teeth brushing

[nukuspot]

DD is 14 months (almost) and we have never brushed her teeth. Until now she only has 2 on the bottom, that's it! She is just starting to get her 2 top ones. So I was wondering when you all started brushing teeth and with what sort of toothbrush? I have no idea how to start. She has her little baby banana brush but I think that's just for play. I probably need to get her a real one, right?

Do you use toothpaste or just water? I won't use fluoride, so if you have a natural toothpaste rec I'd like it, though I hope we can just use water because how can I prevent her from swallowing toothpaste (albeit natural.) Thanks!

[Beauchamp]

Nearly one year old here, eight teeth fully in, with the first molar just breaking the surface! Holy cow!

I bought the Mam set. DD bites the bristles off, so watch out for that. But once they get those teeth I think that can happen to any brush. We just use water for now, since she is really so young and doesn't totally understand yet.

[ellairiesmom]

we are really bad here & forget to brush dd1s teeth sometimes. so we are trying to make it part of the whole bedtime routine.

i have tried a few diff toothpastes-right now we are using one by Jason that I found at Whole Foods. I saw it at our local Target recently too.

[jmo]

We started brushing when ds was about 12mos. He sees his older sister get her teeth brushed so it was pretty easy to get him to cooperate. I have one of the smaller regular toothbrushes - oralB or something like that from target. Both kids love either the Jason toothpaste or the Nature's Source Animal Parade. IME it's all about habit - the more you do it, starting at an early age, the less resistance.

[crunchy_mommy]

We started brushing his teeth when we could tell some were starting to come in but before they broke through (he's a late teether, so that was maybe 10mos?) I wanted him to get used to it before the teeth came in. We use a regular soft toothbrush (we used the finger brush at first actually) with just water. We'll use (our homemade) toothpaste once he learns to spit it out. We have 2 toothbrushes, one for him to play with/chew on/etc. and the other for us to do the actual brushing (otherwise he just tries to grab the one in our hand). We also sing songs while we brush, he actually loves brushing his teeth & will ask to do it often.

[JessieBird]

We try to brush every evening but it's hard sometimes. DS often refuses. But then at other times he wants to brush all day long...! There are lots of flouride-free natural toothpastes out there to choose from. I couldn't really recommend one in particular. We use Tom's and he seems to like it.

Something that helps us is that DS's daycare makes a very big deal about tooth brushing after every snack and meal, so three times a day, and DS loves to do it there because all the other kids are too. So I don't stress about it too much at home - at least his teeth are getting brushed sometimes and I know the home routine will get easier as he gets older.

[Asiago]

Not sure if the following is helpful but my son is seven months and I wear him in a sling a lot, so he gets an up close and personal demo of my tooth brushing

He has often grasped my toothbrush and taken it from me so I purchased him his own. Now we 'brush' together! He has five teeth but they don't really get any brushing, the bristles or the handle are usually on his side gums.

Never the less he is very excited when I say to him "let's go brush our teeth!"

Maybe this ritual with me will eventually help him (hopefully)

[j_p_i]

DD is 12 months and has 7 (hopefully #8 is breaking through!) teeth. We just use a soft toothbrush, and she LOVES it. We brush twice a day, since any time she seems me with my toothbrush she gets excited and wants hers. She will cry if I try to take her toothbrush away from her before she decides she is done Then I have to pick her up so she can rinse it off herself and put it away. It's quite funny, but we are definitely encouraging her to continue to like brushing her teeth.

[Baby_Cakes]

We *try* to remember to brush DD's teeth but man, I forget sometimes. I feel terrible about it.

That said, she's got a few brushes -- kid brushes, I usually let her pick which ones she wants at the store. We use Jason toothpaste. Just a tiny amount, and I brush her teeth with it. Then I have her "rinse" (which is usually her just taking a few sips of water) and then I give her the brush to get them "really clean". She just kinda plays with it and pretends to brush.

[Summersquash]

My DD likes brushing her teeth too. We started around maybe 10-11 months old. My dentist gave me a tip for brushing baby teeth - wet the toothbrush in warm water rather than cold. It softens up the bristles a little bit so they aren't as scratchy on the gums.

[foodymama]

As soon as DD got her first tooth we started using one of those soft bristled brushes that go over your finger and just rubbed her tooth and gums. As she got older and we switched to a toothbrush we had many stages of her hating and loving to brush. Nevertheless, DD has some chipped teeth that are decaying so we use Epic toothpaste but actually only use the xytitol sugar for her to brush with. We have seen a major decrease in the speed of decay since using it.

[47jennifer]

We just use water and a kid's toothbrush with our 14 month old.

However, it has become a major battle! Before he'd kind of hold the brush, stick it in his mouth, try it out, but now that we've made it part of everyday he refuses it.

When do I actually need to worry about teeth brushing? I'm not sure if I should be forcing the issue a bit more...

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by 47jennifer

We just use water and a kid's toothbrush with our 14 month old.

However, it has become a major battle! Before he'd kind of hold the brush, stick it in his mouth, try it out, but now that we've made it part of everyday he refuses it.

When do I actually need to worry about teeth brushing? I'm not sure if I should be forcing the issue a bit more...

I don't know the 'right' answer but I am a stickler for dental hygiene & I have been adamant that if he has teeth, they MUST get brushed (not saying I don't ever skip it once in a while, if he's in a horrible mood or something, but for the most part we brush 2x daily). I've also heard that if you're BF'ing and there are food particles stuck on the teeth it's more likely to lead to decay etc.

Have you tried making it fun? Sing a song (only when the toothbrush is in his mouth; stop singing whenever he resists) or try funny positions (like hold him sideways or bounce him on your lap while you brush). I have an easier time when he's in his highchair (he goes in the highchair while I shower & then I get out & brush my teeth while he plays with a toothbrush & then I brush his teeth with another brush). DH has an easier time holding him in his lap. We also don't 'force' it, we stop as soon as he gets really upset, so sometimes we brush his teeth for several minutes and other times it's just a few seconds. Sometimes (though less so lately) he prefers the finger brush, I think it is gentler & massages his gums better? So maybe try that if he's resisting the regular brush.

[Jayray]

DS is 12 mo and has four teeth. We just started wiping his teeth with a washcloth. This is what the ped recommended and it seems a little easier to me than the brushing right now. I have given him a toothbrush when he sees me brushing my teeth just so he can play along.

I have heard that toothpaste isn't necessary, but I don't know if it's true or not. Although I imagine that a nice flavored toothpaste might be an incentive for a LO to brush?