Spitting

I had a terrible time with my son also. I just working with him. I would brush a little and then tell him to spit the toothpaste out. I had the same issue with the bad breath. I got Aquafresh for kids. It is great. He likes the flavor of it and it isn't as strong as adult toothpaste.
Just keep working with him. My son was 3 before he really got it. Good Luck

I think kids tend to learn best by watching what we do. I have found that when I brush my teeth my daughter wants to be right there trying it too. Show by example and explain as needed. They will pick it up easily just as they do most things, it is natural.

There is a children's mint toothpaste that should help with his breath. The adult toothpaste has more floride which can lead to many other problems. Adult toothpaste is also stronger and I found it burned my oldest child's mouth so he still won't use it even though he's 11. Almost all of the flavored gentler toothpastes have whiteners in them and you don't want to expose your toddler to those.

Also make sure you are brushing his tongue. They hate that, but it is often what gets stinkiest.

To teach him to spit brush your teeth with him and show him how you do it. This way he will see how you brush all your teeth and your tongue also. Make it a game to see if he can spit on the drain. Boys love gross games! You can also try it with water first, so he gets the idea of spitting out the water.

Good Luck!

Hi, He probably is too young to spit well enough to use adult toothpaste. Our pediatric dentist said the amount of floride in regular toothpaste is way too much to let a child use until they are spitting well and reliably. She advised to keep our child on the childrens floride free toothpaste until that happened and to keep using the floride drops. Just demonstrate for him and let him try and keep trying, once he is spitting well with the training toothpastse, then you can switch to floride toothpaste. his breath shouldn't be stinking though. has he had a dental exam recently? if he hasn't had one in the past 6 months, i'd take him in and get an exam. he might have some decay already.

They have several children's toothpaste that taste kind of like bubblegum and are blue or pink in color. My kids can't STAND "grown-up" toothpaste and I have one son who has borderline halitosis. Our dentist has said the children's toothpaste is better for them and all my kids use it (ages 2 - 10). My stinky-breath son has to brush a full three times a day and I let him use children's "Sealant" mouthwash at night. You can get both at places like Walmart or even Dollar Stores.
As for teaching them how to spit - I just showed them and they thought it was fun so it was no problem teaching them. It was easier to teach them how to spit out the toothpaste than how to rinse with the water. My youngest (2) watches the older kids so he can do it great.

Hi R.
My way may be alittle off to some people but it worked for daughter 24 years ago and my 3 year old grandson. My husband bless his heart spits. He is a hick and use to chew and spitting have just stuck with him not use why but it has. My daughter followed the habit of couse when she about that age and I of course tried to get her to stop since little ladies don't spit. Well when it came time to teach her to spit out her tooth paste we let her spit on the side walk and in parking lots and at times like that. Then we let her spit out water and juice and things like that/ Then we moved on to the tooth paste. It worked for her and our grand son.
I would just be careful with switching over to an adult tooth paste as the taste is quite strong and over powering sometimes. You might try a junior tooth paste first or check with a dentist and see if they have any other ideas.
I did day care and was home with our daughter and loved it Good luck with the spitting and day care
Aline

Kids this age shouldn't be brushing their teeth entirely on their own because they don't have the motor control until they are 7 or 8 to be able to do a thorough job of brushing. They tend to just brush the backs or fronts and not the entire mouth. So brush thoroughly for him and let him either start or finish. As far as spitting, let him practice with water and teach him how. But, don't be surprised if he wants to spit stuff he shouldn't!!! LOL Enjoy those babies at home! You are making a great decision to be home with them. These years are so precious and go by so very quickly. You won't regret your decision! I'm a professional mother who stayed home for 7 years and then worked part time for 10 more. I never regretted my decision and it didn't hurt my career one little bit.

I'm not sure a 2 year old should be having bad breath regardless of toothpaste or brushing. Does he have a sinus problem? Stomach problems? Have you taken him to the pediatrician for this? Have you taken him to a dentist to ensure no decay is taking place? A lot of times, bad breath can come from stomach upset or the post-nasal drip from a sinus problem.

Hope this helps with food for thought.

I just read some of the responses, and my response is very similar to at least two others. Be sure you find the cause - then treat the cause, not the symptoms.

R.,
I am a dental hygienist, so I have a little bit of experience in this area. A child at two is probably a little young to be switched to regular toothpaste, especially if he cannot spit yet. The problem with adult toothpaste is the fluoride, which is great in small amounts, but can actually cause fluorisis (white mottled areas on teeth) if swallowed at a young age while teeth are still developing.

I would also encourage you to keep brusing your child's teeth for him. Let him do it first, but then go back and get the back teeth and the inside of the teeth especially. Children do not have the fine motor skills to effectively brush their teeth. I once heard a dentist say that until a child can write in cursive, they really can't be expected to control a toothbrush in fine detail.

If you are worried about breathe, see if you can brush his tongue. A lot of breathe issues can come from plaque on the tongue, and postnasal drip from sinuses. When you brush his tongue don't tell him to stick it out, leave it in the mouth and just try and gently get back as far as you can without gagging him. Good Luck!

Oh, I have to add one more thing for all parents...please, please, please watch how much juice, candy, and soda your children are having. A soda has about 10 tsp of sugar, and a ph of about 2. Even diet soda has a low ph b.c of the carbonation. Believe it or not, even with the advancements of fluoride and sealants we are seeing little kiddos with mouths full of huge cavities as early as 2 years old. children needing root cananls in baby teeth and chrome steel crowns. It breaks my heart to see these little ones have negative experiences at the dentist from an early age when most of the problems could have been prevented.

When my son was about 2 he too loved to brush his teeth. I think he really just liked the taste of the training toothpaste. It was difficult to get him to spit it out too. One weekend we were out of town and his toothpaste had somehow been left at home. So we decided to put a tiny bit (just in case he tried to swallow it too) of adult toothpaste on his toothbrush just to get his teeth somewhat clean. And guess what...he didn't like the taste and he quickly learned how to spit it out in the sink!!! We skipped the step 2 kids toothpastes all together. Most of them were fruity or bubblegum flavored and we thought he would just want to eat them too which would be bad since they contain fluoride. We found an adult toothpaste which he likes the taste of, but it has just enough of a "burn" that he doesn't want it to linger in his mouth too long. On a similar note, a pediatric dentist friend of ours recommended the spinning kids toothbrushes as they are more effective in a shorter period of time for impatient little ones. Hope this helps you.

Maybe you should try brush your teeth along with him when he does his, so he can see how you do it. You knew kids pick alot up from just watching what we do. Also he is not to young to see the denist. Ask him to talk with him about the poper way to brush his teeth. He may also have a set of gaint teeth that he can show your son on. Just make sure the denist is a skill kids one/ Like you have a Dr for kids and you have your own.

Our son is almost 2 1/2 and we noticed his breath starting to stink too, but then we started brushing is tongue more often and this has helped. We were told too not to use adult toothe paste and that once he's between 3 & 4 is when he should start seeing a dentist on a regular basis unless there is concern before hand. Our doctor also gave us prescribtion chewable vitamins with a fluoride supplement.

Hi R.,

A child can brush and brush and brush, but if they have bad breath, it will just come right back. I've read that if a child (or anyone for that matter) has excessive bad breath, it can mean that they're not drinking enough water. I've tried out this theory, and his helped a lot. I can't remember why it helps so much, but you can probably find it anywhere on the net.

As for the spitting while brushing and adult toothpaste, I would definitely not change to adult toothpaste until the appropriate age...I think it says on the tube. And he'll learn how to spit...it took my kids a while to figure it out. I think it was somewhere around 2 1/2. If he watches you, he'll see what you're doing and want to do it, too.

Have a great day!
Liz.

I simply instructed my son (now 9 years old) about the dangers of swallowing toothpaste. Not in a stern way, but by simply looking him in the eye and telling him. He said, "Okay". That was the end of it....now toothpaste sculptures are a different story.

Hi R.. I have worked for a dentist for nearly twenty years. If your son is not able to understand the concept of spitting....don't switch toothpastes. Adult paste has flouride in it and if swallowed in large amounts or small amounts on a daily basis, it can be harmful to him. Chances are that his "bad breath" is actually from sinus drainage or another underlying medical condition. Start with the easier of the two. It may be as simple as him breathing from his mouth at night or just from general allergies. Try brushing his tongue after brushing his teeth. The tongue holds an enormous amount of bacteria. Remember, kids needs help brushing their teeth until they have the dexterity to do it themselves (usually around age 7). Children should have their first dental visit at age 3. Remember, don't force them to do anything they don't want to do at the dentist. It is very important they have a good experience at the dentist. Good behavior in the dental chair comes with age. Hope this is of help to you!

L. M

Hi R.,
I am a dental hygienist of 11 years and want to say "WAY TO GO" on brushing your 2 year olds teeth. Keep up the good work! I would recommend that an adult keep brushing their child's teeth until around age 4 or 5. Do let your 2 yr. old brush but always have an adult go back and brush again. I have two boys ages 4 and 9 and I still check my 9 yr. olds teeth. If a child can not get dressed by himself, then they are not ready to brush by themselves.
As far as the bad breath is concerned, I would not switch to a fluoridated toothpaste until the child can spit most of it out. Believe me, it just takes time for a child to master that skill and sometimes as long as 3 or 4 years old. To help with bad breath just keep up the brushing at least twice a day and see if your child has allergies which could cause them to sleep with their mouth open or drainage which both can cause bad breath.
Hope this helps.

Try brushing your teeth when u are brushing his teeth and spit out the water and try to explain to him that he doesn't want to swallow the toothpaste because he can get sick from it. That's what I did with my son and now he does a pretty good job.

Try brushing your teeth with your child. My son is 15m he knows how 2 spit. I think that it is because he has seen me. Also if your child has bad breath he may not be drinking enough. I have that problem with my children. I notice it more when they haven't been taking in enough fluids. I hope this helps. Good luck and God Bless.

We had the same problem with teaching our then 2 year old to spit. At first we were just showing her how to spit but then one day we tried "swish and spit" and she had done great ever since. I think the momentum and the fun of the swishing helped her a lot.