Tooth care in baby

[FartnissEverbeans]

10mo DS cut his first two teeth last week and there's another one on the way. I bought a toothbrush and baby toothpaste for him.

However, I'm finding it difficult to brush his teeth, stupid as that sounds. Do I just hold his head and do it? How do I stop him swallowing the toothpaste? Does it matter if he does? Does it make a difference if I use toothpaste at all at this age? How long should I brush for?

I'm quite fastidious about my own teeth so I want to get this right! Thanks

my dentist told me to only put a tiny smudge on there brush and as long as the teeth get a little toothpaste on them then thats all that matters! i just let my little girl hold hers and she chews it! and i use the same toothpaste we all use.

You can get baby Toothpaste. We use aquafresh 0-2. It doesn't matter if They swallow it (i don't think!!!) You just use a tiny smear and a soft baby brush. Let them chew it mostly but do a few brushes so they get used to it.

My ds had to be pinned down to brush (he is now 3 and brushes/let's us brush ok!)
Dd is 1 and has always been fine! Let's us brush and likes to do it herself too.

Also book a dentist apt. They don't really do anything except have a little look but it gets them used to it.

I use the 0-2 toothpaste for my one year old, using a brush was not very successful so I bought some silicone finger brushes which are much easier. Some days she totally refuses to have them done and i dong fight with her just try and do them extra good the next day

Thanks everyone, that's been really helpful. We'll start doing it properly in the morning.

Beansprout Finger brushes sound good - I'll keep an eye out for those if we still have issues with the normal brush

You can also get a toothbrush by brushbaby (but them in boots) that looks like a big pacifier. They hold it, and where the teat would be is a rubbery two sided brush. DS is same age as yours and he LOVES brushing his own teeth with it (good for teething too). I go round after if he lets me with the small soft brush, but more to get him used to it than anything

My dd's dentist gave me some tips on brushing her teeth and also counts them all (difficult when they have lots and don't want to show them all) - tells us how many she has and how many they'd expect on average at that point, and how many are left to get. Private dentist but this one (possibly most /all) does babies and toddlers for free (not sure if it's a deal with NHS or something) so worth checking out.

The advice we got from dentist was asking lines of pp- tiny amount of toothpaste on a brush or use the special baby stuff, don't worry too much about getting every angle of their teeth, it's very common for them to bite tooth brush (patience and persistence help, and just don't get them or you stressed). When they get old enough to, I find if they hold the brush with you the mouth stays open better