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Babies: 9 - 12 Months
SkysMom2811
member
brushing teeth
SkysMom2811
member
My son has a few teeth.. he will be 1 on the 28th, what do you do to brush you babies teeth?? is it important right now? do i use a regular baby toothbrush or what?
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Re: brushing teeth
I think it is important to brush as soon as the teeth come in, to establish a solid routine, especially now that they are eating more foods with sugars, acidity. We've been brushing since his first tooth at 6 months.
I recently had a well child check up, and was told to use a soft bristled tooth brush and adult toothpaste for the extra flouride.
She said to use jut a smear but that it's good for it not to be rinsed so that it coats the tooth.
Elizabeth 5yrs old Jane 3yrs old
We were told by DD's pediatric dentist to just use water, until they know how to spit. The training tooth paste is just sugar and kids usually just want to suck it off the brush, which impedes brushing.
I brush DS's teeth every night before bed. I use a piece of gauze wrapped around my finger and then floss his teeth with a children's flosser (mostly just so he gets used to the routine of flossing). For some reason flossing DS's teeth is much easier than brushing. I will change over to a brush when he gets molars - because that was when DD started biting me and the brush cleans the tops of those better.
If you are having problems brushing because of the struggle, DD's pediatric dentist suggested placing two chairs facing each other - DH sits in one with LO on their lap facing them and you sit on the other. LO is leaned back so their head is on your lap and you can brush their teeth easily this way, while DH holds their hands if need be. I found that technique so much easier to brush DD's teeth.
This. DON'T use a flouride toothpaste, as babies will swallow, it can upset their tummies. Check to see if your tap water has flouride in it, and let LO drink filtered tap water for the flouride. When LO is old enough to understand spitting vs swallowing (Oh, DH would have a field day with that), then you can introduce a flouride toothpaste. Also, when LO is over a year, try taking them to the dentist, so they can get used to getting cleanings and such. I just took DD1 at 2 1/2 to the dentist, and I was terrified of what she would do, but she let them take the panoramic x-rays, and do the cleaning and everything. She only required she got to sit on my lap during the cleaning. But for an infact under twelve, I say the least invasive the better. Little finger brush or a wet cloth is probably the best you can do.