How do you clean your little one's teeth?

[Just Me]

I read somewhere a few years ago that babies aren't born with the bacteria that causes tooth decay and it is passed on from saliva - I have no source and I don't really remember if that is what it said exactly but it was something along the lines of avoid sharing saliva with your baby at all costs - no sharing toothbrushes, utensils, cups etc. The reason I don't really remember is because I didn't take a whole heap of notice past thinking 'pfft, too late for that already.'

I suppose in an ideal world, it would be good not to share toothbrushes but in reality, it's not that easy to avoid. I also think that I could go to huge extremes now to ensure that I don't pass on germs to my babies but I would have to sew their lips closed to stop them sticking something in their mouth that another person hasn't - they have stuck far worse more germy things in their mouth than my toothbrush . It's not avoidable for ever. As long as the parents have good oral hygeine themselves, it should help.


ETA: Did a quick google search because I was interested to know if I imagined it and apparently I didn't. Babies aren't born with germs in their mouth, they are passed on. I found this too which might be useful if anyone is interested: http://www.health.qld.gov.au/child-y...gCareTeeth.pdf

[berrme]

I read somewhere a few years ago that babies aren't born with the bacteria that causes tooth decay and it is passed on from saliva - I have no source and I don't really remember if that is what it said exactly but it was something along the lines of avoid sharing saliva with your baby at all costs - no sharing toothbrushes, utensils, cups etc. The reason I don't really remember is because I didn't take a whole heap of notice past thinking 'pfft, too late for that already.'

I suppose in an ideal world, it would be good not to share toothbrushes but in reality, it's not that easy to avoid. I also think that I could go to huge extremes now to ensure that I don't pass on germs to my babies but I would have to sew their lips closed to stop them sticking something in their mouth that another person hasn't - they have stuck far worse more germy things in their mouth than my toothbrush . It's not avoidable for ever. As long as the parents have good oral hygeine themselves, it should help.


ETA: Did a quick google search because I was interested to know if I imagined it and apparently I didn't. Babies aren't born with germs in their mouth, they are passed on. I found this too which might be useful if anyone is interested: http://www.health.qld.gov.au/child-y...gCareTeeth.pdf

I also figured that was great in theory and promptly ignored it, as if they will completely avoid sharing your saliva for more than 5 minutes, lol.

Just let her chew on the toothbrush if that is all she will allow, it is mostly just important to get them used to the idea of cleaning their teeth when they are this little. If you can get her to let you do a 30 second clean yourself before or after she chews the brush then that is great, but don't stress too much. My boys have both gone through phases where brushing is fun, then the next day you aren't allowed anywhere near their teeth.

As far as the dentist goes... We only took DS1 for his first check up at around 3. We asked the dentist earlier, but he said there is no point until they have all their teeth, including the 2yr molars. The check up didn't really involve any proper cleaning either, he just put DH in the chair, checked his teeth with the little mirror and pokey thing and told him he was doing a great job of cleaning his teeth... keep it up. Even trips to the dentist are mostly to get them used to the idea of dentists not being scary and to pick up major problems, not to scrub your child's teeth.