Paging Dr. Julia

LJF1218

I haven't seen you in awhile, was hoping you were still around and then you posted in my latest court update!

I actually have a professional question for you.  At the ripe old age of 3 months Barrett now is cutting his 2nd tooth!  What kind of mouth/tooth care does he need right now?  I didn't think he really needed "brushing" yet, but is there some kind of cleaning I should be getting in the habit of starting on him now?  I didn't think this was something that I was needing to worry about yet, but I swear the kid thinks he's older than he is.  

Oh, and one of them is a flippin molar!  So way in the back of course.

Thanks for any advice you can give!

PrettyInPearls23

You haven't been cleaning his gums at all? I cleaned B's gums on a daily basis with a washcloth since the day he was born. Once he started cutting teeth I began brushing them with a baby toothbrush and the infant toothpaste (safe to be swallowed) 2x per day.

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LJF1218

No one has ever told me to clean his gums, either!  One of the docs I work with said I could massage them with a baby mouth massager, but that was for his comfort with teething, not for cleanliness.

I've heard conflicting info about brushing his little tooth, which is why I thought I'd ask our resident SP specialist in this area.

lurkylulu2

LJF1218:

No one has ever told me to clean his gums, either!  One of the docs I work with said I could massage them with a baby mouth massager, but that was for his comfort with teething, not for cleanliness.

I've heard conflicting info about brushing his little tooth, which is why I thought I'd ask our resident SP specialist in this area.

I can't believe your top tier education or one of your "doctor wonderfuls" couldn't provide you with this information. Maybe you should have slept with a dentist instead of a therapist.

julia0402

OMG 2 teeth at 3 months!  And a molar? That is crazy!!

Okay so you should definitely start brushing them-- you always want to start brushing once they have even just one tooth.  You can just use a soft toothbrush, no training toothpaste necessary.  (That "practice" toothpaste is actually never a necessity, but some parents find that it makes their kids want to brush because it tastes good.)  

They used to say no fluoridated toothpaste until kids can reliably spit (like age 3 or 4) but now they actually recommend that parents put a really tiny smear of fluoridated toothpaste on the brush once kids start getting teeth-- this is basically a really really small smear the size of a grain of rice.  That is your call though.

Also it's recommended that kids see a dentist by one year or their first tooth, whichever comes first... so technically you could bring him in to a pediatric dentist if you are so inclined

Hope that helps!  Let me know if you have other questions! 

LJF1218

julia0402:

OMG 2 teeth at 3 months!  And a molar? That is crazy!!

Okay so you should definitely start brushing them-- you always want to start brushing once they have even just one tooth.  You can just use a soft toothbrush, no training toothpaste necessary.  (That "practice" toothpaste is actually never a necessity, but some parents find that it makes their kids want to brush because it tastes good.)  

They used to say no fluoridated toothpaste until kids can reliably spit (like age 3 or 4) but now they actually recommend that parents put a really tiny smear of fluoridated toothpaste on the brush once kids start getting teeth-- this is basically a really really small smear the size of a grain of rice.  That is your call though.

Also it's recommended that kids see a dentist by one year or their first tooth, whichever comes first... so technically you could bring him in to a pediatric dentist if you are so inclined

Hope that helps!  Let me know if you have other questions! 

Thank you, ma'am!  I can't believe I'm going to have to go get my 3 month old baby a toothbrush already!  His tummy is going through an adjustment time so I think I'll hold off on the toothpaste for a bit in case he does swallow some, but I'll keep in mind to get him the fluoridated kind when we do start.

Thanks again for you help  =0) 

julia0402

No prob!  Anytime!

Jennis22

beccaga16:

PIP you are better than I! I didn't start until C was 6 months! She didn't have teeth until 8 months and nobody ever told me to brush her gums!

DS doesn't have any teeth yet (they're coming though...judging by how cranky he's been lately!) so I didn't think I had to worry about brushing. This is the first I'm hearing about brushing gums too...oops!