The little mouth manual

A complete guide to support MCH nurses in oral health promotion, screening, and prevention across the Key Age and Stage visits.

With thanks

Helen Lees (Municipal Association of Victoria), Julie Owen (The University of Melbourne), Dr Melinda Tam (Oral Health Victoria), Tanya  Gunnion  (Oral Health Victoria), Dr Daniel Andresen-Cocker (Royal Dental Hospital Melbourne), Nick Standen (La Trobe University), Allysha Dyer (Oral Health Victoria), Clare Lin (Oral Health Victoria).

We wish to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of the working group of Maternal and Child Health nurses whose professional insight has guided the development of this manual.

Lindy Hoen, Karen Cliffe, Melissa Baird, Yasna Meldrum, Linda Fisher, Carolyn Rice, Angelique Sherwen, Julie Maher, Joanna Glew, Louise Middleton, Priyantha Namali Weeratunga, Leonie Catherine Harper, Anna Nabielec, Melinda Meyer, Elizabeth Parle, Kimmy Nguyen, Cheri Sutherland, Sarah Coutts.

Published by

Oral Health Victoria, March 2026.

© Copyright Oral Health Victoria

This document describes the generally accepted practice at the time of publication. It is a guide only and as such is a general summary of the clinical knowledge. Maternal and Child Health nurses should regularly update their knowledge of the area and exercise their clinical judgment when applying this information.

If you have any doubts as to the correct application of this information, you should obtain advice from a dental practitioner. No warranty is made, expressed or implied, that the information contained in this document is comprehensive.

Parties associated with this publication accept no responsibility for any consequence arising from inappropriate application of this information.