minutes
Prepare a question for the dentist about brushing difficulties and check when the next visit is due.
How sure the science is
Not rated, general health evidence
No pooled trials to rate. This rests on single studies, expert consensus or clinical practice. Measured in the general population; we say so because ADHD trials of this do not exist or are too small.
General NHS dental-prevention guidance plus ADHD observational reviews with mixed findings; no GRADE rating for the action.
The number, drawn
Why it matters
Brushing with fluoride toothpaste helps prevent decay in children generally. Reviews of ADHD and dental health suggest more difficulties, though a newer review found the size and consistency of the link uncertain. Practical help with brushing and dental advice for your child are sensible prevention, not a treatment for ADHD.
How to do it
- Help your child brush twice daily with fluoride toothpaste suited to their age, including before bed.
- Follow the NHS guide for their age on supervision and technique.
- Ask the dentist when the next check is due, and explain if your child finds brushing hard to tolerate.
Ask a dentist about pain, persistent bleeding, injury or difficulty brushing; supervision and toothpaste use should suit your child's age.
Putting it into practice
In real life
- Help with the bedtime brush when your child cannot manage it independently.
- Tell the dentist if the toothpaste sensation or brushing process makes tooth care difficult.
Watch out for
- Common mistakeExpecting your child to brush alone too early may leave teeth unclean. Keep helping or supervising.
- Common mistakeRinsing right after brushing washes the fluoride away. Follow the NHS advice on spitting for your child's age.
Trusted guides
How we rated it
- Evidence grade
- B Trials in ADHD with low certainty, or strong general health evidence with a sourced reason it matters more with ADHD.
- The number
- Brush children's teeth at least 2 times daily (NHS, 2025)
- Benefit
- 65/100 The benefit score is an editorial prioritization for the general list, weighted by certainty. It is not a prediction of what will happen for you.
- Effort
- Some effort
Sources
- Tier 1 guidelineChildren's teethNHS, 2025
- Tier 2 studyDental Caries in Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Meta-AnalysisCaries Research, 2022
- Tier 2 studyAttention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and oral health in children and adolescents: a systematic reviewEuropean Archives of Paediatric Dentistry, 2025
General information about ADHD, not a diagnosis or an individual treatment plan. Tailoring changes the order of suggestions; it does not assess you. Medication decisions belong with you and a qualified clinician.