My dentist told me that I have to brush my baby's teeth every night. She's ten months, and has 5 teeth right now. But it's hard to brush them at night, because she always falls asleep while nursing, and also, she still nurses at night quite often.
How important is it to brush their teeth at this age?
Do you brush your baby's teeth?
It's pretty important, but I had that same problem with my babies too so I talked to my dentist, and my paediatric dentist about it. They told me that breastmilk isn't as damaging to teeth as bottle feeding or eating solids is, because most of the milk goes straight down the throat, rather than sitting in the mouth bathing the teeth. Plus the antibiotic qualities of breastmilk can prevent most of the elements that cause tooth decay from reproducing.
Also seeing as my babies fed often overnight, even once they had teeth, my dentists felt that cleaning the teeth after every feed was just not feasible, and that I should just aim to clean their teeth with a wet washcloth after the first morning feed, at lunchtime and after tea/just before bedtime feed.
Reply:you need to start. i did not use to brush my baby's teeth and two days ago the doc told me that i can start, she even gave me a cute little toothbrush. or if you want you can wipe her teeth with a little washcloth just to keep them clean.
Reply:if her bedtime routine is set, try brushing her teeth earlier in the evening... like after supper or during bath time.
It is important to clean their teeth, but even if you're not very successful, you are teaching her that it is part of her night time routine... and that will last a life time (hopefully)
Reply:I brush my 6 month olds teeth once a day. They have little finger tooth brushes at the store. He LOVES it and it feel great on his gums.
Reply:Do what your dentist says he/she is the professional not us
Reply:We got our daughter a very soft small toothbrush when she was 6 months old; even before she had any teeth. I would give her the toothbrush when she was sitting in the bath tub to chew on. After she had two teeth we got her infant toothpaste from Wal-Mart(I believe its called oral-b) I still let her brush her teeth at night in the tub %26amp; sometimes during the day while she is sitting down %26amp; my husband or I supervise her. She absolutely loves to do it %26amp; the toothpaste tastes fruity. It's a fight to get the toothbrush from her when she is done, LOL! Our dentist told us it was very important that we brush her teeth from the first sign of her first tooth. As long as it gets done once a day I don't think it really matters what time of day it is. Hope I helped!!!
Reply:its very important to start brushing their teeth. i started brushing my sons teeth as soon as he got about 3 teeth. they have kits at the store which are like a sleeve that goes over your finger and its meant to rub there gums and the few teeth they have. it keeps their teeth healthy and gums.
Reply:and a side note to al of this, it's a good idea 4 all parents with very little ones to start "brushing" their gums. yes gums, i've read in several places to simply take some gauze of even a baby cloth and rub their gums to clean them. it's good for them in all aspects, such as getting the baby used to someone cleaning the inside of their mouths!
Reply:it is very important they are gonna have those teeth for the next 5-9 years..they need to be brushed....even if you brush them before you nurse her for the last time before bed will be better than not at all.
Reply:We always brush our daughter's teeth before she nurses down. According to research, breastmilk *can* interact with bacteria and other food particles to contribute to infant caries, however if you brush your child's teeth before she nurses you are helping to clean away the problem materials, so to speak. Milk directly from the breast also doesn't pool in the mouth like the contents of a bottle would. This is another reason it isn't as much of a concern to nurse after brushing as compared to bottle-feeding after brushing.
What has worked for me is to include a tooth-swipe after meals. I will wipe her down and use the facecloth to wipe her teeth off. Then we'll also brush with a real toothbrush 2ce a day. At 6 months, I started off with a tooth swab similar to this: http://www.dentist.net/biotene-infants.a... Ask your dentist, he may be able to provide you with one (ours did) A great brush for when baby can hold it her self (like now) is this one: http://www.amazon.com/Babys-First-Toothb... Just remember not to use a flouride toothpaste until your daughter is old enough to keep from swallowing it - sometime around 2 or 3.
Reply:Brush them before that last feed - then you have cleaned all that she has eaten during the day and what little sugars etc there is in the milk will be minimal on her teeth all night.
I think it's important to begin looking after their little brand new teeth as soon as they get them - it also builds up familiarity with the brushing process and develops good habits.
However, you have reminded me i forgot to do my 8 month old's tonight :-/
Reply:Yes, it is very important to brush your baby's teeth, but you can do it before you nurse her to sleep. Numerous studies have shown that breastmilk is not cariogenic except in the presence of other food. You should also try to brush her teeth during the day as well.
There is also no link between breastfeeding at night or extended breastfeeding and early dental caries. There were some earlier studies that showed such a link but they were flawed. Some extracted the lactose from breastmilk and just exposed teeth in the lab to that, well obviously that's not what happens in the real world. Also unlike a bottle breasts don't drip and leave pools of liquid in the baby's mouth. Breastmilk has also been shown to help remineralize tooth enamel.
However ultimately there are many other factors at play in determining if your baby will get cavities. Tooth brushing in toddlers is a relatively new phenomenon and so are cavities in toddlers. No one is really quite sure why but it is probably because of changes in diet and changes in the bacteria that cause caries.
Some of the studies are discussed and linked to here:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/to...
I have more if you are are interested. I have been arguing with dentists for months now about my son's cavities. Ultimately I have just given up - I know what's right for my family, I've read the research and even if breastmilk did cause cavities in some at risk babies that hardly outweighs the benefits of breastfeeding and even night-feeds.
At the very least brushing her teeth now *might* make her more accepting of it in the long term.
Reply:yeah i hear it alot that u should brush those first teeth,,, i never did and they were fine!
i started when they were around 2, xxxxxxxxx cos its not like they ate lollies and sweets
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