DD's teeth. Care suggestions, please.

[Charlotte91]

DD only has 3 teeth at the moment.
As soon as she got her bottom teeth they've been brushed twice a day, just with water.

Any ideas as to how to care for them properly?
With her Gastroschisis (born with her bowels on the outside), she was on triple dose antibiotics for about 5 days (I think, can't remember, it was a few days anyway).

It's been noticed that Gastro-kids tend to have alot of dental problems with their baby teeth. Kids as young as 3 having teeth pulled and filled.
It's unknown whether is a coincidence, linked to the antibiotics, or a results from the stress in the womb.

How can I keep her teeth healthy?

[RhiChiChi]

I am assuming the antibiotics are in oral form? Can you offer her a drink of water or brush her teeth after she has the antibiotics? I really don't know what you can do with a young baby other than what you are doing.

[Charlotte91]

She had the antibiotics when she was born. Only for the first couple days, and it was such a strong dose because of all the risks from the operation.

[LimeSlice]

Is she breastfed or on formula?

[Charlotte91]

She's on formula, unfortunately. I had massive supply issues when she finally came home.

[LimeSlice]

Teeth are really quite cool, and can repair themselves to a certain extent when given enough minerals and calcium.
So I would look at the calcium and Vit D content of your formula and make sure she is getting enough.
Keep brushing her teeth, perhaps use a wet flannel to gently rub them down, rather than a rough brush. You can also use the flannel to clean her gums, and inside her cheeks, until she gets more teeth.

[Deedles]

I have to take my DS to a pead dentist for a filling and a 'baby root canal' as he put it. I feel like such a failure.

He said the reason he has bad teeth is that they are so close together they hold a lot of food and even though we brush twice a day he told us to floss as well. His teeth are so tight it is really quite hard!
He also only drinks juice/cordial on special occasions but a lot of fruit has high amounts of sugar in it too.
He also mentioned that if we had bad teeth when we were young (and DH and I both did) There is a higher chance of him having bad teeth too.

The dentist also suggested we get him tooth moose, we got strawberry flavour! Its a calcium substance you rubon after brushing to help them to stay strong.

So he told me to brush twice a day, floss and tooth moose!

[LionsandBears]

Another thing to research is probiotics. ABs kill off the healthy gut bacteria in both adults and children. This affects all health, including dental health. I'm not sure how you intoduce probiotics to FF infants. It would be worth investigating, especially given she was born with intestinal issues.