brushing teeth

kangtini

I need tips.  LO barely lets me brush.  I am worried he is going to have baby cavities. How often are you brushing?  For how long?  With what? 

 

shaunnna

This is what we use at least once a day

Sprite2012

I brush his gums (no teeth yet!) in the morning and before bed.  We sing a song while doing it and he smiles the whole time :-)  We've been brushing gums twice/day since he was 6ish months old.

kerrigrooves

I use that same tool as above and I try and brush quickly when we have bathtime.

fusionbride

here are the official Pediatric Dentistry guidelines:  https://www.aapd.org/media/Policies_Guidelines/G_infantOralHealthCare.pdf

The biggest thing you can do to project your child's teeth is not let them have bottles or sippy cups in bed at night.  And don't let them have prolonged access to milk or juice that they can periodically sip from over a long period of time.

Also, fluoridated tap water or fluoride drops have something like a 20-40% protection effect.

For brushing, we use a regular baby toothbrush with just water once a day after nighttime nursing and before going to bed.  To get her to cooperate when brushing, I either hold her in front of me so she can see the mirror and make faces at her that she watches in the mirror, or sit or lay her on my lap facing me as I sit on top of the toilet and make faces at her from that angle.  I only brush for like 10-20 seconds, since she only has 2 teeth.  I be sure to get the front and backs of the teeth, then do a quick pass over all her gums to get her used to it.

When she hits a year, I'm forcing no more MOTN feedings, and also starting a super tiny smear/dot of fluoride toothpaste once a day-- once you use the toothpaste there is more benefit the longer you leave it on the teeth, so I'll probably try to brush for closer to 1-2 minutes at that point if she'll let me

SurpriseAt39

With DD I had a set that had a rubber 'nubbed' style brush (picture a raspberry on a stick) that she could chew on. It worked for teething and cleaning. She played with it daily from 3 months or so.
Then the other brush was a regular (although tiny) toothbrush that she chewed on at closer to a year when she had most of her teeth.
(No toothpaste at all until about 2 years old)

For DS I bought a similar set that also included a finger brush like what was posted above and when I brush my teeth he smiles and opens up so we use it then. He has been doing that since about 4 months, but he just got his first tooth at 9 months.
(Still will not use toothpaste until about 2 years old).

doggiemom4

shaunnna said:

This is what we use at least once a day

We use the NUK version of this.

Zane loves bath time and that's when we brush his teeth. He hasn't fought me over brushing (yet). I have a regular kids toothbrush and I let Zane play with it now and then.

If LO won't let you use a finger brush, I suggest maybe buying a kids soft bristle brush and letting LO explore it or give LO a wet washcloth and let LO chew.

Hummingbirdbaby3

Soft finger brush at bedtime.