My Child Has Dirty Teeth!

Hi Louise,
My daughter is now 20 yrs old with beautiful straight teeth. I started cleaning her teeth when they first came in with a soft cloth every night. Then I got her a toothbrush of her own that jingled when she used it, and just let her play with it in the high chair after eating as she got big enough to. That created a routine I believe, then she wanted to brush every time we did. But every night before she went to sleep, I would brush personally. Right before she was two years old, I kept noticing her back teeth were holding food even when I was brushing, I would have to take a tooth pick to get it out, so I made her an appt. with my dentist then. At that time in my area there was no such thing as a pediatric dentist. My dentist said to bring her in and get her used to everything then we would make another appt. to look at her teeth. He took her in and went thru the whole routine we all go thru to start with, then as he was showing her his tools and things, he set in the floor and said he had a water gun, would she like to see him shoot the bug on the wall. He shot the water and hit the wall which made her laugh and he let her do it. Then he showed her he also had an air gun and it would tickle her, and showed her how the air came out. He went thru the whole routine and made friends with her then asked her if she would let him see her teeth. She did and he got to look good. Made an appt. to go back in a few days, and she was anxious to go play ,,LOL When we went back, he cleaned her teeth really good, then put sealant on her back teeth to keep the food from sticking down in the deep grooves of her teeth. From that day on she never ever minded going to the dentist for her check ups, she never had cavities at all until she reached junior high, all of sudden starting having two or three every time she went. He only used white fillings on her cause her teeth were so pretty he said. Come to find out it was caused by Mountain Dew! I quit buying it, she quit having cavities. He said he had seen so many kids with cavities and would ask if they drank Mountain Dew and all of them did. Other pop didn't do it Needless to say today she has beautiful teeth. Something I never had. I tell you all this to say this, the earlier you start a routine with their teeth the better I think. Or at least it has worked wonderful for us. Also a GOOD patient dentist means the world. I mean, he won me over immediately with all the pain he went to with her on that first day. I have nieces and nephews that refuse to go to the dentist for bad episodes with a bad dentist. So even if you take your child to a dentist, follow your gut, if he doesn't let you go back in with him, if he doesn't have patience, find another one. This is a life time thing, so they need to be comfortable with the dentist they are seeing. For all who read this, please don't give your child Mountain Dew, that turned out to really be true, I've seen other kids having drastic problems from it with their teeth and adults also. My daughter started drinking it again in high school and started having cavities again till she cut it out once more, now no more cavities. Hope this gives you some help in some way, but what ever you decide, Good Luck! Its all trial and error, so just find something that works! You'll find it and do fine. God Bless!

Hi, I use the electric toothbrush(with characters on it). My little girl 19 months had the same issues and she seems to like this better and the stain/plaque is no longer there. I also have a little stool that they can stand on, likes this better too. Good luck.

.

Your child should go to the dentist as soon as all or most of his teeth are in. As for the brushing, there are a few things I would recommend: Try brushing with him, he may learn by example. Try getting him a special tooth brush of his favorite character. Make up a silly tooth brushing dance and ecourage him to try the dance. On another note, make sure the toothpaste is flouride free, most little ones will not spit. Ask your doctor if the spot persists, it could mean a mineral or vitamin deficiency. Hope this helps, good luck!

M.

If you are afraid there is a problem, then its the right time to take him to the dentist.

Something we did with my daughter was to give her a toothbrush and we get a toothbrush. She gets toothpaste and we get toothpaste and then we take turns brushing her teeth. We made it into a game. Singing a silly song, letting him stand in front of the mirror while you make silly faces as he brushes, those things can help.

A mouth that has plenty of moisture fights plaque and bacteria better, so also give him lots of water through the day.

We got my son a Thomas toothbrush, and we just make it a routine to brush his teeth (he wants to brush his own, and then we help to make sure he got all of them good). He loves to brush his teeth with his special toothbrush. ;)

Also, my son's doctor said he should go to the dentist at age 3, so we're getting ready to take him for the first time! ;) We're going to take him to a recommended pediatric dentist.

Hi Louise,

My dentist didn't want to see the kids until they were 3 yeasrs old. Try getting him an age appropriate (Oral B stage 1) toothbrush and some training toothpaste. It's safe for little ones because they can swallow it without having to worry about the flouride. Brush your teeth at the same time he "brushes" his, then, tell him you need to check his and go back and brush them. They toothpaste makes it taste good and the practice and being able to mimic what you do let's him practice for when he gets older and can do it alone.

By watchin and doing together every night, he also gets into the routine of doing it every night and every morning. It's like waking up....it's just what you do.

It takes a while to develop the habit, but it's worth it to get it started now. Good luck!!