Alder Hay Program - Tooth Brushing?

[Trojan1970]

Hi - I guess a lot of people watched the Alder Hay program last night? I missed the start of it and tuned it to see the poor little mites having teeth removed.

Did I get the gist of it right - the tooth decay was from having a bottle in bed at night?

My DS (2.3) brushes his teeth in the bath then gets into bed with milk in a sippy cup. Am I getting it wrong?

He brushes in the morning too with electric toothbrush (God bless Ben 10 gadgets!) Should I be getting him to brush his teeth after his night time milk?

He's showing no signs of decay and the dentist was happy with him at last appointment.

What does everyone else do?

absolutely. milk then teeth brush then bed.

milk before tooth brushing here

Only water allowed after tooth brushing here.

Milk before brushing...but that little boy did have 5 lolly pops a day......

OK, will try to start new routine tomorrow. Milk whilst getting dry after bath, then brush teeth, then in to bed for stories. Thanks for your input.

Recorded this but haven't watched it yet. Ds is 3 and still has bath, teeth, bed.

Never seems to be a good time to change it since DD arrived

As DH and I watched this in horror I we decided 2 things: no more milk in bed for DD and no more tomato ketchup! Ever!!

(DH thinks I am overreacting with the ketchup thing BTW )

My friend is married to a dentist and recoils at the mention of ketchup...

Teeth should be brushed after milk, but in the programme, I think milk was the least of those kids' problems.

Going have just read your post out to DH as I think you validate my thoughts on ketchup (not that I had any til I saw this programme!)

DC's (age 7, 5 and 2) have dentist appt tomorrow so fingers x'd they're fine.

Trojan, you really need to be brushing his teeth!

At 2.3 he will not have the manual dexterity to brush them himself, electric toothbrush or not.

And always brush after bed time milk.

And I don't know why people are worrying about ketchup... yes it has sugar in it, but so do baked beans, crisps & many many other things that you wouldn't think of!

It is all about moderation & a good oral hygiene routine. No need to ban any foods at all as long as you follow basic instructions of cleaning etc.

I brushed all my DCs teeth until they were five or six. I honestly think you should still be brushing your LO's teeth, Trojan, he isn't old enough to do it properly yet.

Friend's dentist husband recommends brushing teeth for them until they're about 8 (not that I did, perhaps 6).

It's useful to have access to the counsel of perfection, but I think, as ever, moderation in all things is the key.

Tooth brushing last thing at night, and only water to drink after that. DD always goes to bed with a cup of water by her bed.

i still brush my daughter's teeth at 8 most days

Brushing his teeth is a combined effort - some days he wants to do it 'all by myself Mummy' and other days he lets me do the lot! We've got a dental appointment in a few weeks time so I'll get the Dentist's point of view too. Thanks for all your comments.

I have to admit the program did make me rethink the way we approach tooth brushing with DS(3). Obviously I know that oral hygiene is very important but seeing those poor children has put the fear of God into me!!

We do brushing morning and night (after milk) and its a combination of him doing it himself and me helping. He prefers to do it himself though so I have to insist on helping.

From now on I am going to be more fussy about getting them brushed really really well and helping him as much as required, whether he likes it or not . I am even considering brushing his teeth after meals too.

Well as a dental professional I would be really concerned if your dentist believes that a 2.3 yr old can brush his/her teeth effectively!

wheresmypaddle, do not brush directly after food or drink. The teeth go through an acid attack for 20 mins after each mouth of food/drink, so if you brush immediately afterwards, you are brushing acid around the mouth which can have a detrimental effect.

Therefore, always leave 20mins at least.

differentnameforthis thank you- I had no idea !!

Do you think it is sensible to brush after meals or do you think its 'over-kill'??

wheresmypaddle, ideally we would all brush 3 times a day, so it is worth it, to do it after meals.

Is it also true that you shouldn't brush shortly after vomiting, for the same reason?

Goingspare, yes! You should rinse with water or a mouthwash, but do not brush for 20 mins. Which is horrible, I know!

You could also try chewing gum if water isn't available, or doesn't do trick!

Yuk.

Thanks.

All good to know- thank you!!

And if you want to really go the extra mile....you could floss. dd1 had to have 3 crowns and 2 fillings aged 5, because of a combination of weak enamel and tightly fitting teeth - they look lovely, and have been brushed religiously twice a day by me/dh since she has had them: no problems at all on the visible surfaces, but decay set in between them

Apparently, we should have been flossing - who would have guessed?!