To buy strawberry toothpaste?

[ThreadLasso]

About eight months ago I accidentally bought strawberry toothpaste for my DCs (3 and 5). Then we went back to normal mint flavour.

Recently they've been saying that they don't like the mint one, and they don't like cleaning their teeth, and they want the strawberry one.

I am happy to get the strawberry one, but DH thinks we should stick to mint as otherwise we're encouraging their sweet tooths which isn't helpful for their teeth, and that mint is just normal toothpaste and they need to get used to it.

AIBU to get them strawberry? Should I insist on mint?

I think getting their teeth brushed is the important thing not the flavour

The mint one is sweet also.

The key thing is they build a habit of cleaning their teeth, and learn to do it themselves.

Pick your battles

The strawberry is equivalent to mint, is it not? If the fluoride content is good then I think it's ok.

They aren't eating the tooth paste so surely it's being brushed off and therefore not encouraging a sweet tooth? I think it's just important to brush their teeth so I wouldn't worry about it being strawberry paste at their ages.

My dd is 6 and only just starting to use a mild mint by Colgate - because they didn't have any fruity flavour in the coop and we'd run out! She used to hate any of the mint ones so I think as they get older it's easier to switch!

I’m an adult and use strawberry toothpaste. It stems from pregnancy sickness and not being able to tolerate mint. The strawberry flavour is much nicer and my teeth are still in good condition 🤷🏻‍♀️

Why if they like the strawberry? Mint doesn't magically clean their teeth better, it's just the default flavour. I battled with my toddler until we bought a berry flavoured one. The most important thing is that their teeth are being brushed with fluoride toothpaste.

The problem is that a lot of the ‘flavoured’ toothpastes don’t have the ideal fluoride content. The latest advice is to forget the ones aimed for different ages and just have a ‘family’ toothpaste and go back to using different amounts for different ages.
For all those saying pick your battles please remember NHS dentistry is in crisis so it is very important to look after children’s teeth.

We have 3 toothpastes in the bathroom at the minute, age 3+, 6+,and adult and they all have the same fluoride of 1450. The only difference is the flavours as one child wants berry flavour, the other one on mild mint and then the adult one.

It's not a battle I pick. Teeth get cleaned with whatever's tolerated. My eldest only moved onto mint after reading a leaflet in the dentist which showed what toothpaste she should be using and is battling through despite it being 'too spicy'

I looked at hismile flavours but the fluoride is only 1100 so I discounted those.

Nonsense. The flavour does not give you a sweet tooth.

Most toothpastes are either revoltingly and artificially sweet, or intensely minty and artificially sweet.

One of my adult children still brushes with a fruit-flavour toothpaste because they despise the taste of mint. It has not given them a sweet tooth. Until I found that particular toothpaste, they brushed with just water for a long time. The dentist emphasised to us that developing an effective brushing habit was more important than which toothpaste they used. Dc has no fillings.

He can be responsible for getting their blood teeth cleaned if it's that much of an issue

Just watch the fluoride levels. That’s all. Brushed is better than not.

So your DH doesn’t buy the toothpaste, does he “lead” on cleaning their teeth, teaching them to clean their teeth and taking them to the dentist? Or is this all your job and he’s decided to pick a battle on your behalf?

The above is my irritable, sleep deprived response but rationally, it’s toothpaste and the important thing is that your children use it to clean their teeth.

Is the strawberry one a proper toothpaste? As in meets whatever criteria it is meant too?

I remember mint toothpaste being painful when I was little. Not tingly or spicy or any other euphemism, painful. Same with fizzy drinks. Small mouths have thinner skin I guess. Can't see how it does anyone any good to make toothbrushing painful when it doesn't have to be.

I have an allergic reaction to mint toothpaste and have to use the strawberry. It seems to work fine.

DD loathes anything minty so I buy her fruit flavoured toothpaste. As long as it has the right amount of fluoride (about 1350 I think is the normal adult tooth amount) added and it will tell you in the tube, then what difference can it make. It’s just a matter of personal preference surely.

The strawberry Aquafresh one has exactly the same level of fluoride as the mint ones.

I don’t think it would matter if your DC used that toothpaste for the rest of their lives.

For some people the sensory experience of mint is not tolerable. And that’s ok.

My 5yo DS cannot use the mint flavour. He is likely on the spectrum (we are going through diagnosis at the moment) and the mint flavours just result in the most enormous meltdowns. However, strawberry is absolutely fine and so that’s what we use. His teeth have no issues.

Just to add Aquafresh 3-8 yrs strawberry paste has 1450ppm fluoride which is the same as the Colgate Total I use on my own teeth! So it’s fine!

It's just a personal preference, mint is the traditional flavour but that doesn't make it inherently better

YANBU

We used strawberry when DD was a toddler, this was in Europe and the fluoride was 1450ppm the same as adult toothpaste.

Wish we hadn't started the aqua fresh kids ones with DS though as he is autistic and refuses to change to regular toothpaste and it's a bastard to find the 9-12 ones. I have to bulk buy.

We use the unicorn sparkle one in the pic above- it's bubblegum flavour AND glittery so your DH would be appalled
But it's the right level of fluoride and autistic DD can tolerate it. Dentist this week was impressed with her perfect teeth!

Iman adult and hate the taste of mint toothpaste. Imay have a look for different flavours

He's being daft.
Thinking about it, the association of mint being a 'good' flavour in the context of dental health may result in some people ruining their teeth with minty sweets. You definitely don't want your kid to develop a taste for softmints or extra strong!

People are buying wonka chocolate flavour toothpaste in their droves. It is ine of our best sellers. There are bigger battles when the fluoride is the active ingredient!