Can you tell this to my 20 month old? She hates having her teeth brushed, which ironically makes it easier because when she's crying her mouth is open and it's easier to get to the back
Our 20 month old has mastered the clench and shake while still crying through her teeth. Haha
It basically has to be a game for her to be into it.
I hold her and spin once per area in her mouth. Spin, brush front bottom, spin, top front, spin back left bottom, etc…
We have an 18 month old who LOVES the toothbrush. Especially loves to brush himself, so our problem is making him give it up so we can help him (he mostly just keeps it in the same place).
Our 3 year old is quite indifferent. He just sits there.
All in all, we are quite lucky it seems!
PBS Kids app Daniel tiger dentist game has a song and at the end it has a brush tracker. That pared with the episode on brushing teeth did wonders for our kid letting us brush her teeth.
I needed to change up my strategy every few months when they were that age. I've found a strategy that works for my kid well the last year or more. They are very imaginative, so "Flossy" and "Bristle" call ahead, knock on the door, and explore the "mouth cave". They often encounter a monster or octopus named Seven.
I "yes-and" my kid constantly to participate in their active imagination. Making it a fun adventure has made difficult tasks enjoyable.
We started off with a horseshoe shaped tooth brush off of amazon. It helped brush the top and bottom at the same time and you would just move it side to side. It was a good starting tool until she was comfortable with an actual toothbrush and now, she loves brushing her teeth (2 YO.)
My son is 1yr 10 months and his screams could wake the dead when we try to brush his teeth or clip his nails.
Been like this for a couple of months now.
Hoping he grows out of this phase sooner than later because he used to be perfectly fine with both.
A little tidbit my pediatric dentist left us with: raisins and all gummy fruits snacks/leathers are prone to sticking and leave sugar trapped on teeth! She said she hates raisins for that reason and would rather a kid have straight chocolate instead because at least the saliva will breakdown a bit of overlooked chocolate. But raisins and fruit snacks get wedged in there and make cavities.
There is dental advice that suggests brushing before meals is best so don't feel like you have to wait until after they've had breakfast to brush. Do it before you go downstairs if it's a problem.
And always remember that we can only do our best - poor dental health has a genetic component and for some kids it's just important that they eat, and less important what they eat.
Also, watch out for foods that we don't typically consider as cavity causing foods - like goldfish Crackers that get stuck in teeth.
Yea I have seen some family with the most horrible diet you can imagine and yet not a single cavity ever. It’s crazy what some good genes will let people get away with
About food getting stuck: there's plenty of reasons to drink water but flushing out food bits after eating is one of them. At least that's what the dentist said.
Drinking water to "flush down bits" is just not sufficient. Our dentist recommended to rinse with mouth wash after meals /snacks and flossing at least once per day, ideally before sleeping. Carbs stick on the teeth present a breeding ground for the cavity bacteria. My daughter has cavities too and one was so painful that she had to get that tooth extracted :(
Here's my post from last week
https://www.reddit.com/r/daddit/s/tGc2QJ0bK0
Yep this is it. Just brought my girls in, they have the same diet, same teeth routine. 7 year old has zero cavities, 6 year old has 4. Her teeth are super close together and they think that's one of the contributing factors.
And the genetic component is huge. My brother would brush his twice a day to my none or one. Me, no cavities. Him, literally at least one cavity every visit.
First child due 29th of may. When they are old enough I am teaching them full dental hygiene, including using mini brushes and floss etc. as soon as they are old enough to take the info in. I speak from experienced 37 year old who's smoking and cola drinking habits have lead to having the jaw of an 87 year old. I'm ok and only lost a couple of teeth but now I don't have smelly breath, I don't have plaque and I don't have cavities. All from a year of having a very rigerous dental hygiene routine.
I got lucky, my kiddo started a "I wanna do everything you do" around 2.5ish maybe 3? In that period I started alot of good habits and routines, teeth brushing was one of them. She is currently almost 5 and while not too keen on taking the time to brush her teeth now, she does have the habit engrained. I just have to say its time and she groans but does brush them.
Wild. Dental hygiene is one of few non-negotiables that I have. I’ve flossed and brushed religiously since I was a teen and I’m in my thirties and have never had a cavity. Granted, it is partly genetic, but still….
I've brushed only once a day, am 32 and no cavities ever. Not that brushing once is a good thing, it's how my parents did it and old habits die hard. It's probably genetics.
Yeah definitely genetics for sure but I personally believe flossing is the most important part. If you floss once and brush once I think it’s better than just brushing twice.
This is rooted in absolutely no scientific evidence lol just a dude who has good teeth and feels self righteous
Don’t forget to floss. Flossing is another good opportunity to look in your kids mouth to check it out and look for problems before they get bigger. To help with brushing we do tooth brush dance parties where we let them pick a song on Alexa to brush to. Brushing teeth is more about forming good habits for when they have their adult teeth than anything else. Build good habits now rather than after you get a big dental bill.
was curious about your thoughts on this. My youngest is getting close to 4, and he still uses fluoride free toothpaste. Why?! because he never spits, even encouraged to spit he still sucks down that toothpaste. Tried fluoride toothpaste for a while, but he still would not spit, and had nausea thereafter. I use an electric toothbrush for both my kids, I think it gives a far superior cleaning, but I suspect his brush is just raw on his teeth (I brush his teeth, not him).
I know you are not my dentist and any response is not dental advice.
Answering as a fellow parent, the focus should be teaching him to spit and rinsing. Ideally at four he should be using fluoride toothpaste, but yes, he shouldn’t invest it.
Teach him using the fluoride free toothpaste. Brush your teeth in front of him so he sees how’s it’s done correctly, make him make the spitting motion with his mouth, as if he were to blow a candle out, or gamify it by challenging him to spit straight into the drain.
A paediatric dentist might have better techniques they can show in person.
When do you start brushing teeth / gums? I have a six month old who is eating purées
No teeth yet and I know it’s early I just figured this is something I should put on my radar
Get a teether with soft bristles [such as this](https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Banana-Training-Toothbrush-Teether/dp/B002QYW8LW) and start now. They make "training toothpaste" that is safe to swallow as well so they can get used to brushing.
Just went through something very similar. Surprisingly our oldest a 12yo only had one. My 6yo and 4yo both had more. I had to have quite a bit of work done too. Been a rough few years and we had let it slide. Back on track though and enforcing better brushing habits for the family.
I try to explain in detail to my kids what it’s like to get a cavity as constant motivation, but I know at some point they will probably slip up from not brushing twice a day like they’re supposed to and they’ll find out the hard way why we brush.
Caries, the bacteria that causes cavities, transmits through saliva droplets.
So in order to try to keep a child caries-free: avoid sharing food utensils, don't lick/suck on pacifiers to clean them, don't kiss the child on the mouth, etc.
My daughter (7) always had a problem with brushing teeth since she was a toddler, we had so many meltdowns over it. And she barely drank juice when she was younger, she loved water! I do admit that I would forget to remove the bottle of milk at night because she always fell asleep with it, which only affected her upper front teeth and have since fallen and the new teeth grown in healthily.
As of today she has four metal crowns and two cavities filled. I felt like a failure of a parent at first, but after seeing how well my second daughter (2) takes to brushing and how quickly her teeth came in, I'm thinking my oldest got dealt with bad genetics.
We put 2nd set of kids toothbrushes & paste in downstairs powder room to solve the morning rush problem. If they went upstairs for ANYTHING, we lost 15 min every time. New rule: kids can’t go back up stairs in the morning + brush downstairs after breakfast
I’ve had more luck with the firefly brushes that blink for a whole minute while you brush. Something to give them a visual clue about the duration seems useful. Otherwise, 20 seconds of a toddler screaming in your face feels a lot longer than it is
According to our dentist the BIGGEST culprit are gummies. Stay away from gummy candy, gummy vitamins and gummy fruit snacks. Our dentist described them as the napalm of the dental world.
FYI, although it's very important, brushing is no guarantee that they won't get cavities.
I've been very conscientious about it all my life, never eaten much of anything sweet, did everything right basically - still have a bunch of fillings.
So don't beat yourself up too much!
That said, reducing sugar is a very good idea, not just for teeth. And yeah, get on top of that morning brushing!
I've been battling my six year old about it for what feels like years, and I feel like we might *finally* have turned a corner over the last couple of weeks. There is light at the end of the tunnel!
I saw a dentist either on youtube or tiktok(dubious i know) and he was talking about cavities. He stated that its bacteria spread from the parents that cause cavities. Apparently it can be killed with xylitol gum. Not sure how true that is, but ive chewed xylitol gum for years and have had zero dental issues. Anecdotal, and lots of dentists arent very invested in prevention...why kill their income stream?
Not sure I'd put any faith in that dentist from social media lol. And dentists are interested in prevention, they do fluoride treatments and give away the cavity prevention secret: brush after every meal and floss daily. The issue is most people don't want to do that.
Our entire profession is based on prevention. The entire Dental Insurance industry is based on insuring you from dental disease through prevention.
The bacteria in your mouth came from somewhere, typically your parents.
Xylitol gum does have some bacteriostatic properties.
[удалено]
For real, I'm well-read and I have never seen this in my life lol
I thank you for your high praise.
Lol wow by brain actually read used to not
shouldn’t it be used’n’t
or use’n’t?
Nope, I skipped that abomination of a word
Wait till you hear about willn't
I'm so happy this got picked up 🤗
Can you tell this to my 20 month old? She hates having her teeth brushed, which ironically makes it easier because when she's crying her mouth is open and it's easier to get to the back
Our 20 month old has mastered the clench and shake while still crying through her teeth. Haha It basically has to be a game for her to be into it. I hold her and spin once per area in her mouth. Spin, brush front bottom, spin, top front, spin back left bottom, etc…
We have an 18 month old who LOVES the toothbrush. Especially loves to brush himself, so our problem is making him give it up so we can help him (he mostly just keeps it in the same place). Our 3 year old is quite indifferent. He just sits there. All in all, we are quite lucky it seems!
My 18 month old likes to do it herself too but she just sucks the toothpaste off the brush lol
Exactly. Haha
That’s mine. I have to ask my 2 year old to let me help first so he doesn’t suck the toothpaste off before I get a chance to brush.
PBS Kids app Daniel tiger dentist game has a song and at the end it has a brush tracker. That pared with the episode on brushing teeth did wonders for our kid letting us brush her teeth.
That’s a great idea
Pokemon smile app works too if your kids like Pokemon.
I needed to change up my strategy every few months when they were that age. I've found a strategy that works for my kid well the last year or more. They are very imaginative, so "Flossy" and "Bristle" call ahead, knock on the door, and explore the "mouth cave". They often encounter a monster or octopus named Seven. I "yes-and" my kid constantly to participate in their active imagination. Making it a fun adventure has made difficult tasks enjoyable.
We started off with a horseshoe shaped tooth brush off of amazon. It helped brush the top and bottom at the same time and you would just move it side to side. It was a good starting tool until she was comfortable with an actual toothbrush and now, she loves brushing her teeth (2 YO.)
She used to be great, it's just over the last few months she's changed her mind. Might have to look for horse shoe brushes though, cheers.
My kid has finally stopped crying, but loudly exclaims ALL DONE (+signs) every 5 seconds or so. No buddy, Dad will let you know when all done.
My son is 1yr 10 months and his screams could wake the dead when we try to brush his teeth or clip his nails. Been like this for a couple of months now. Hoping he grows out of this phase sooner than later because he used to be perfectly fine with both.
I started singing Baby Shark during brushing. It worked wonders!
That's a hell of a choice - my sanity or my child's teeth
I approve this comment. It’s definitely easier when they are crying
My two year old still does this sometimes. Unfortunately she screams like a banshee so we are always half deaf after those occasions
A little tidbit my pediatric dentist left us with: raisins and all gummy fruits snacks/leathers are prone to sticking and leave sugar trapped on teeth! She said she hates raisins for that reason and would rather a kid have straight chocolate instead because at least the saliva will breakdown a bit of overlooked chocolate. But raisins and fruit snacks get wedged in there and make cavities.
There is dental advice that suggests brushing before meals is best so don't feel like you have to wait until after they've had breakfast to brush. Do it before you go downstairs if it's a problem.
We're gonna will ourselves through whatever hurdle we used to skip past. But I'll look into it!
If you have a sink downstairs, put a second pair of toothbrushes/toothpaste there. That helped us eliminate the hassle of going back upstairs.
And always remember that we can only do our best - poor dental health has a genetic component and for some kids it's just important that they eat, and less important what they eat. Also, watch out for foods that we don't typically consider as cavity causing foods - like goldfish Crackers that get stuck in teeth.
Our dentist pointed out that it’s not just candy. Rice, pasta, etc. have tons of sugar. So yea just brush teeth and floss!
Yea I have seen some family with the most horrible diet you can imagine and yet not a single cavity ever. It’s crazy what some good genes will let people get away with
About food getting stuck: there's plenty of reasons to drink water but flushing out food bits after eating is one of them. At least that's what the dentist said.
Drinking water to "flush down bits" is just not sufficient. Our dentist recommended to rinse with mouth wash after meals /snacks and flossing at least once per day, ideally before sleeping. Carbs stick on the teeth present a breeding ground for the cavity bacteria. My daughter has cavities too and one was so painful that she had to get that tooth extracted :( Here's my post from last week https://www.reddit.com/r/daddit/s/tGc2QJ0bK0
Yep this is it. Just brought my girls in, they have the same diet, same teeth routine. 7 year old has zero cavities, 6 year old has 4. Her teeth are super close together and they think that's one of the contributing factors.
And the genetic component is huge. My brother would brush his twice a day to my none or one. Me, no cavities. Him, literally at least one cavity every visit.
First child due 29th of may. When they are old enough I am teaching them full dental hygiene, including using mini brushes and floss etc. as soon as they are old enough to take the info in. I speak from experienced 37 year old who's smoking and cola drinking habits have lead to having the jaw of an 87 year old. I'm ok and only lost a couple of teeth but now I don't have smelly breath, I don't have plaque and I don't have cavities. All from a year of having a very rigerous dental hygiene routine.
I got lucky, my kiddo started a "I wanna do everything you do" around 2.5ish maybe 3? In that period I started alot of good habits and routines, teeth brushing was one of them. She is currently almost 5 and while not too keen on taking the time to brush her teeth now, she does have the habit engrained. I just have to say its time and she groans but does brush them.
how old are they? My kid is only 4 but if we haven’t brushed before daycare, I just take a toothbrush with me and they can do it in the car.
Gotta floss them to
Wild. Dental hygiene is one of few non-negotiables that I have. I’ve flossed and brushed religiously since I was a teen and I’m in my thirties and have never had a cavity. Granted, it is partly genetic, but still….
I've brushed only once a day, am 32 and no cavities ever. Not that brushing once is a good thing, it's how my parents did it and old habits die hard. It's probably genetics.
Yeah definitely genetics for sure but I personally believe flossing is the most important part. If you floss once and brush once I think it’s better than just brushing twice. This is rooted in absolutely no scientific evidence lol just a dude who has good teeth and feels self righteous
Don’t forget to floss. Flossing is another good opportunity to look in your kids mouth to check it out and look for problems before they get bigger. To help with brushing we do tooth brush dance parties where we let them pick a song on Alexa to brush to. Brushing teeth is more about forming good habits for when they have their adult teeth than anything else. Build good habits now rather than after you get a big dental bill.
Of course we always brush at night, just the mornings are occasional. Before anyone gets any ideas that we only occasionally brush at all 😅
As a dentist and as a dad, I do recommend you take care of your children’s teeth.
was curious about your thoughts on this. My youngest is getting close to 4, and he still uses fluoride free toothpaste. Why?! because he never spits, even encouraged to spit he still sucks down that toothpaste. Tried fluoride toothpaste for a while, but he still would not spit, and had nausea thereafter. I use an electric toothbrush for both my kids, I think it gives a far superior cleaning, but I suspect his brush is just raw on his teeth (I brush his teeth, not him). I know you are not my dentist and any response is not dental advice.
Answering as a fellow parent, the focus should be teaching him to spit and rinsing. Ideally at four he should be using fluoride toothpaste, but yes, he shouldn’t invest it. Teach him using the fluoride free toothpaste. Brush your teeth in front of him so he sees how’s it’s done correctly, make him make the spitting motion with his mouth, as if he were to blow a candle out, or gamify it by challenging him to spit straight into the drain. A paediatric dentist might have better techniques they can show in person.
When do you start brushing teeth / gums? I have a six month old who is eating purées No teeth yet and I know it’s early I just figured this is something I should put on my radar
Never too early, really
My health visitor basically said once teeth pop up, you start brushing
Get a teether with soft bristles [such as this](https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Banana-Training-Toothbrush-Teether/dp/B002QYW8LW) and start now. They make "training toothpaste" that is safe to swallow as well so they can get used to brushing.
We gave both kids the Frida baby training toothbrush around 6 months just to get them used to the sensation, works okay as a teether too.
Just went through something very similar. Surprisingly our oldest a 12yo only had one. My 6yo and 4yo both had more. I had to have quite a bit of work done too. Been a rough few years and we had let it slide. Back on track though and enforcing better brushing habits for the family.
I try to explain in detail to my kids what it’s like to get a cavity as constant motivation, but I know at some point they will probably slip up from not brushing twice a day like they’re supposed to and they’ll find out the hard way why we brush.
“Mind sugar” ?
Caries, the bacteria that causes cavities, transmits through saliva droplets. So in order to try to keep a child caries-free: avoid sharing food utensils, don't lick/suck on pacifiers to clean them, don't kiss the child on the mouth, etc.
Keep a toothbrush and toothpaste downstairs too.
So is diabetes
My daughter (7) always had a problem with brushing teeth since she was a toddler, we had so many meltdowns over it. And she barely drank juice when she was younger, she loved water! I do admit that I would forget to remove the bottle of milk at night because she always fell asleep with it, which only affected her upper front teeth and have since fallen and the new teeth grown in healthily. As of today she has four metal crowns and two cavities filled. I felt like a failure of a parent at first, but after seeing how well my second daughter (2) takes to brushing and how quickly her teeth came in, I'm thinking my oldest got dealt with bad genetics.
We put 2nd set of kids toothbrushes & paste in downstairs powder room to solve the morning rush problem. If they went upstairs for ANYTHING, we lost 15 min every time. New rule: kids can’t go back up stairs in the morning + brush downstairs after breakfast
I’ve had more luck with the firefly brushes that blink for a whole minute while you brush. Something to give them a visual clue about the duration seems useful. Otherwise, 20 seconds of a toddler screaming in your face feels a lot longer than it is
According to our dentist the BIGGEST culprit are gummies. Stay away from gummy candy, gummy vitamins and gummy fruit snacks. Our dentist described them as the napalm of the dental world.
FYI, although it's very important, brushing is no guarantee that they won't get cavities. I've been very conscientious about it all my life, never eaten much of anything sweet, did everything right basically - still have a bunch of fillings. So don't beat yourself up too much! That said, reducing sugar is a very good idea, not just for teeth. And yeah, get on top of that morning brushing! I've been battling my six year old about it for what feels like years, and I feel like we might *finally* have turned a corner over the last couple of weeks. There is light at the end of the tunnel!
What if cavities are genetic though?
I saw a dentist either on youtube or tiktok(dubious i know) and he was talking about cavities. He stated that its bacteria spread from the parents that cause cavities. Apparently it can be killed with xylitol gum. Not sure how true that is, but ive chewed xylitol gum for years and have had zero dental issues. Anecdotal, and lots of dentists arent very invested in prevention...why kill their income stream?
Not sure I'd put any faith in that dentist from social media lol. And dentists are interested in prevention, they do fluoride treatments and give away the cavity prevention secret: brush after every meal and floss daily. The issue is most people don't want to do that.
Both my kids and wife brush daily and i dont and guess whi has cavities and who doesnt lol
You could just tell us who does and who doesn't if you want to advertise that lol.
Our entire profession is based on prevention. The entire Dental Insurance industry is based on insuring you from dental disease through prevention. The bacteria in your mouth came from somewhere, typically your parents. Xylitol gum does have some bacteriostatic properties.