Brushing Your Baby’s Teeth
Just starting out with oral health care?
Here at our NW8 clinic, we are proud of being a family friendly surgery, with the expertise and training to care for the dental needs of all members of the family. One of the most important jobs we do is caring for baby’s teeth and providing young parents advice on caring for their baby’s teeth at home. The better a baby’s oral health is in the early years, the better chance they have of developing strong, beautiful adult teeth.
Here at Abbey Road Dental we can do a lot when you bring your baby in to visit us, but the real maintenance happens at home, which is why we take pride in supporting and advising parents in terms of their baby’s oral health routine.
When Is It The Right Time To Start Brushing My Baby’s Teeth?
As soon as the first tooth shows a sign of emerging, you should be cleaning the teeth twice a day. You can however start cleaning the gums with a clean, damp cloth before the first tooth bud appears, this will help your baby get used to having their teeth cleaned. Expect the first baby tooth to push through to be at the front on the bottom row, appearing at about the age of 6 months (this varies greatly between babies).
When Should I Stop Brushing My Baby’s Teeth?
This varies depending on parenting but we recommend you keep brushing your child’s teeth until they are around seven years old. You can still supervise brushing until you feel they can be trusted to do it themselves independently.
Do I Need To Buy A Special Toothbrush?
A bit of muslin cloth wrapped around your finger with a little bit of toothpaste on is a great choice for the very early stages of teeth brushing. There are baby brushes available which are very small and work well – just check the age range before using it to check it is suitable for the age your child is.
How Regularly Do I Need To Change The Toothbrush?
Between 1-3 months or as soon as the bristles are spreading out to the side.
Do I Need To Use Special Toothpaste?
Yes you do. You need to ensure the toothpaste has fluoride in and that it is suitable for babies. Your Abbey Road dentist can recommend the best type for you to use as fluoride levels you should be using will differ depending on the baby’s age.
How Much Toothpaste Should I Used?
A smear of toothpaste should be your aim. You should also try to teach your baby to spit after brushing. Do not encourage your baby to lick the toothpaste, especially if it is flavoured. This is dangerous as they might see the toothpaste as food.
How Should I Clean My Baby’s Teeth?
Look to clean the teeth in the morning and in the evening before your baby has had their last drink. You can clean the teeth facing your baby, or even with them on your lap facing forward – we can show you various different methods to help. Baby’s gums will be sore so it is important to be gentle.
Bring Your Baby Into Our NW8 Clinic
We recommend you bring your baby to us at Abbey Road Dental when you come in for your appointments so they can get used to the surgery and the staff. You can of course also make an appointment just for your baby if you want to talk about their oral care before they start teething. Once they get their first tooth we recommend you bring them to visit us so we can talk to you about their oral care routine. We have special training where we use lots of tricks and methods to keep children interested in their oral care, and help them care about it long term.
Please call us on 02076241603 and we will be more than happy to give you further information or get you booked in.
