Toothpaste issues with almost 5 year old

[toby]

Without going into the long, dramatic history of DS's sensory and taste issues, he has never used toothpaste. With all of the other battles we have faced, just getting him to brush his teeth with water has been a remarkable feat. The dentist has been fine with him just using water and says that it is the actual brushing that makes the difference, not the paste.

However, DS's breath often smells bad and I feel that he needs to start using toothpaste at some point. He says that he will use it when he is "10 or 20." He hates the taste of mint and all fruit flavors. Cinnamon Crest is a possibility. The idea of chocolate or vanilla toothpaste makes me crazy, but I am interested to know if anyone has used Tasty Paste.

Is there anyone out there whose DC just uses water...or has successfully transitioned from water to paste?

Thanks!

[SnuggleBuggles]

At about that age I too noticed that his fruity kid toothpaste was not cutting it and his breath smelled horrible. I lured him in to minty toothpastes with Aqua Fresh by highlighting how neat it was with the 3 stripes of color.

Beth

[JBaxter]

I think Toms of Maine has Cinnamon

[JElaineB]

Spry tooth gel (http://www.luckyvitamin.com/item/itemKey/73852?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=fpl&utm_term=XlearSpryInfantToothGel2oz&utm_content=73852&utm_campaign=googlebase&site=google_base) is very mild tasting. It really just tastes sweet. It doesn't have any fluoride but it does have xylitol which kills bacteria in the mouth.

[Pennylane]

What about a mouthwash? All three of mine use Act Childrens mouthwash. I think it is bubblegum flavor.That would probably help with the bad breath.

Ann

[brittone2]

Another vote for the Spry tooth gel. It is very mild and a thin consistency, which if he has any sort of gagging issues w/ the sensory concerns, it might be easier for him to tolerate (it is a very thin gel). It doesn't have much abrasiveness to it, but if regular pastes are tough for him to tolerate you could try it. The one we had in the past had a mild cherry flavor to it, but in the link above I don't see that mentioned, so maybe they have a non-cherry version.

Trader Joe's carries a xylitol containing toothpaste that is fennel flavored. I know a lot of kids would NOT be big on fennel, but my kids seem to like it. They often complain various mint toothpastes are too "spicy" so they seem to tolerate the fennel better...it is a fresh taste without being minty, so maybe that would help w/ breath...if he likes it. The TJs stuff is pretty cheap in comparison to other xylitol containing toothpaste brands too.

Xylitol can cause rapid hypoglycemia in dogs, so if you have doggies that get into stuff, just make sure you keep it out of reach as it can be toxic to them as a result.