When to start brushing teeth

[Spongebob]

My 8 month old has two bottom teeth, when should I start to clean them?

[pipsy1]

Good idea to get a toothbrush and get him used to using it (or rather you using it) now.

[loudmum]

my dentist said you should start cleaning your teeth as soon as you have some!!

Both my kids been to dentist every 6 months since they got their first teeth...

[moosh]

Agree with loudmum so have mine. Start brushung as soon as they start to appear.

[jackeroo]

my dentist recommended wiping the teeth with some cloth and a tiny bit of toothpaste (ds also has 2 bottom teeth)... but getting them used to the toothbrush early on sounds like a good idea.

[franke]

Ditto - we brushed with a tiny amount of toothpaste as soon as the teeth appeared - only takes a few seconds at first. Apparently kiddie toothpastes aren't necessary - use your normal one.

[Chuffed]

I got a neat colgate toothbrush with a soft squidgy handle and I normally do hers (11mth)at the same time as mine using childs toothpaste. We started at about 6mths. She mainly just chews it but sometimes will let me brush her teeth as she does mine.

[lunarx]

ds got his first two teeth at just after 6 months.. we started wiping them off then until they came up a bit more to use a brush.. now we brush them twice a day... am going to ask dentist at upcoming appt. about using toothpaste..

[highlander]

I was told that if you live in an area with fluoridated water, then a fluoride-free toothpaste is necessary for the young 'uns until you are confident that they won't swallow the toothpaste. Apparently excess fluoride intake can cause brown mottling of the adult teeth.

[alaughingcow]

I gave dd a toothbrush to use as a teether. I also clean her 2 teeth morning and night with toothpaste and leave to her chew on the brush until she's had enough.

[chipmonkey]

Ditto what highlander says, low fluoride better for baba

[2boysmum]

We started cleaning teeth when they had them but our dentist said that for keeping babies teeth healthy teeth cleaning was less important than not letting them have cups of juice, as a result they only drank water or milk as babies and now the youngest wont drink anything else!

[SabineJ]

Well, reading the previous messages, a lot of mumns will be horrified but I haven't started to brush DS teeth yet (He is 17 months) and I am not planning to do it yet. I would agree with 2boysmum dentist to say that avoiding sugary drinks, especially just before bed time, is much more important than brushing their teeth. Also, it is not usually possible to really brush them either because our dear angels won't let us do it or because they want to do it themselves and end up vaguely chewing the brush !. My plan is to wait until he is about 4 years old and have the ability to brush his own teeth.
However, somethingelse that I would take into account is how bad the aprents teeth were as children. It's also a good indicator on wheter the child will or not have "good" teeth.

[meysey]

SabineJ be warned... my DS1 had his first filling at 4, and had had regular teeth brushing, no sugary drinks, hardly ever any sweets etc. I dread to think what his teeth would have been like if we had not even started brushing by then. To make brushing more fun, why not get one of those battery-powered toothbrushes? You can extra heads so the kids can have one each.

[sanchpanch]

i just bought my children a tesco battery toothbrush shaped like a phone, and they both love them ages 7 and 19 months toothbrush £2.99

[lisalisa]

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[moo2]

My gorgeous dd 7 mths has her bottom two teeth and is now growing fangs, they are no way the top 2 they are the top two side ones, has anyone else experienced this or is she a freak? Please help! I have spawned Draculas daughter I think