brushing teeth!

[AKislandgirl]

DD is 10.5 months old. She has 8 teeth and she is not really of fan of tooth brushing. I try to do it every night as part of our bed time routine. Some nights I can get a few swipes in and other nights its a total struggle. I don't want this to be a battle. What can I do? Do you use that beginner toothpaste to make it taste better? So far I just use water. 3 of my sisters kids have had infant tooth decay and had teeth pulled and a whole mess of dental problems. I really want to avoid that! Any suggestions?

[Everrgreen]

This is something I worry about too. I haven't made it part of a routine at all yet. I use a wet washcloth to clean DS up after meals and he always takes it from me to chew on - so I consider that brushing I did buy him a baby toothbrush (it's a silicone thing with little nubbies) and I give that to him to chew on when I think of it (maybe 1/day). I'm not sure when I should be introducing a beginner toothpaste. DS only has 5 teeth, but I want to make sure I'm doing what I'm supposed to be...

[JMJ]

Right now, with DD 8.5 months old, we're getting into a routine where I brush first and then when I'm done, she gets a turn. She puts up with me except when she's teething too badly, and then she loves playing with the toothbrush.

An idea I've heard of that I'd like to try when she's old enough to get it is I get to brush her teeth while she brushes my teeth.

[MadiMamacita]

another idea is to give them a toothbrush they can chew on.
i brush my los teeth after my own whenever he is in my arms whilst i'm tbing.

[CookAMH]

When's a good time to start this? My LO is almost 8mo, has four teeth and eats a tiny bit of food.

[AKislandgirl]

My thoughts were to start brushing when we started solid food.(assuming there are teeth at this time, this isn't the case for every baby, I know!) Now that she eats everyday I'm trying to brush everyday. I like the suggestion of letting her brush my teeth! I did get a long handled baby toothbrush so that we can both hold it while I brush her teeth. I'm hoping that helps. I may try to find the weleda tooth gel when I'm on vacation.

[j_p_i]

Originally Posted by CookAMH

When's a good time to start this? My LO is almost 8mo, has four teeth and eats a tiny bit of food.

Just talked to my ped about this today, as dd has 2 teeth now (first one came in about 3 weeks ago). She said that while it may not be necessary, it is a good habit to get into as soon as a LO has teeth. She said simply use a washcloth and clean the teeth, we don't need to use a toothpaste yet.

[justKate]

Ugh I am totally not brushing DD's teeth (10 mos.).



We have one of those little plastic finger cover thingies with the bristles, and a baby toothbrush, but, UGH.

Bad mama.

[writteninkursive]

Originally Posted by AKislandgirl

DD is 10.5 months old. She has 8 teeth and she is not really of fan of tooth brushing. I try to do it every night as part of our bed time routine. Some nights I can get a few swipes in and other nights its a total struggle. I don't want this to be a battle. What can I do? Do you use that beginner toothpaste to make it taste better? So far I just use water. 3 of my sisters kids have had infant tooth decay and had teeth pulled and a whole mess of dental problems. I really want to avoid that! Any suggestions?

That is likely inherited, and not a result of hygiene. There is evidence to show that using TOO MUCH fluoridated toothpaste can have the opposite effect and CAUSE tooth decay. Fluoride only helps to a point... and we have made crucial mistakes in our culture by adding Fluoride to water. Our kids get more than enough fluoride just from drinking water. So I keep my kids OFF the fluoridated toothpaste and only use infant toothpaste with them, as I will continue to do until they are adults and can decide for themselves. I have awful teeth problems from antibiotics as a child (6 years straight on amoxicillian for ear infections), and they tried everything on me. Finally, the dentist did fluoride treatments, and suddenly, I had TONS of cavities - more than my normal 6 per visit! The fluoride just accelerated the tooth decay. So my advice if you're worried about tooth decay is to stay away from antibiotics and stay away from fluoride.

For your nightly tooth brushing battles, try this:
Lay off it for awhile. Let her get out of the habit. She is still young and shouldn't have a problem unless you're feeding her ridiculous amounts of junk food, which you probably aren't.
After a month or two, when she's forgotten about the forced tooth-brushing, reintroduce it, making it appear to be the funnest thing in the world. YOU brush your teeth first. And be all smiles and laughter and make it look amazing. If she's not into it the first time you do it, don't worry... if you keep doing it every day, she will think she's missing out on something awesome since you have such a good time with it. She'll want to eventually. Using a dab of infant toothpaste won't hurt. And if they swallow it, it's okay because it doesn't have the nasty stuff adult toothpaste has in it. Make it a game to her. Every night, get all excited and open your eyes really wide and be all "Wanna brush your teeth???" And if you get excited, she will! My kids ADORE brushing their teeth (too much!) and I have to actually fight to KEEP them from doing it constantly.

[Carhootel]

Originally Posted by justKate

Ugh I am totally not brushing DD's teeth (10 mos.).



We have one of those little plastic finger cover thingies with the bristles, and a baby toothbrush, but, UGH.

Bad mama.

me too