With children as young as FOUR having up to 11 teeth extracted due to poor dental care, Martin Ashley - leading dentist in Manchester’s Dental Hospital and a star in ITV 1’s The Dentists - has given Closer readers a handy guide on looking after your little ones teeth and keeping them out of dental hospital...

READ: EXPERTS WARN THAT COVERING YOUR BABY'S PRAM PUTS YOUR INFANT'S LIFE AT RISK

Start good dental care when your little one is young - and don’t introduce unhealthy drinks and snacks for as long as you can. Establish a regular routine of cleaning teeth in the morning and night.

Kids love to copy us, so eat and drink sensibly and let them see you brushing your teeth and flossing as much as possible.

Make sure you take your child to see a dentist as soon as their first teeth appear.

Children will, of course, start with milk and then gradually give them water as well, as you begin to wean them onto solid food. When they are old enough to start school, you can give them very diluted, sugar-free fruit juice occasionally in the week, but water should be the main drink every day.

Children shouldn’t have anything other than milk or water in the Golden Hour before bedtime and NEVER when they are in bed. If they have milk in the hour before sleeping, brush their teeth before they go to bed.

They are too sweet and the acids that make the bubbles will also gradually erode your child’s teeth.

Brush your child’s teeth for two minutes, twice a day, with fluoride toothpaste. All ‘adult’ toothpastes have the right amount of fluoride for children, so you can use that if you want. Once you can trust them to wash and dry their own hair (about nine years old), they are becoming old enough to understand why and how to brush their own teeth. It is still sensible to help them regularly.

When they are old enough, your child should spit after brushing, but never rinse with water, as this will wash away the good fluoride. Spit, don’t rinse.

Keep toothpaste where babies and young children cannot reach it.

If your child needs medicine, ask for sugar-free types.

READ: HEALTH OFFICIALS WARN NEW MOTHERS NOT TO SLEEP WITH THEIR NEWBORN INFANTS

Do you have anything to add? Let us know via the Comments Box below now.