Baby's first tooth!!! Now what...?

Cleaning Teeth

Young children are not able to clean their own teeth. As a parent, you must do it for them when they are very young and do it with them, as they get older.

When your child can write (not print) his or her name, your child is ready to do a good job brushing. You should check to make sure your child does a good job.

You should start cleaning your child's mouth even before your child has teeth. It gets both you and your child into the habit of keeping the mouth clean, and it gives baby (or primary) teeth a clean place to come into. The goal is to wipe all parts of the gums and teeth.

Here's how to do it:

Lie your baby in a comfortable place.

Make sure you can see into your baby's mouth.

Use a soft baby brush or wrap your finger in a clean, damp washcloth. Then, brush or wipe your baby's gums and teeth.

Do not use toothpaste until your child has teeth.

How to Brush

Step 1

Hold the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to the teeth. Point the bristles to where the gums and teeth meet.

Step 2

Use gentle circles. Do not scrub. Clean every surface of every tooth. For the front teeth, use the "toe" or front part of the brush. The key word is gentle. You can hurt the gums by brushing too hard.

Toothbrushes and Toothpaste

The best kind of brush is soft, with rounded bristles. It should be the right size for your child's mouth. You will need to buy a new toothbrush at least every 3 or 4 months.

Children can be hard on toothbrushes. If the bristles get bent or worn down, they will not do a good job, and may hurt your child's gums.

Make sure the toothpaste has fluoride. Check the box or tube for the symbol of the Canadian Dental Association. This symbol means the toothpaste has fluoride. Use only a bit of toothpaste, about the size of a pea, and make sure your child spits it out.

As excessive swallowing of toothpaste by young children may result in dental fluorosis, children under 6 years of age should be supervised during brushing and only use a small amount (e.g. pea-sized portion) of toothpaste.

Children under 3 years of age should have their teeth brushed by an adult using only a smear of toothpaste.

How to Floss

Step 1

Take a piece of floss about as long as your child's arm. Wrap it around your middle fingers, leaving about 2 inches between the hands. Use your index fingers to guide the floss between the teeth.

Step 2

Slide the floss between the teeth and wrap it into a "C" shape. It should wrap around the base of the tooth, where the tooth meets the gum.

Step 3

Wipe the tooth from bottom to top 2 or 3 times or more, until it is squeaky clean.

Be sure you floss both sides of each tooth, and don't forget the backs of the last molars.

Move to a new part of the floss as you move from tooth to tooth.

Should my child always brush right before bed?

Yes. If you don't get rid of the germs (bacteria) and sugars that cause cavities, they have all night to do their dirty work. Plus, when your child is asleep, he or she does not produce as much spit (or saliva). Saliva helps keep the mouth clean. So brushing at bedtime is very important.

edit - i have debated back and forth whether or not i plan to give my baby flouride toothpaste when her first tooth breaks out. after doing a lot of research, i have decided that it is best to give the smear they are mentioning. And they mean a tiny smear, barely enough to cover maybe 10% of the toothbrush! yes, it is true that children 20-25 years ago were given too much flouride, and developed fluorosis, and had white spots on their teeth. parents back then were recommended to not only brush their children's teeth with fluoride toothpaste, but there was fluoride in the water, and they were giving the fluoide drops. My health care authority specifically advocates new moms to give fluoride toothpaste, the kind approved by the CDA. It can be any flavour, as long as it is approved by the CDA. But that is Canada's association, if you aren't Canadian, look for your own country's association. However, there is no fluoride in my city's water. If I were you, i would find out if there is fluoride in your city's water, and then talk to a pediatric dentist in your area. If you call them on the phone, they are generally happy to answer questions for free (especially if they think you might go to them in the future)!

I copy and pasted this from the association's site. You need to decide what is right for you and your family. I don't see myself flossing my two year old's teeth either, but then again, I don't have a two year old, I will cross that bridge when i come to it!

Good luck on your decision!

I have bought the oral care for my son I bought them seperat the toddler and then the infant care. The massager should have tiny rubber brush like parts on it if not then its just a massager and u can now start the tooth brush. The oral care should say safe to swallow and when you squeeze some out use less then half a pea size amount. their teeth at this age dont get that dirty to need a rough clean or alot of paste. Just then clean the gums and tooth. make sure when you give juice that your giving water to wash out the child mouth never put to bed with a bottle the continous liquid causes tooth decay. The infant toddler oral care is more of creating a habit of cleaning the babys teeth so the baby and mom remember to brush.

until she gets more like about 4 or 6 i would use the gum massager so their gums dont bleed

Now you wait for the second one?

I would use a baby toothbrush, with bristles, and a teeny bit of baby toothpaste on it. If she just wants to chew on it, that's fine - the bristles will still be moving past the tooth and cleaning it.

don't use any oral care stuff... stay away from any chemical crap that claims to clean gums

clean gums with a wash cloth after each feeding. never put child to bed with bottle of anything other than water

no juices

nothing with sugar

good luck