3yo toothbrushing questions

I was just wondering, at what age did your children start brushing their
teeth (alone or assisted) with fluoride toothpaste?

Our DD turned 3 in September...I have been brushing her teeth morning
and night, ever since they sprouted up. I use Baby Tooth & Gum Cleanser
(baby toothpaste with no fluoride that can be swallowed). At this point
she brushes them herself, but then I follow up and brush them some
myself to be sure they are done properly.

This morning I tried using fluoride toothpast on her...I used only a
tiny bit (not even 1/2 of a pea sized amount) and the brushing went
fine...she didn't seem to mind the mint taste at all. I tried to
explain that this toothpaste can not be swallowed, that it can give you
a tummy ache, etc...but I'm sure she swallowed some anyway. The rinsing
was a mess too. I gave her water in a cup and demonstrated what to do
on myself...she ended up swallowing the water though and spitting out
air. Her shirt ended up soaked too.

Any suggestions on how to get her doing this in a better way?

Also, at what age did your children see the dentist? Our dentist
recommended age 3 (and we are taking her very soon) for a first visit.
This seems a bit late compared to what I'm hearing from others....

Thanks very much!
Kathy

Kathy wrote:
I was just wondering, at what age did your children start brushing their
teeth (alone or assisted) with fluoride toothpaste?

Our DD turned 3 in September...I have been brushing her teeth morning
and night, ever since they sprouted up. I use Baby Tooth & Gum Cleanser
(baby toothpaste with no fluoride that can be swallowed). At this point
she brushes them herself, but then I follow up and brush them some
myself to be sure they are done properly.

This morning I tried using fluoride toothpast on her...I used only a
tiny bit (not even 1/2 of a pea sized amount) and the brushing went
fine...she didn't seem to mind the mint taste at all. I tried to
explain that this toothpaste can not be swallowed, that it can give you
a tummy ache, etc...but I'm sure she swallowed some anyway. The rinsing
was a mess too. I gave her water in a cup and demonstrated what to do
on myself...she ended up swallowing the water though and spitting out
air. Her shirt ended up soaked too.

Any suggestions on how to get her doing this in a better way?

Also, at what age did your children see the dentist? Our dentist
recommended age 3 (and we are taking her very soon) for a first visit.
This seems a bit late compared to what I'm hearing from others....

Thanks very much!
Kathy

Mine are 3.5 and 2.
They still use flouride free because of the younger one. I can't give
them two separate toothpastes and still manage to live Also because
they love to lick the paste. I tried telling them all about tummy ache
etc but they don't seem to care. They both start brushing and I finish
it up for them. I follow up with a quick brushing on the tongue to
clear our yucky stuff and gargle (mouth rinse). They've been
mouth-rinsing ever since they started brushing but they got the hang of
it around 18 months of age. So even my 2 year old can effectively rinse
her mouth now.

They haven't been to the dentist yet and their teeth are not pearly
white anymore so pretty soon I'll take them.

I'll look for other replies. Thanks for starting this thread.

"Kathy" wrote in message news:7293-

Any suggestions on how to get her doing this in a better way?

Just practice swishing and spitting and once she can do that regular
toothpaste is fine as long as she doesn't eat it on purpose. Swishing and
spitting is easy to practice in the tub.

One of my dentists recommended 3.5yo for a first appt. and the new one (we
moved) said 4yo. That worked for us but if you have worries I'd not
hesitate to go earlier.


--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06

Kathy writes:

I was just wondering, at what age did your children start
brushing their teeth (alone or assisted) with fluoride
toothpaste?

Here (UK), the dentists' association's recommendation is that children use
full-strength fluorided toothpaste from the beginning; just a scrape of it
until they can spit out the toothpaste. I didn't know that when DS was very
young, so to start with we used children's toothpaste which is fluoridated
to a lower level.

Our water isn't fluoridated, though, which makes a difference. It's the
total amount that's the issue. I wouldn't tell your daughter that
swallowing fluoridated toothpaste will give her a tummy ache, because it
isn't true!

DS ritually spits into the basin after toothbrushing, but he doesn't
actually manage to spit out the toothpaste yet, so he'll be on just a
scrape for a while!

Sidheag
DS Colin Oct 27 2003

Kathy wrote:
I was just wondering, at what age did your children start brushing their
teeth (alone or assisted) with fluoride toothpaste?

Our DD turned 3 in September...I have been brushing her teeth morning
and night, ever since they sprouted up. I use Baby Tooth & Gum Cleanser
(baby toothpaste with no fluoride that can be swallowed). At this point
she brushes them herself, but then I follow up and brush them some
myself to be sure they are done properly.

This morning I tried using fluoride toothpast on her...I used only a
tiny bit (not even 1/2 of a pea sized amount) and the brushing went
fine...she didn't seem to mind the mint taste at all. I tried to
explain that this toothpaste can not be swallowed, that it can give you
a tummy ache, etc...but I'm sure she swallowed some anyway. The rinsing
was a mess too. I gave her water in a cup and demonstrated what to do
on myself...she ended up swallowing the water though and spitting out
air. Her shirt ended up soaked too.

Any suggestions on how to get her doing this in a better way?

You just have to practice. I wouldn't move to
a fluoride toothpaste until she's good at spitting. Don't
give up helping her for quite a while yet. It takes a long
time before they're any good at brushing. Most likely
she'll need supervision for some years yet.

Also, at what age did your children see the dentist? Our dentist
recommended age 3 (and we are taking her very soon) for a first visit.
This seems a bit late compared to what I'm hearing from others....

Definitely at age 3, but pediatric dentists in particular
tend to recommend earlier--maybe even as soon as teeth start
erupting. My first went at 2 1/2 because he was building up
a lot of tartar. My second went at just barely two years old
because he also is prone to tartar buildup (despite good
brushing). My third seems to have better teeth, so she didn't
go until she was three years old, and her teeth were/are
just great.

Best wishes,
Ericka

It's controversial whether fluoride is good for the
health anyway. I don't think it's even proven that
fluoride does more good than harm to the teeth, let
alone that any benefit to the teeth is worth
side effects on the rest of the body. Too much
fluoride can harm teeth, causing "fluorosis" which
can cause tooth decay. I don't use fluoride
toothpaste on my own teeth.

You can tell her "let's practice brushing teeth
the grownup way" and use the baby toothpaste
and have her try to spit it out. You can let her
know that she can use "grownup" toothpaste as soon
as she learns how to spit. Just a suggestion --
possibly bad for her self-esteem or could
backfire if she doesn't want to use
grownup toothpaste, but likely useful.

I've been using fluoride toothpaste since my daughter was about 1.5, my
dentist recommended it and said that the amount of fluoride ingested
would not be harmful. She spits sometimes but often doesn't. She saw
the dentist for the first time about 2 months before her third
birthday. They didn't want to see her before that and will ease her
into visits where they actually do a cleaning.

KR

Kathy wrote:
I was just wondering, at what age did your children start brushing their
teeth (alone or assisted) with fluoride toothpaste?

Our DD turned 3 in September...I have been brushing her teeth morning
and night, ever since they sprouted up. I use Baby Tooth & Gum Cleanser
(baby toothpaste with no fluoride that can be swallowed). At this point
she brushes them herself, but then I follow up and brush them some
myself to be sure they are done properly.

This morning I tried using fluoride toothpast on her...I used only a
tiny bit (not even 1/2 of a pea sized amount) and the brushing went
fine...she didn't seem to mind the mint taste at all. I tried to
explain that this toothpaste can not be swallowed, that it can give you
a tummy ache, etc...but I'm sure she swallowed some anyway. The rinsing
was a mess too. I gave her water in a cup and demonstrated what to do
on myself...she ended up swallowing the water though and spitting out
air. Her shirt ended up soaked too.

Any suggestions on how to get her doing this in a better way?

Also, at what age did your children see the dentist? Our dentist
recommended age 3 (and we are taking her very soon) for a first visit.
This seems a bit late compared to what I'm hearing from others....

Thanks very much!
Kathy

I think it was around the age of three that we switched here, but not
due to age and more so because they would spit out the toothpaste to
rinse, etc. Before I took out the toothbrush and stopped brushing, I
would say "Now, do NOT swallow, and instead quickly spit out all you
can into the sink." Then I would hand the glass of water over while
reminding again to not swallow until swish and spit first, then they
could have a drink. lol. I do remember telling them that it had a
medicine in it for their teeth and not their tummies.

On Oct 13, 2:18*pm, (Kathy) wrote:
I was just wondering, at what age did your children start brushing their
teeth (alone or assisted) with fluoride toothpaste?

Our DD turned 3 in September...I have been brushing her teeth morning
and night, ever since they sprouted up. *I use Baby Tooth & Gum Cleanser
(baby toothpaste with no fluoride that can be swallowed). *At this point
she brushes them herself, but then I follow up and brush them some
myself to be sure they are done properly.

This morning I tried using fluoride toothpast on her...I used only a
tiny bit (not even 1/2 of a pea sized amount) and the brushing went
fine...she didn't seem to mind the mint taste at all. *I tried to
explain that this toothpaste can not be swallowed, that it can give you
a tummy ache, etc...but I'm sure she swallowed some anyway. *The rinsing
was a mess too. *I gave her water in a cup and demonstrated what to do
on myself...she ended up swallowing the water though and spitting out
air. *Her shirt ended up soaked too.

Any suggestions on how to get her doing this in a better way?

Also, at what age did your children see the dentist? *Our dentist
recommended age 3 (and we are taking her very soon) for a first visit.
This seems a bit late compared to what I'm hearing from others....

Thanks very much!
Kathy *

Kathy wrote:
I was just wondering, at what age did your children start brushing their
teeth (alone or assisted) with fluoride toothpaste?

My daughter is 4.5 years old, and here's what we've been doing for
quite awhile now (since she was about 3).

I think she was about 3 when I switched her to one of the "toddler
toothpastes" - they are low flouride (lower than regular toothpaste).
She picked it out (princesses on the outside, berry flavor). She also
picks out her toothbrushes.

Anyway, before bed, I brush her teeth very thoroughly. When she was 3,
I usually handed her the brush when I was done, and asked her to get
the spots I missed (she LOVED that) and I would say stuff like
"THERE??? I missed that spot??? I can't believe it!! How could I have
missed there?" Same in the morning. But somewhere along the way, we
gradually went to me always doing the brushing before bed, and in the
morning, I always handed her the toothbrush and let her do it herself,
and I didn't do the morning brush at all. I figured it was good
practice for her, and I made sure to get her teeth very clean before
bed. She's got no cavities, I might add.

As for the toothpaste, she's not swallowing much anymore, but even so,
I use VERY little toothpaste (much less than a pea). And I do the same
for myself, with the full-strength flouride toothpaste. The reason I
got started with that, is because I always hated it when I went to
spit, and I'd find little bunches of un-brushed paste, and it would
stick to the sink, and I had to go to extra effort to wash it down the
drain. So I started using less. And for my daughter, because I'm
brushing her teeth for her, I have to let her lean forward and spit all
the time, and the more tooth paste you use, the more foam it makes, and
the more spitting is needed.

Either way, she's been to the dentist 3 times now, and has zero
cavities.

The way I brush her teeth, is that I have her stand on the toilet, and
I stand next to her (on the floor ;-). I put my arm around her
shoulders, and she leans her head back onto my arm, so I can see what
I'm doing. When enough foam accumlates, she leans forward over the
sink and spits, then stands back up and leans back onto my arm.

I might add that she was not always so acquiescent about getting her
teeth brushed. I also started when she got her teeth, and there were
times during her young toddlerhood that I had to hold her down to get
it done. But it was just one of those things that there was no
compromising on. Fortunately, she decided to live with it at some
point (around 2 or 2.5? don't remember) and things have been generally
calm and amicable since.

I might also add that my parents are dentists. ;-)

Cathy Weeks

Kathy wrote:
I was just wondering, at what age did your children start brushing their
teeth (alone or assisted) with fluoride toothpaste?

We're only using water right now (M's 2); I'll probably start him on
flouride-free toothpaste pretty soon.

Also, at what age did your children see the dentist? Our dentist
recommended age 3 (and we are taking her very soon) for a first visit.
This seems a bit late compared to what I'm hearing from others....

Our pediatrician said 3ish, also, but I just talked to my best friend
from high school who's a DD/PhD Orthopedist Surgeon Pediatrician etc.
etc. (she's always been very high powered!! hehe) -- anyways, she said
she wants them in by 1!! since any damage to baby teeth can result in
damage to adult teeth, and to get them used to going to the dentist
when they're still young. I think that seems awfully young to me, but
I *am* going to schedule an appointment for him this week. She scared
with me with her stories of toddlers with cavities, needing fillings,
getting fully anaesthecized for oral surgery... :P

Em
mama to Micah, 11/14/04