First teeth and brushing - help!

[Fizzyfefe]

My son's bottom two teeth have broken through his gums, so we bought him a toothbrush last night. However, I am totally clueless about this. Does he need toothpaste, or just water? Does anyone have a recommendation for something natural? All the ones we saw last night were for children, not infants/babies, and seemed like a lot of unnecessary chemicals that are unsafe if swallowed. Should his teeth be brushed after every meal? Or after every bottle? Or only twice a day? What about at night? When does he need to see a dentist?

Help, please!

 

[pennymarie]

My daughter has her two bottom teeth, and we got a silicone brush.

And I have the same question? I don't know what to do with it? When to do it?
Should I get a bristle one?

 

[Fizzyfefe]

Hopefully, someone can help!

 

[CaptainMummy]

I brush before bedtime and after breakfast. I have always used toothpaste, just the tiniest dot when they only have one or two teeth. I just lay my baby down, make them laugh/smile and give them a quick brush.

My youngest is now 10 months (has 9 teeth) and I give her the toothbrush a few times a day to have a play with too. She quite likes having her teeth brushed, I can even get into her two top molars without any fuss. I suggest starting straight away to get them used to it

 

[_Meep_]

Hi,

My babe got her first tooth at 5 months. To start with, it's fine to just use a muslin cloth with a dab of water to wipe the tooth clean, or a soft brush with water, but it's also ok to use toothpaste on a cloth or brush. You want to look for a low fluoride (or fluoride-free if you prefer, though a small amount helps to keep the tooth hard and healthy) toothpaste designed for children. You use a tiny smear, about the size of a grain of rice, so there's no risk when the baby inevitably swallows it!

Once a day is fine at first, to get the baby used to having their teeth brushed (you should brush all round the gums as well), but by the time the baby is eating a couple of solid meals a day, or has more than a couple of teeth, it's best to do it morning and night, like you would.

Hth!

 

[_Meep_]

Oh and I don't know if you can get Kingfisher products in America but they make an all-natural strawberry toothpaste for babies that my daughter enjoys. We tend to alternate between that and regular fluoride mint baby toothpaste.

 

[hanni]

What about that aloe Vera tooth gel stuff you can get now that everyones raving about? That might be a better option. No doubt you'll know at least 100 people who sell it (who doesn't these days!?)

I was wondering the same about brushing.

I've booked Dominics first dentist appointment at my next check up. He'll be 10 months old, my dentist said 18 months old but they're happy to see them before.

 

[pennymarie]

Thank you guys! I would do fluoride free. Does anyone know of any no sugar brands? My daughter doesn't like sweets unless it's pineapple or lemons. I think it was from when she was in my belly! I hate sweets and eat salty!

10 months and 9 teeth!!!!!!!! :0

penny has two and is 11.5 months old

 

[_Meep_]

All of the Kingfisher kinds come fluoride-free, though they do them with fluoride too. The strawberry one is marketed at children but I don't see why the others shouldn't be ok for children too since they have no fluoride or SLS in them.

 

[Fizzyfefe]

Thanks for responding, ladies! We bought him Tom's, which is fluoride-free but has glycerine (not sure if that is considered completely sugar-free).

 

[_Meep_]

I'm sure it's fine, but if you ever see one sweetened with xylitol, I would definitely get it as that's meant to be excellent for dental health.

 

[Fizzyfefe]

Tom's has xylitol in it.

 

[Zephram]

The advice here in NZ is to brush twice a day with ordinary fluoridated toothpaste. This is what we did with my DS1 and will do with our 8 week old when he has teeth.

 

[_Meep_]

Ah fab!