When to Brush Teeth

Hi L.,
I am a dental hygienist. At that age he should only be using toothpaste without Fluoride. You should also help him with brushing his teeth once he is done. We don't usually recommend fluoridated toothpaste until he is 3 years of age(a very small amount) or can spit out the paste and not swallow when he is done. Kids his age now tend to swallow and fluoride isn't good to ingest , it will upset stomach and can cause vomiting.
Hope this helps. I think it's great the fact that he is brushing, it really helps when they cooperate!! Good luck!

You son can use the baby oragel toothpaste now. He just can't have toothpaste with fluoride since he can't spit the toothepaste out. The baby toothpaste is a fruity flavor.

I have used the infant toothpaste and toothbrush on my finger since my son starting getting teeth at eight months old. he is now 19 months. i got a set in walmart with elmo on it and a brush to put on my finger to brush his teeth.it cost a little over three dollars. he likes it and sometimes wants me to do it more because i think it feels good on his gums. he is getting teeth in all the time. their baby breath does get stinky.he likes the toothbrush but he mainly chews on it. i do not think they are old enough at this point to actually brush their teeth. you should be doing it at least two times a day. you do not want him to get decay. you also need to make sure to brush the gums so there is no bacteria.

My first thought as I read your message is: the child is sick and his breath smells.... is it strep?
Strep has a distinctive smell to it and I often had my children say *ahh* so I could sniff their breath when they were sick. Sometimes it's really the only symptom you can put your finger on!
Please make sure you rule it out- or it will return in 3 weeks.
AS for the toothpaste, IMHO, if he is old enough to understand when you explain about it, he is old enough to use it sparingly.

le.

L., I started to brush my sons teeth regularly (2 x's a day) when he was about 10 months old. We started off with water at first and switched to toddler tooth paste at 12 months, the non-foaming kind. We only put trace amounts on the tooth brush. I start the brushing session to make sure I get everything...gums, tongue, and then let him finish. Good luck.

We used the toddler toothpaste, i think it had little bear on the box. It is meant to be safe for his age. You are lucky that he likes to brush :-)

Hi L.,
I have a 2 1/2 yr old and I have been brushing her teeth w/ flouride free tooth paste for sometime now. Probably back to when her teeth started coming in! She also gets flouride drops b/c there is no flouride in the water where I live but when she was at the Drs about 3 weeks ago, he said it was okay for me to start using regular tooth paste now since we only use a small amt. So, I would buy the flouride free toothpaste now, at the very least and use that!
K.

I think I got the "Little Bear" toothpaste for my toddler to use. That was 4 yrs. ago. I believe it doesn't have fluoride in it. You have to be careful w/ regular toothpaste, has fluoride in it. Double check w/ your dentist. Don't want to overdose w/ fluoride because toddlers may tend to swallow the paste until they learn to rinse & spit out properly.

My son, Tyler is almost 2, and I had started brusing his teeth right around 16 months. My son had all his teeth by then. I took him to a dentist, and the dentist recommended that I started to brush them. My advice to you, is ask your dentist, or ask a child dentist. What I do for Tyler, is I put just a little bit of toothpaste on his toothbrush, and I brush his teeth. Then I rinse off his toothbrush, and give his teeth a "rinse". I always praise him and tell him that he is a big boy. I hope that my advice helps.

They have toothpaste without fluoride in it. That's what you want to get because if they swallow it, it won't hurt them. It's in the toothpaste aisle. I know it's Little Bear, but I think the brand is orajel for toddlers. K.

My son is 10 months and has 6 teeth. I have been brushing his gums and teeth since he had 2. I use the Earth's Best organic toothpaste (less than pea-sized amount) because it is safe to swallow. He loves to have them brushed, but lately is more interested in doing it himself! LOL! Doesn't do such a great job himself, so I do it first then he can brush away. Just make sure whatever you use is safe to swallow.

They do make toothpaste without floride for toddlers because they will swallow. You can start that at any time! With 16 teeth, he should have his teeth brushed in the morning after breakfast and before bed. You brush first and let him "brush" after if he'd like. Just don't let him chew the brush. Call any dentist and ask when they recommend to start using toothpaste with floride for your child.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HarrisburgPAChat
chat and events within 2 hour radius

As everyone said, there is toddler toothpaste out there. But make sure you are brushing his teeth or he'll just eat the toothpaste and his teeth won't be getting clean. I brush my kids teeth and then let them have a turn once I know they're clean.

Hi L.,
It sounds like your son has been brushing his teeth on a regular basis. That's great. I wanted to share a tip that was on our toddler toothpaste box. I tried it and it works!
My daughter is now 2 and typically bites the brush and I worry that she is not brushing all her teeth. I have her hold my toothbrush and I hold hers and we brush each others teeth. She imitates me and allows me to brush her front and back teeth without fuss, and gets a kick out of helping mom out. Just a tip. Take care and good luck! Here's to no cavities mom!
L.

Hi L., You can use a tiny bit of tooth paste if your son knows how to spit! He is almost ready for his first dentist appointment too! Make sure you find a great ped's dentist. Taking your son to a great dentist regularly not only ensures great dental health, it keeps the "dental fear" away for life. I recommend Dentistry For Kids, they have a bunch of offices all over the Pittsburgh area and are amazing from the office staff to the Dentists. Best wishes.

You can safely use the fluoride-free training paste. At least his breath will smell like "bubble fruit" or something!

Use the toddler toothepaste and make sure that YOU brush his teeth also. It is fine to let him play doing it but to really get it done correctly you must do it also. Actually I have read that children up to 6 years old really do need assistance in brushing their teeth correctly.