Toothpaste!

What age do you start brushing bub's teeth with toothpaste? The Bear thinks we should be using it now but I'm holding off because I thought they were supposed to be old enough to spit it out :dunno:
Anyone know??

a low fluoride one is fine, just use a tiny speck! or grab a fluoride free one from the health food shop, we used to use a snappy jaws one in strawberry, have recently changed to the kids colgate one. DD2 only has water

I was told by the MCHN the other day not until 2 years of age. But not sure why?

I believe Ali it's due to the fluoride & SLE content of Aussie toothpaste & the inability of most little ones to spit it out.

However, I'm with you Pixie I do't really think little ones need it. Snappy Jaws is a great choice in a toxic free toothpaste...

and it tastes yum too!! DD1 loves her snappy jaws!!

Mine all started to use a kids toothpaste around 2. Most of the kids ones you can buy say from 2 - 6 years. I was told when ever they can spit.
We've always had the milk teeth tooth paste for them. DD1 still uses it.

I am having enough trouble getting DD to actually brush her teeth, or at least let us do it :wall:

We use strawberry snappy jaws too - it's awesome! We've got a running joke about how DH can't have it because it's got a big sign on the box that says 'not for grown ups!'. LOL

We got Liam the wiggles toothbrushes - so he likes to play with them and chew on them. Then when he gets out of the bath and sits on my knee, I brush his teeth for about 30 seconds (depends on how long he chewed on the toothbrush in the bath). I had to be consistent and adamant about brushing his teeth (have done it with him crying :( ) and now he is just resigned to it. However, if he's had a particularly hard day, is teething or too tired, I don't push it!

Thanks for the tip about strawberry snappy jaws!! sounds awesome, I'll get some, I'm sure DD will love it.
DD has a walrus bath toy with big teeth - we started showing her how to brush the walrus' teeth and she loved chewing the toothbrush too - although usually the wrong end. These days though, I let her brush my teeth and then she will let me brush hers. But she has to brush mummy's teeth first!

Some great tips there Pix, thanks hun :) I think we have a couple of bath toys with some great teeth :D

My DD has been using the colgate one for kids since about 12 months old.

my dentist advised "as soon as they have teeth". The main reason being, to get them used to having a foreign object in their mouth. He recommended me to dab at her teeth with a wet thin flannel, to begin with. Apparently kids who don't start until later (like four) arc up at having something strange in their mouth. (just repeating what i was told).

I don't like the Sodium Laureth Sulphate in virtually all supermarket toothpastes, so i buy bilby the Weleda children's tooth gel to use instead (from healthfood shop). i keep it up high, only i dole it out. Too expensive for me to take the risk of her squirting it all over the floor!

When she was tiny, i had a baby toothbrush, looks more like a rubber thing with bumps on it, it came in a pack of three kid brushes, (at kmart i think, where the child locks are sold, dream baby or something like that).

Since around 2.5yrs, she's been using a very short toothbrush from the supermarket, perfect size for her hand. still using the Weleda. she's only JUST now started to be interested, and practise the "spitting out" bit. Got a long way to go there, but the dentist says the most important thing is that she WANTS to brush her teeth, she is COMFORTABLE with having a brush in her mouth, and that will set up good habits for her future dental health. Technique and skill will come later.

gigi's right kids need to want to do it, dont push the issues, you can only try, other thing to try is a kids electric brush for the novelty factor!!
we've been lucky with DD1 (3yrs) is fine with teeth brushing and is even likes flossing her teeth!

we brush teeth with water josh loves the toothbrush lol we will eventually when older progress to milk teeth toothpaste as i did with all my kids