cleaning babies teeth

bbc mom

Registered User
Does anyone have any tips on cleaning babies teeth?

Are other mums having difficulty getting their babies/toddlers to cooperate?
I tried the finger brushes and baby toothbrushes but he refused to open his mouth after the first go. In the past I've been wiping them with damp gauze/cloth with a little bit of flouride-fee toothpaste, but it's difficult to give it a thorough wipe and get around the back of the teeth.

He's approaching 13mths and his top teeth have recently come through so he now has four teeth. I also read that some dentists recommend using flouride toothpaste and it's not harmful if small amounts are used. What is everyone else using?
 
I have the same problem! My wee man is 13 months and has just got his top two teeth through too.

I've got one of those baby toothbrushes and some of the baby toothpaste. As yet I haven't really tried to brush his teeth properly, but I let him play with the toothbrush while getting him dried and into jammies for bed....this invariably means he has a chew on it. What I also do is pretend to clean my teeth with it and he copies me.

I don't want to turn it into a stressful situation so I'm conscious of not fighting him to do it. I guess I'll just continue like this and gradually start to brush them more and more.

Hope this helps...but if anyone has any other tips, would love to hear them.

K
 
my 13 mth old daughter has 8 teeth already. i have been brushing and wiping (with gauze) her teeth with water only. she seems to coorperate well when she sees her dad brushing his teeth the same time.
 
i also let my baby play with the brush to start w/, before she goes to bed & in the morning. to me, it's more of making it a habit than brushing her teeth. we also use finger & gauze to rub her teeth. she's more willing to use the brush when she sees me & daddy does it every morning. she's now 19mths & we 've been trying to brush her teeth since she was 11mths. now she won't let us hold the brush & all she does is chew & suck on the toothbrush. and she also want us to brush our teeth with her. we're trying to let her imitate us by making the brushing movements really exaggerated & making funny faces. it seems to be working a bit.
 
is it too early to use toothpaste for a 13 mth?
i bought a chicco one but i never use it, so far, i am still using water only.. my son is 20mth old..

by the way, which toothpaste are you using?
 
We get good days and bad days with our now 22-month old... Sometimes he just opens his mouth and lets us brush; other times I'd get chomped (if I used the finger brush)!

The most useful trick for us, so far, is telling him we have to 'take out' whatever it was that he had for dinner or brekkie. Sometimes, he would pretend to eat things (from make-believe berries to animals to toys) and we'd feign horror and he'd giggle and then he'd like us "take them out" with the brush.

Also, we found that he likes certain toothpaste (Milk Teeth and Gerber --both no fluoride) and would gladly open his mouth if we use those, but would fuss endlessly if we use Komodo (with fluoride). We started using toothpaste (just a miniscule dab --no fluoride) as soon as his first tooth broke the surface (at around 5 months).
 
How long can you use non-fluoride toothpaste for? My baby is approaching 2 and a dentist relative told me a little fluoride should be used. But will this create white spots on the permanent teeth later on, as I've read before?

Baby is using the Baby First Teeth toothpaste and like Buckaroo, if I give her a little bit of the fluoride toothpaste, she rejects the toothbrush altogether.
 
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