So how do you brush 9mo teeth? Baby just bites brush.

[Bobby99]

My DD is 9mo, with 2.5 teeth. I've been trying to brush her teeth since the first one came through with not much success. She just chews and bites the brush using the gums at the back of her mouth where there are no teeth yet - same thing happens if I use a Brushbaby brush. I often resort to just rubbing a tiny amount of toothpaste on her teeth when she's asleep when we've got nowhere with brushing them while she's awake. Any tips?

At her age biting and moving the toothpaste around in her mouth is sufficient.

Yes dentist told me at check when my dd was 18 months that having toothpaste in the mouth twice a day was sufficient to keep teeth clean at their age. My dd is now 25 months and I am only now teaching her to actually brush her teeth.

Glad I read this too! My DD 15months insists on doing it herself and tantrums when I try and help. She's rubbish at it. A dentist at a parenting convention put the fear of god in me once telling me I had to brush them for her, properly, from when the first one appears to when she's eight years old.

DD is just under 15 months and I always stress about doing them properly which she finds infuriating glad I read this though, I'll let her carry on doing it herself. Keeps her still and quiet for 15 minutes if nothing else

I though they shouldn't have toothpaste until they can spit as it shouldn't be swalloed ?

sorry typos ( speling) there am doing this one handed...

we "brush" dd's (10 months) teeth by giving her the toothbrush with a tiny amount of toothpaste on. she chews on it happily for a while.
reg swallowing of toothpaste, in other countries, babies are given flouride tablets, so a tiny amount of toothpaste shouldn't be a problem.

The MAM bite and brush is great, just put a little bit of toothpaste on each side, and beacause its quite round it gets all the teeth.

But I think at this age its more to get them into the habit than to actually clean them.

Thanks everyone, that makes me feel a lot better!

The Dentinox teething toothpaste is good too, and you get a free finger toothbrush (which is also way easier than trying a normal children's toothbrush). DD now loves doing her teeth and in fact 'teeeeth!' was her fourth word!