first tooth, toothbrush and paste advice please

[DizzyBint]

dd has her first tooth, she's nearly 8 months old. am i supposed to have got her a tooth brush by now? i looked at some today, there are some simple normal ones then some funny looking ones that are like a mouth guard with a handle, so baby just bites down on it. is that a gimmick? also, toothpaste? do i need that now? which one do you use? they all look a bit gimmicky, cartoon faces and all that. any ingredients i should avoid or look for?

anyone? dd's tooth is presumably rotting away here..

Hi dizzy, we got the colgate first toothbrush & milk teeth toothpaste for our ds. Tbh, I just went to Boots and got them, didn't do any real research. I know you can get flavoured toothpastes but I just prefer the normal milk teeth one.

One other thing if you don't mind - we found that by letting ds play with the toothbrush as we got him changed made him much more willing to have his teeth brushed!

hth

oh thank you! i was beginning to think everyone's children were toothless!

The milk teeth is the best and it has a mild taste.

Definately agree with giving the toothbrush to encourage brushing.

Get Urtekram or Green People toothpaste - much better tasting than the bog-standard chemical shite and healthier. Try health food shops.

My kids still use colgate milk teeth toothpaste - and the oldest is ten! It is mild in flavour and was given the OK by our dentist. I also bought the colgate first toothbrush for them when they were little, the bristles are very soft. Beware; they get chewed and sucked alot at that age so you get throught them pretty quickly!

It would also be advisable to take your dd to 'see the dentist', now that she has a tooth. In essence, just take her along when you go for a check up and they'll have a little look at her tooth while she sits on your lap. It really is only to get her used to the dentists and helps banish anxieties at a later age.

thanks everyone. i will have alook at those you mentioned tooticky.