How do I clean my 1 yr old's teeth better?

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DD has 8 teeth and I've just noticed that the bottom ones appear have tartar along the gum line

I have been brushing her teeth at bedtime with a baby toothbrush since about 8 months but I guess it's not been effective enough... if I'm honest it's been a few swipes from me and then giving her the brush to chew.

But if I try to brush "properly" (ie the way I would brush my own teeth) she will yell and fight.

What does everyone do? Do I need to forcibly brush even if she cries? Help!

Don't let her have too many sweet, sticky foods, and maybe brush after each meal, not just at bedtime.

Try and find a good, but novelty, little brush, and make almost a game out of it. Have a spare old brush, and let her pretend to brush doll's teeth!

Take her to a dentist at reasonable intervals.

Thanks Ferguson. She doesn't have sweets or juice but she does have raisins sometimes which I will limit.

What happens when you take a 1 yr old to a dentist? I can't really imagine how they would get her to keep still? or do I hold her?

Our dentist said that tartar on the bottom front teeth is quite normal as it is where saliva pools. Our DD didn't get teeth until 11.5 months and then she hated having her teeth brushed. I just got on with it, regardless of protests, even when it meant pinning her between my legs. If she cried then she would at least have her mouth open. Decent tooth brushing is non-negotiable for me. She is 3 now and apart from getting her to face me and keep still, she is fine about toothbrushing, so I haven't scarred her for life.

I used a brush baby, a toothbrush they chew, till ds was almost two. The dentist was quite happy with that & the results.

It's probably better to play the long game on this rather than looking strictly at the tartar - so having a set time for tooth brushing, making funny noises and faces while brushing.

Getting them to have a go brushing your teeth went down very well (if not slightly painfully for me ) -

breathe that's reassuring
I am quite happy to be tough and pin her if that's necessary just wasn't sure if it is or not iyswim?

jaffa we have a brush baby but she tends to chew the handle rather than the brush - in fact she's keener on chewing her normal toothbrush so I gave up a bit on the brush baby. will try it again

biscuit we do that too! she loves it but not so keen on the bit where I brush hers ... like I say she's ok if it's a few swipes but not keen on a real brushing session. Hopefully as you say it's more about the long game and nothing irreversible will happen in the meantime.

She does currently have milk after teeth brushing - I guess this is a bad idea....?

I tell DS his teeth will all fall out he was about 18mo when I started telling him though so if she's younger she might not get that.

Dentist told me not to worry to much about the brushing and aim for paste on each tooth and no rinsing.

don't worry too much about the brushing as long as she is using 1000ppm flouride paste and don't rinse after and yes stop the milk after brushing.

right, thanks for the advice, am now brushing more rigorously and after the milk

I am using toothpaste but only a tiny bit... isn't it bad for them though if they swallow fluoride ?

I hold my nearly one year old up so she an look in the mirror whilst i brush her teeth, she loves her reflection so that distracts her enough for me o get the job done. Sometimes she brushes mine after too...

If you use age appropriate toothpaste and the amount recommended then you should be fine. Toothpaste for babies has less fluoride in it than adult toothpaste, I assume because more is swallowed.

ooh good idea squirrel (if my arms can hold out that long)

My dentist told me it should have 500ppm fluoride max.

probably depends where you live and the fluoride levels in the water so defo go with what your dentist advises.

My dentist advised lying ds down on the bed to brush his teeth. It makes it easier to access the teeth and see what you're doing. Also she advised rubbing a tiny amount of toothpaste on to the teeth at bedtime (if you're struggling to get them brushed properly). Leave the toothpaste on their teeth through the night.

We started brusing DS's teeth as soon as the first ones appeared at around 6 months.
We do it after breakfast in the morning and after dinner at night (so nothing is eaten / drank immediately after brushing).
DH holds DS whilst I brush DS's teeth using a baby toothbrush (small, soft head) and a slither of 1000ppm flouride toothpaste.
We generally look in the mirro whilst we do this and/or make faces / chat to him to try to make it fun.
After about a minute of brushing from me I let DS do it himself for about another 30 seconds - he seems to just like chewing on the bristles.
We don't rinse afterwards.

He does have quite a sweet filled diet - raisins, yogurts, custards, fruit pots, oaty bars - which we are trying to limit though he doesn't have things like ice-cream, chocolate, biscuits, cake etc.

I don't know if this is right or not but he seems to have healthy teeth!

Our dentist told us that we were being too soft by letting DS chew the brush etc. We had a brief period of pinning him down and then he quickly realised it was non-negotiable and stopped struggling. As a reward we bought him an electric toothbrush which he loves. Now we let him do his own teeth and then we go over them again straight after.

I was going to suggest an electric toothbrush too.

It works really well for us.

I give it too dd (nearly 2) and she does it. I prompt her to get right to the back and so the other side. If I don't think she's done it properly i do it by force if necessary.

We have been doing this since she cut her first tooth 10mo an I rarely need to intervene this days although it does come in phases

Ooh, DD would LOVE an electric toothrush. Will see if there are any suitable for 1 yr olds.

When is the usual age for first trip to the dentist please?

We were advised to clean our children's teeth with them lying down with their head at our knees and feet furthest away (with us kneeling on the floor iyswim). You get the best view of their teeth that way (upside down I suppose) and you can get a relatively thorough job done.

I don't think electric toothbrushes are advised so young, but check with your own dentist as that could just be the opinion of ours. I would get your DD registered as soon is convenient and her first appointment booked in. They do very little the first time, but they have fun the the chair and get a quick look in their mouth to see how many teeth they have etc.