brushing first teeth
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Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
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Topic: brushing first teeth
Posted By: bun_in_the_oven
Subject: brushing first teeth
Date Posted: 07 February 2010 at 1:13pm
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when do we need to start brushing teeth ??
a friend from antenatal was advised as soon as they come through ?? and to use adult toothpaste as their is not enough flouride in the baby stuff.. . think this is what plunket told her but i may be wrong... any advice please ?? many thanks |
Replies:
Posted By: Shezamumof3
Date Posted: 07 February 2010 at 1:24pm
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baby toothpaste is fine, and one of the baby toothpaste brand is endorsed by Plunket.
caden got his first teeth at 7 months and we brushed right away with a spec of baby toothpaste. Some people use a wet flannel and rub the teeth, but we didnt bother, we just got him a little tooth brush and some paste and started that way. ------------- |
Posted By: MrsH23
Date Posted: 07 February 2010 at 2:26pm
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We've done the same as Sheena too, started out with a little brush straight away. Our plunket nurse did say we could use our normal adult toothpaste but we use the kids stuff at the moment. ------------- Lisa mummy to Ryan http://www.alterna-tickers.com"> 
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Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 07 February 2010 at 3:36pm
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We went straight to a baby toothbrush too, we just used water at first and then some baby toothpaste once they were happy with the brush (although they both seem to love the toothpaste).
Plunket do recommend using adult toothpaste but it's up to you, I wasn't comfy with it so stuck with the baby stuff, the baby stuff does have flouride in just at a lower level. ------------- 
 
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Posted By: Raspberryjam
Date Posted: 07 February 2010 at 3:53pm
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we were straight on to a toothbrush and used kids toothpaste too. Even if they are only sucking on it its fine, you might want to help out a bit to get all the gums but I didnt want to put my girl off, she lets me brush her teeth now, but only cause shes a lazy bum.
If i brush my teeth at the same time, she quite happily scrubs away ps I started as soon as I suspected she was teething, it was only 3 days later she got her first tooth ------------- http://lilypie.com] 
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Posted By: Manda08
Date Posted: 07 February 2010 at 4:46pm
I started straight away also, he got his first tooth at 7 months, now at 10 months he brushes his on teeth. Sits at the sink, puts the brush under the water brushes them, and spit out the toothpaste... he just mimics me, its so cute!! Taking the tooth brush of him is causing me nightmares, he just screams!!!! This morning he came in the the bathroom while i was brushing mine and goes bubba ta?? was pretty cool.  ------------- 
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Posted By: caitlynsmygirl
Date Posted: 09 February 2010 at 12:45am
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I worked as a dental assistant for 6 years and there is no way I would use adult toothpaste on a babies teeth/tooth , our toothpaste can cause damage on our own teeth if too much is used, so on a babies tiny teeth it would be even more sensitive to it .
TBH , when they are very young , you can just use a toothpaste and water , its more to get them in the habit of doing it , you don't even need to use a toothbrush, you can use a wet flannel . ------------- 
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Posted By: MrsH
Date Posted: 09 February 2010 at 8:29am
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I started wiping DSs gums with a flannel after meals. Then I got one of those pidgeon first toothbrushes free from the organic rusk packet and gave that to him after every meal (in the mornings I would brush my teeth at the same time and simulate brushing his with it) and now he has teeth, I use a baby toothbrush and a smear of 'milk teeth' toothpaste and he loves it!! I do it for him and then let him do it himself. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: blondy
Date Posted: 09 February 2010 at 8:32am
Natalie still won't let me near her mouth, but I give her a baby toothbrush with a smear of baby toothpaste, and she'll use it. I can't actually say any brushing happens, but she sucks all the toothpaste off and walks around with the brush in her mouth for about 10mins, so i figure it's better than nothing  -------------  
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Posted By: JodyR
Date Posted: 11 February 2010 at 7:41am
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I'm in the UK and our health visitors recommend brushing first teeth as soon as they are through.
They even give you a toothbrush and toothpaste in the weaning pack at about five or six months. They recommend using a toothpaste with 1000ppm of flouride in it as they said anything less was not effective enough so I've gone with that advice but I've just booked Joseph his first dentist check-up appointment (he's ten months and has two teeth) so I will be asking the dentist to confirm that's right. ------------- Ally and Elisabeth, our stars in the sky, and Joseph, our ray of sunshine. 
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Posted By: Gardengirl
Date Posted: 11 February 2010 at 1:21pm
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Our plunket nurse said not to use the McLeans 'milk teeth' toothpaste as there isn't sufficient flouride in it and our water here isn't flouridated. There is a flouride toothpaste for older children made by Colgate and she gave us a tube with our free toothbrush at our 5 month check.
I have a baby toothbrush with different heads to use as their teeth come through right from the first ones - they don't look like your usual toothbrush heads - and as my boy's first 2 teeth have just broken through I'm about to start using that. It's by Pigeon. |
Posted By: Jaune
Date Posted: 22 February 2010 at 5:44pm
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I know this is a bit of an old conversation but there was a dentist on Breakfast this morning who recommended using a small amount of gauze on a finger with a small amount of children's toothpaste and rubbing the baby's gums before they get teeth. That way they are used to the sensation and teeth-cleaning ritual before they need to start using a toothbrush...and they get used to Mum cleaning their teeth.
He also said that the amount of flouride in adult toothpaste is far to high for babies and can cause damage. He recommended using a toothpaste that was made for children. Hope that's helpful for someone! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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