Toothpaste for toddlers

[UnravellingTheWorld]

So I just had a total brainfart in the shops and didn't realize until I got home that the toothpaste I bought is for ages 3-6 (my son has just turned 2).

Will his teeth fall out if I use it or will it be fine? He has 18 teeth at my last count - just waiting on those last two molars at the top and he'll have all his baby teeth through.

Feel free to tell me why it's not suitable 😁 I'm sure the stupid tube will keep for a year if it has to.

It's probably just slightly mintier than the other toothpaste. It may have a slightly higher fluoride but that shouldn't be an issue if you are using the correct amount for your child's age (a smear on the brush to minimise swallowing it)

Is it not about fluoride? How much of it does the toothpaste you bought have? I think baby toothpaste usually has 1,000ppm of fluoride.

His old toothpaste (for ages up to two) was indeed 1000 ppm of fluride! The new tube is for 1450 ppm.

On the NHS website I can't see a restriction as such for 2 yo - it says all children under 3 should use at least 1000 ppm, but there's no maximum stated

(Obviously he is only still getting a tiny smear on his toothbrush)

HV told me at our 2 year check to use toothpaste for 3+

I can't remember if it was because it has more or less fluoride in, but whichever way round it was, she said the water in our area has a high/low level of fluoride so the under 2 one wasn't good enough

Ours same as PP. Health visitor said our area doesn't have much fluoride in water and to always be the age above. Our two year old is on 3-8 and is good at spitting.

I have a few tubes on the go (one in wash bag) one in main bathroom, one downstairs. If it were me I’d just get the right one (ours were £1 per tube in boots) and save the older one for when baby is older?

@MrsHsGirl @PlainJanePerfect That's so interesting! Upon investigating it looks like my area doesn't add any fluoride to the drinking water, so I'd feel a bit better about him using it.

He likes watching me spit out toothpaste, so I may have to teach him the skill next! Thanks everyone!

We taught him the commands so he understands:

Ahhh (open wide)
Roof (it's about to tickle and I can get another swipe at all the adjacent teeth)
Cheese (closes mouth, smiles so I can do the fronts and sides)
Cheeks (all the way up and down into gum line)
Tongue (stick it out)
Spit (usually 3 times during so he doesn't swallow)

I do it first and then let him do it himself at the end. He's 3 in Nov and we had to get him standing at the sink at two as soon as we moved to the 3+ toothpaste because I didn't want him swallowing it. I've got it down to a well oiled machine.

I also do "roof" early and mash the paste across his palette. We found he was enjoying spitting and it was coming out too soon. It's been a year and we still run though the words every time.

We also only use the strawberry toothpaste now because we are old and tired and with two mints but one adult extreme whitening it is too easy to mix up or question yourself afterwards! And a kids electric toothbrush works well for us because it's more like what we have.

Good luck. Teeth can be a battlefield but it's important to get into a good routine so it becomes second nature to them