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Original poster

When do you brush teeth?

6 replies

Morph2 · 06/01/2011 22:13

My DS (nearly 8 months) has just got his first tooth so I thought i'd better start trying to get into habit of brushing morning and night. Tonight being first time I did after his bath when he was getting dried and dressed which he was fine with, but as part of our set routine dad then gives him his bottle which settles him. Is it defeating the object of brushing teeth if he then drinks milk immediately after, should we be brushing after milk and if so how can we do this without getting him all hyper and excited again.

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
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TickettyBoo · 06/01/2011 22:37

Can't respond but thank you for posting as I have the same question! lol, lo is just cutting her first tooth so it's nearly through and was wondering about brushing - will watch with interest x :)

aPixieInMyCaramelLatte · 06/01/2011 22:45

It just becomes part of the routine eventually so it gets less exciting. Trust me Grin

We always brush in the morning, always after his first cup of milk but before breakfast.

And last thing at night it's cuddles, milk and stories, then teeth and bed.

IlovePeterAndre · 07/01/2011 15:10

I generally brush and mouthwash in the morning. Brush before i go to bed and then floss once a week.

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TheSugarPlumFairy · 07/01/2011 22:10

morph we have the same issue. i tried brushing DD's teeth after her bottle but it just wound her up (she is not a fan of toothbrushes it seems) so at the moment we are doing it in the bath and then giving her the milk when she is dressed and about to go to bed.

it probably is defeating the object but at this point i think it is probably more important to establish the routine of brushing teeth and getting her used to the brush in her mouth.

maybe when she is a bit older we can move to doing her teeth after her bottle.

AngelsfromtherealmsofgloryDog · 07/01/2011 22:54

Everything I've heard and read (eg on our postnatal course) is that teeth should ideally be cleaned after bottlefeeding because otherwise the milk can pool in the mouth and cause tooth decay.

Bf is less of a problem apparently because the milk gets sucked to the back of the mouth rather than going around the teeth. (See here.

AngelsfromtherealmsofgloryDog · 07/01/2011 22:55

Maybe you could start doing them before the bottle, then when he's used to it, change to doing it afterwards?

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