Imagine this situation: a cute toddler playing in the park, you went to give a peck on her cheek and yack. you had to step back leaving your task incomplete; you never knew such an angelic child could breathe so awful.

Well, bad breath is not a problem of the adults or the teenagers in their early adolescence. There may be variety of reasons that may cause bad breath in your little kid. Starting from dehydration, to improper brushing habits, the habit of breathing through the mouth, to lack of drinking. all these can cause bad breath in a child. In addition to take care of other causes, you must ensure that your child is going through proper oral care regimen on a daily basis and one of the essential part of daily oral care is rinsing mouth with child friendly mouthwash.

Some parents wonder whether their children really need a mouthwash! Here is the answer for these parents.
- It is the age bracket between 6 to 17 years that the chances of developing dental cavity become highest. In the absence of proper oral care, an individual may experience decaying of around ten teeth as he reaches fifteen years of age. He may also need to fill up some of them. One may lose as many as ten teeth by the age of fifteen if proper oral care has not been taken.
- in the absence of proper oral health, the mouth of the child becomes the breeding ground of oral bacteria that leads to the formation of dental plaque, gingivitis, periodontal disease, and halitosis.
- Even more dangerous are several gum infections that may even lead to heart diseases in future.
- A bad odor (halitosis) in the mouth of your child is the indication of the invasion of bacteria. If they are allowed to stay they may lead to more serious infections.

So you must be careful about the oral health of your child and brushing and occasional flossing leaves the process incomplete. For the complete and thorough protection, you have to encourage your child to rinse her mouth with a bactericidal mouthwash.

Here are the essential features of a mouthwash specially formulated for the children.

- The kids' mouthwash should be made of nontoxic ingredients, so that even if some part goes inside the stomach it does not cause too much harm.
- The kids' mouthwash should be strictly free of alcohol.
- The mouthwash should be characterized by broad spectrum of microbicidal activity, so that it kills the odor-causing bacteria.
- Children's mouthwash should not contain sugar or cationic antimicrobial agents.
- It should come in child friendly flavors like fruity or bubble gum flavors.

Lastly, explain to your child in a creative way why oral health is essential and encourage him to follow the mouth rinsing regimen to prevent any dental damage.