BF and teeth cleaning

[ItsTimeToBurnThisDiscoDown]

My 9mo has just got his first tooth (at last!) and so I've bought some baby toothpaste for him. I was wondering though, in the morning I can clean after he feeds but what about at night? He feeds to drowsy and I don't like the idea of waking him by doing his teeth, but if I brush before he feeds wouldn't that defeat the object of brushing in the first place? Confused!

I wouldn't worry too much at that age just do it when you can. It is more getting them used to the idea.

Best thing is to clean the teeth before bfing as BM is anti-microbial.

The idea that BM rots teeth comes from 3 articles (not scientific studies!) written in the 70's/80's but there was only 9 children looked at in total AND the dentists appeared not to know much about bfing (e.g. that the nipple is far back in the mouth) plus 2 of the children were also bottle fed.

More details on bfing & decay here.

As someone else mentioned, you should not use baby toothpaste. It does not have enough fluoride. Have a look in your 'birth to five book' under teething.

Thanks all, thought I had read adult toothpaste had too much fluoride but must have got the wrong end of the stick! I'll have to see if I can get anywhere near his teeth tonight.