Tips for brushing 10 month olds tooth

[Normando91]

My 10 month old cut his first tooth the other day. It’s a top one- not that it makes a difference- and is about 2/3 of the way out. Brushing is a struggle, he absolutely hates it (understandable as I imagine it’s super sensitive)
Does anyone have any tips? We have tried both a normal baby toothbrush and a finger one. Tried when he was having his morning nap and he woke up crying, bless him 😔 I saw something about using a soft cloth but can’t understand how that’s going to work. Just don’t want to cause him any pain but also want to make sure we are brushing the tooth twice daily!

At that stage I don't think they need to be cleaned twice daily and as thoroughly as adult teeth. My first thought reading your post was that trying to do it while he's napping (especially if it wakes him up and he's upset!) Would create a negative association with the toothbrush.

We do it after the bath, I sit her in my lap, she watches me put the water and toothpaste on, and then I try to rub the bristles where her teeth are. I then pretend to brush my own teeth (like exaggerated moving the bush up and down my front teeth) so she can see, and then just let her chew/play with the brush for a bit.

I think you probably need to work on a positive association with the toothbrush first and then can start trying to brush thoroughly.

Mine chewed the brush for ages around that age, and still does tbh, I just do the proper brushing in the middle and he chews the brush first and last so he feels like he’s in control!

He has a brush and so do you. A smidge of toothpaste on his, a larger amount on yours. Take turns. Make a game of it. Tell him how clever he is if he just sucks his brush when it's his turn. When it's your turn, have a go around his tooth, but vary where you're brushing in case his gum is a bit tender where the tooth is erupting.

Stop trying for now as it's just upsetting him, your goal at the moment is to make toothbrushing an enjoyable activity, and you can't do that at the same time as cleaning his teeth. Take a break.

To get the tooth clean, wipe it with a flannel in the bath for now. He will probably enjoy sucking and chewing on it.

Then just get a baby friendly toothbrush like the Matchstick Monkey one and at first let him play with it at tooth brushing time, then once he's happy and used to that, take more and more control, take turns, just move it around a bit, then actually do a brushing motion etc. I would wait to introduce toothpaste and just start off with a tiny smear.

Buy a Brushbaby

Thank you all for your replies. You’re completely right, I’m making too big a deal of it. My health visitor made it sound like it was absolutely imperative that we brushed it twice a day every day but the last thing I want is to make him associate brushing his teeth with some kind of torture! I hate the thought of it hurting his little gums.

I’m going to just give him the brush and let him chew it for now and do the flannel when he seems a bit more settled throughout the day… I’ll slyly add it in to his bath time routine. I’ll also look into the matchstick monkey brush as his matchstick monkey toy basically saved us through this first bit of teething.

Also… the tooth’s come through even more today and he looks absolutely hilarious (and ridiculously cute) with his one little top tooth sticking out when he smiles 😂

You can rub it with a damp muslin and that works quite well.

Sorry, it's a banana shaped toothbrush - it looks like the matchstick monkey but it's not actually the same brand. Beware of cheap fakes on amazon though, they might not be food-safe silicone. Look for the proper branded one.

This one www.amazon.co.uk/Baby-Banana-Teething-Toothbrush-Infants/dp/B002QYW8LW