Community› The Bump Month Clubs› May 2012 Moms
May 2012 Moms
New Discussion

dental care for night nursers?

papeetepapeete member
in May 2012 Moms

Hi, mamas,

Long time no post, hope this message finds you all happy and well-- and happy May birthdays to all. :-)

We're still night nursing often, and my pediatrician said she was concerned about my baby girl's teeth.  It's funny-- I remember reading about this before my LO had teeth but forgot until my 1-year check-up.

So, what are you all doing for dental care?  Any recommendations?  

We haven't been great-- DH cleans her teeth with a washcloth when he gives her a bath, but that isn't every day.  And we give her a toothbrush when we brush at night, but she'll mostly chew on it and then drop it on the ground.  So... suffice it to say that we've basically been neglecting her dental care pretty completely. :-

My LO got her first two teeth at nine months, so we've only screwed up for three months so far.  She now has four (two top, two bottom) in and two more that have cut through (on top) and growing in.  I'm hoping that we haven't screwed up too badly yet.  

image image

BabyFruit Ticker

Report Reply to Post

Re: dental care for night nursers?

  • bellelambbellelamb member
    Breast milk doesn't pool in their mouths like a bottle would so if you wipe down teeth before your last bfing of the night it's fine. Honestly my 2.5 year old doesn't brush his teeth daily and he still goes to bed with a cup. Some kids have very soft teeth and its a problem and some don't. I wouldn't stress too much, just try to brush them when you remember.
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Untitled
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • papeetepapeete member

    Thanks, ladies.  In researching a bit more (kellymom in this case), it looks like breastmilk alone is actually good for teeth, but that combined with other sugars (from other foods), it's worse than sugar water.  So, like bellelamb said, as long as we brush at night before going to bed, our LOs' teeth *should* be okay.

    Fingers crossed. :-) 

    image image

    BabyFruit Ticker

    Report Reply
  • Sherbet LemonSherbet Lemon member

    I'm so glad you asked about this.  I was going a little crazy yesterday, worried that I'd ruined my daughter's teeth for life.  She was having some bleeding gums when I brushed her teeth last night (something we do occasionally, but definitely not as consistently as we should).  It's probably more related to the fact that she's cut 2 teeth (molars!) in the past week than to poor dental care, but I'll worry about anything.

    Nice to see that everyone is doing about the same thing I've been doing.  One less reason to feel mommy guilt, I guess.

    red

    BabyFruit Ticker
    Report Reply
  • mela10mela10 member

    I'm pretty bad about remembering to brush every night. DD just cut her 3rd and 4th teeth a couple of days ago. I have been using the finger brush and rubbing down her gums, trying to get to the back on top and bottom. My husband uses a washcloth sometime during the day but I don't know how often he remembers.

    I asked my dentist about when I should bring her in and he said at about 2 years. I have read other places to bring them in at about a year. Has anyone brought their LO to the dentist yet? 

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"