age for toothpaste and first visit to dentist?

[lmh2402]

i realize this depends on how many teeth your DC had at what age...

but for us, DS will be 12 months in a week. he's got 5 teeth and a 6th cutting through now.

we currently brush (if you can call it that) once a day at bath time.

at what age did you step it up a notch - twice a day brushing? intro toothpaste? (and what brand?) and when did you schedule a first visit to the dentist?

i am kind of thinking the earlier the better b/c he would get more used to it? but i'm not sure. i mean, he not yet walking or standing for long periods of time on his own. so i would have to sit him or lay him down in the morning to do his teeth. which i imagine will get ugly fast...he's not a very tolerant little boy

thanks

[AbbysMom]

We just took our 3 year old to the dentist for her first visit. We use the flouride free toothpaste because she hasn't learned how to spit yet (which led to some pretty funny moments during the dentist visit!) Our 17 month old got teeth very early and they have been brushing together since my little one was around 10-11 months.

[jess_g]

We started all our kids at the dentist at age 3. It took them a few visits to get used to it but they do great now. One thing that has helped us a lot is going to a kid friendly dentist office. They have a nice waiting room with games and books, a friendly staff, and are realy nice with the kids. This has helped us so much as my kids are the kind that hate going to the dentist.

Jessica.

[JBaxter]

I dont use fluoride toothpaste until they learn to spit ( swallowing toothpaste is actually really bad for kids) I use a toddler past for Jack. We still do once a day brushing at 18 months.

I was a hygienist ( but havent worked for the past 6 yrs) and all the general dentists recommended about 3yrs old for the first visit.

Some ped dentists will recommend 12 months but unless you are seeing issues they just do a look & see and charge you.
2 of my boys didnt get their first tooth till 12 months

[wencit]

Growing up, both DH and I had lots of problems with our teeth, and we wanted to avoid that with our kids, so we took DS1 to his first pediatric dentist appointment at 13 months. I also followed the thinking that maybe if he was used to going to the dentist, he wouldn't dislike it so much.

Um, no.

First couple of times weren't so bad, as I don't think DS1 knew what the dentist was doing, nor did she even do much except look in his mouth and count his teeth. At one point, she was even able to successfully take x-rays. As he's gotten older and more aware, it's gotten to be more of a struggle with him, to the point that I actually had to hold him in my lap at his last appointment a couple months ago.

Sigh.

I'm not sure what we'll do for DS2, if we'll start him at the dentist so early, too. On the other hand, insurance does cover him, so I kind of figure, why not? If there are any problems with his teeth, even if they are his baby teeth, I'd like to nip them in the bud earlier, rather than later.

FWIW, DS1 got teeth early, around 5 1/2 months. I don't recall when we started the twice-a-day brushing, probably around the same time as when we started him on fluoride toothpaste, around 2 1/2 years old, per the dentist's instructions. I do specifically remember her telling us that he had to be physically able to spit it out. We also used a tiny, tiny amount, like barely touching the toothbrush tiny.

[wellyes]

DD had most of her teeth by 12 months, but my ped said dentist at 3.
We have been brushing w/ flouride-free since about 10 months or so.

I did get a letter from the pediatric dentist practice affiliated with my pediatrician that I should make an appointment around age 2, haven't decided whether or not to make it or wait.

[AnnieW625]

We first took Elisa to the dentist at 3 yrs. old. as that is what my dentist suggested. Elisa took forever to get all of her teeth too so this worked out well. We started with non flouride toothpaste at about 18 mos. old I think and used that until about 3-4 mos. ago. We did start flouride toothpaste because DD was enjoying eating the yummy non flouride flavored kids toothpaste and we have been very diligent about her knowing that she can't eat the flouride stuff and that she needs to spit.

[JBaxter]

IF you wonder how much toothpaste is toxic here is a chart. It is VERY dangerous if you have found your toddler has eaten large amounts of fluoride toothpaste and you must call poison control or go to the ER.

TABLE:
age/ weight / amount of toothpaste if eaten can cause death

2 years

weight ~12 kg
60 mg/ 42% of tube

3 years

weight 15 kg
75 mg/53% of tube

4 years

weight 16 kg
80 mg/56% of tube

5 years

weight 18 kg
90 mg/63% of tube

6 years
weight 20 kg
100 mg/70% of tube

http://www.fluoridealert.org/toothpaste.html

[Kymberley]

2 of my boys didnt get their first tooth till 12 months

I'm jealous! DS has 6 teeth and he's not even 8 months old yet!

To the OP, no fluoride toothpaste until they can spit each and every time. I'll probably take DS to the dentist around 2 due to the rate of his tooth eruptions.

[twowhat?]

Our pediatrician now recommends 12 months. I wish we headed his advice. We waited (because everyone else seemed to say 3 years) and we were religious with toothbrushing. We noticed a black spot on one of our girls' teeth around 15 months. *gasp*!!! We had not added them to our dental insurance yet and we had to take her in. Thankfully it was just stain but I wish we would have just taken them in at 12 months. They do a fluoride varnish that is QUICK and easy and cuts down on the risk of cavities. They will also recommend a tooth gel (We use Spry xylitol infant tooth gel). It is just good to see a dentist early and know that you're on the right track.

Plus - remember to think about when your enrollment period is for your place of employment and factor that in when you sign up the kids for dental insurance. We can only enroll once a year and once you miss that enrollment period, you are screwed until the next year! So we have to suck it up and pay out of pocket for our girls' dentist visits until then.

[citymama]

We took her to the dentist at 3 for her first visit, and started fluoride toothpaste only after that visit. Until then, we used the training toothpaste. They absolutely have to be able to spit out the toothpaste before you start with fluoride.

[goldenpig]

We took our daughter to a pediatric dentist for her first visit at 2.5. She said normally she sees kids starting at around 1 yr (or 6 months after the first tooth). It was nice because now my daughter is very interested in brushing her teeth and also flossing. The dentist showed us how to floss her teeth because several of them are touching, so food could get caught in there. DD likes to use toddler flossers that I found at BRU and I also use a Reach flosser on a toothbrush-like handle to get to the back teeth. We brush/floss at bedtime (and sometimes before naptime) after she has her gummy vitamins. The dentist said not to use fluoride toothpaste until they learn to spit because it will discolor their teeth if they swallow too much fluoride, so we use Oral B toddler toothpaste. DD drinks fluoridated tap water at home. I had lots of cavities growing up and I want to spare her from that as much as I can, so I think going to the dentist was great for her!

[smilequeen]

Fluoride toothpaste...I still reccommend waiting until they can spit it out. However, some dentists reccommend using small amounts from the start.

First visit...best practice is really before age 2. However, good luck finding a dentist (even pediatric) who follows that AND knows how to do it. When I was in school, 3 was still the standard and the younger age is a newer reccommendation. However, childhood caries is on the rise, and rapidly rising. It is a huge problem. Waiting until there IS a problem is not good practice. A visit before age 2 should not be a "look and see and charge you visit". For one, I don't charge for a visit that doesn't include a cleaning. And most importantly, an early visit should include...

-A basic examination of the teeth
-A discussion of brushing and flossing practices
-A discussion of dietary reccommendations and risks
-A discussion of genetics and health history that can contribute to cavity rates
-A discussion of any anatomical issues that could increase cavity rates
-A friendly/easy introduction to the dentist's office

Kids that see the dentist earlier have fewer cavities over their lifetime than kids who wait until 3, 4, or 5 on average. Even highly intelligent parents can miss something on that list that might make their child more cavity prone.

I really reccommend finding someone who can see your child early, before 2. I like 18 months or sol.

[rlu]

DS went to the dentist the first time at 18months as he had chipped a tooth. Our dentist is a friend of DH, so we called him when the tooth was chipped and he had us bring DS in. That initial check didn't even involve the exam room - instead the dentist had DH hold DS upside down while the dentist looked at the opened mouth and said it looked ok (no discoloration, etc.) No charge and DS enjoyed meeting the dentist and his people, seeing the waiting room and, of course, the "toy box".

DS was on our insurance as our vision/dental was combined at the time and there are vision issues in my family. So we took DS around 2 for his "first" visit. The dentist had DS sit in my lap on the chair, he looked in his mouth with the mirror, tapped a few teeth with the pointy scraper thing and then let DS look around the exam room. It was cool because DH and I were able to look into DS mouth like the dentist does so we could see where the teeth were touching (or not) and even where the new teeth were starting to come up. We discussed where we needed to be flossing and why, and the dentist gave us a spinning toothbrush (Pooh bear I believe, or McQueen) and little kid toothpaste sample. No charge for the first visit.

We had been brushing DS's teeth all along as the dentist had asked during my and DH visits about DS's age and tooth appearances, etc., since DS was born. It's nice when the whole family sees the same dentist as he always asks how DS is doing and if we need a new toothbrush for DS, etc., plus he didn't mind when I asked about flouride rinse at school (they don't do that anymore and I asked him if that was normal - it is) since he treats the whole family anyway.

eta: until we looked in DS mouth at the dentist office, I hadn't thought to take are really in-depth look in there. Now about once a week or so I pull out a flashlight and really examine his teeth and gums after brushing. The longer we can go without cavities, the longer DS will not resist going.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I'm a believer in going to the dentist by age 2. Why wait if you have dental insurance, imo. Ds1 went at 18m and ds2 went at exactly 2y (new dentist, different recommendation). When ds1 was 5 he had a horrible run of cavities and I am glad we caught at least some of them early. I am now a huge believer in early visits and x-rays by a certain point (before age 5, for sure). When the teeth get closer together, flossing is very important to add to the repertoire too. Ds1's cavities started between the teeth and we wouldn't have known about them till it was way too late (which it was in 1 case) had it not been for x-rays.

Beth

[smiles33]

DH is an orthodontist and he recommended we have DD1 seen shortly after her first 2 teeth came in around 12 months (but I waited for insurance to kick in) so we went around 15 months.

She wasn't happy and continues to cry at every appointment. We've had 5 or 6 appts now. I hold her in my lap and lay her down with her head on the pediatric dentist's lap so he can examine her teeth. The hygienist then does a quick "polish" (similar to what we get in our adult cleanings) and then puts a swab of fluoridated gel on. There wasn't any scaling (where they chip/scrape at the calculus on your teeth).

I'm hoping that now that she's older, she will be less scared as there really isn't anything painful.

[o_mom]

Our pediatric dentist says 12-18 months or 8? teeth (if later). That is for the first child, they are OK with waiting until closer to 24 months for subsequent kids since the first visit focuses a lot on education (how some 'healthy' foods can be really bad for teeth, etc.). We have followed that pretty regularly. I just know too many people that waited until 3+ and ended up having to have the child put under general anesthesia to extract, cap and fill teeth.

We used some fluoride free paste when they were little and started the fluoride paste around 4-5 years (spitting). DS3 currently uses just water because he just wants to eat the whole tube of toddler paste.

If I were you, I would start asking around for who is good with kids with a plan to go in the next 6-12 months. Call and ask lots of questions about the practice. There are a large number of even pediatric dentists who don't allow parents to be present for the exam and that was something I would not have.

Ours has been nothing but good experiences, they love going and look forward to it. Parents are present for all exams. Toddlers and preschoolers are done in a private exam room, older kids in a row of chairs with a parent seating area that is within eyesight.