If you are a new parent, you might be wondering, “When do I start brushing my baby’s teeth? What will I need? How do I do it?” Well friend, look no further. We have everything you need to know to get started.
When do I start?
Your doctor will tell you to start right away by wiping out your baby’s mouth with a wet washcloth each night. It will help stimulate their gums and get them used to the teeth-brushing routine. (Bad parent confession: I was terrible at remembering to do this before they had teeth. I was never consistent with it and probably only did it a few times per month.)
What do I need?
After the arrival of the first tooth, or pair of teeth as was in the case of both my girls, I did start to wipe off their teeth and gums with a wet wash cloth regularly. Personally, I just stuck with the washcloth until I had five or six teeth to clean. Then, I upgraded to a finger toothbrush and fluoride-free toothpaste. Fluoride-free toothpaste is considered a training toothpaste, and it is safely swallowed in small amounts. You should be able to find both these items in the toothpaste aisle.
Safety tip: Don’t put your whole finger in the toothbrush. They love to bite it. Both of my girls would let me brush for a second or two, then bite the toothbrush. Repeat. Repeat. Even though your child doesn’t have teeth in the back yet, I would recommend doing a quick swipe on each side while you are in there.
When my girls had more than just their front eight teeth to clean, I switched to a small bristle toothbrush. (You can really switch over to that anytime.) Continue to use the fluoride-free training toothpaste until they understand not to swallow it and are consistent with spitting out toothpaste. (We didn’t switch Big C over until she was at least 2 years old.)
Once your child is good at spitting out toothpaste, you can get a children’s toothpaste that has fluoride. My daughter highly recommends the bubble gum and fruit punch flavors. You can also get a variety of fun toothbrushes with characters or fun designs. We typically get a new toothbrush for her every 2 or 3 months. I also floss her teeth with the easy dental floss picks every other week. (I would love to honestly say that I floss her teeth each night, but we are lucky to remember a few times per month.)
How do I do it?
When babies are small (0-4 months or so), just hold them in the cradle position and quickly wipe the top and bottom gums with a damp wash cloth. I only did one big swipe across the top and one big swipe across the bottom.
When babies start to get teeth (≈4 months+), I hold them in a seated position either on my hip while standing or sitting down on my lap. I wipe their teeth with a damp wash cloth. (Watch out for biting here too.) Then, I swipe their back gums on each side one time.
When I upgrade to the finger toothbrush (9 months +), I hold them in a seated position either on my hip while standing or sitting down on my lap. I brush across the top teeth 3-4 times and the bottom teeth 3-4 times. (Beware! Lots of biting here!) Then, I swipe their back gums on each side one time.
Toothbrush Time!
By the time I upgrade to a bristle toothbrush, my girls can walk, stand, and are around 18 months old. We have a step stool in our bathroom against the sink for handwashing, toothbrushing, and pretending to put on make-up with Mommy. (Baby C is still too young for this yet, so I will only talk about Big C right now.)
I have Big C step up on the stool facing the sink. I put a small amount of toothpaste on the brush. (At this point, you should at least practicing spitting even if they aren’t ready for the fluoride toothpaste yet. That’s the only way you will know they are ready.)
I stand BEHIND her and have her open her mouth up. First I brush the top of her bottom teeth first (spit), then I brush the back-side and front-side of her bottom teeth (spit). I repeat those steps for the top row. After I am done brushing her teeth, I allow her to practice on her own.
When she is done, I rinse the brush with water and swipe it through her mouth one more time to get the extra toothpaste out (spit). Then, we floss with the dental picks, if I remember. Note: It does not work very well to brush their teeth from the front. I tried this in the beginning. When my mom saw what I was doing, she laughed at me. (In high school and college she worked part-time at a dentist’s office on the East Coast. She showed me the correct way to brush a toddler or small child’s teeth.)
I do encourage you to brush your child’s teeth until you can tell by watching them that they are good enough to do this on their own. (Big C will be four soon, and she is still terrible at it. She really likes to brush her tongue and roll her toothbrush around in her mouth.) Your dentist will strongly encourage you to follow my advice. We brush Big C’s teeth in the morning and at night. We brush Baby C’s teeth just at night.
When should my first dental visit be?
We took our oldest daughter to her introductory dentist visit around 1 ½ to 2 years old. During this visit, she sat in the chair, got to touch all the tools, met the dentist, and let the dentist look in her mouth. At her next visit, she got her teeth cleaned for the first time. After 2 years old, she will be on a regular check-up schedule with your dentist.
Q: Do you have any suggestions for brushing a baby, toddler, or small child’s teeth?