baby teeth care

[spu]

Now that Charlotte has 6 teeth and Else has 2 (and they were all mighty painful!) what do I need to do to clean them? I've read everything from brushing their teeth twice a day (they're only 8 mos old!) to brushing after breastfeeding before going to bed (impossible since we cosleep often and nurse frequently in the night) to seeing a dentist! HA!

So do I just need to wipe their teeth with a towel and a little orajel cleaner? They're eating soft solids now. What do you all do with those tiny little baby teeth?

susan

twin girls 7.20.02
charlotte & else

[twins r fun]

Don't know if this is an appropriate plan or not, but I'll share what we do. I actually didn't do anything seriously until they had molars. I always meant to brush those front teeth when they got them and even did sometimes but never made it a priority. Once they got molars, I got serious because it seemed like so much surface area waiting for a cavity! I use oral b stage 1 toothbrushes and the orajel training paste. I brush their teeth in the morning as part of the getting dressed routine and in the evening as part of the bedtime routine (after their bottle). They really enjoy it-I hold them and make a game of it. Especially at night it's a nice cuddly time for us. I brush what I can before they take over and then they try it themselves(which means chomping on the brush). My own dentist said to bring them in when they are about 3. And my hygienist said there was no need to use toothpaste until they get older (old enough to spit it out), but it seems more real when I use the orajel training paste!

Nicole

[sweetbasil]

We started brushing DS's teeth when the first ones came in (his Grammy is a dental hygienist, so we try to be good about that)....before he was born, we got an oral care kit that included a gum massager, finger brush (rubber with rubber "bristles"- you can find a picture at www.onestepahead.com and when searching for toothbrush, it's the first teeth starter set), and toothbrush. We started with the gum massager when he started teething, graduted to the finger brush once those teeth started breaking through, and then moved on to more advanced brushes.

Wal-Mart (and other similar stores) also carry a safety toothbrush that we let DS use when we were getting him ready for the day (no toothpaste or anything)- One Step Ahead also carries it: (www.onestepahead.com and search for toothbrush, it's the Safety Brush) and now we've "graduated" to Oral B toddler toothbrushes and flouride-free toddler toothpaste (also from Wal-Mart/Target). We brush first thing in the morning and right before bed at night.

He's LOVED brushing with a real brush, and I'd like to think that starting him out early helped....who really knows! :)

HTH!