Can You Brush an Infants Teeth?

hi K.,
There is a toothpaste for babies that you can get at the grocery store. It is by the baby ora jel. Use a soft tooth brusk for the first 3-4 years so it doesn't ruin her teeth. I started brushing my kids teeth at 4 months old.

L. R

K.,

A couple of things, first you should always wipe down the gums and teeth of a baby. You can buy soft tipped "toothbrushes" that don't have bristles, but my pediatrician recommended just using a CLEAN washcloth. Second and most important, you're child should not sleep with a bottle, it's really very bad habit. You didn't mention whether she was on solid food. If she's really this hungery at night you should start feeding her baby cereal or oatmeal at night. Don't feed it int the bottle, this delays the process of them learning how to eat properly. Also, you should try shifting her calories into the day hours. Feed her more at each feeding during the day, so that she can maintain the calories she needs, but getting them at the right time. You will want to start this process slowly, so she doesn't get sick at any one feeding, just increase the amount by a little at a time. Also, and I know how hard this is, I am a single mother, but if she still needs to wake up and eat at night, you should get up feed her and put her back down. She most likely is eating out of habit now, because it's also a comfort. If you ask your pediatriain they'll probably tell you the same thing. You need to help her break the habit, which will be hard for between 5-10 days, then you will probably find, if you're consistent that she will sleep and not eat at night. Hope this helps and please feel free to respond with any more questions. Good luck...sleeping is the hardest thing to deal with at this time and if you're doing the best you can, you're doing great!

Oral B has both toothpaste and toothbrushes marketed for youngsters. Even has the age on the toothbrushes. You can find them anywhere toothbrushes are sold. They usually have your child's favorite character on them too.

I let my daughter chew on a soft toothbrush, but I also read once that you should wipe the baby's teeth and gums with a washcloth.

By all means...Oral B makes a toothpaste formula, with a little finger brush that you can use to brush her teeth. It's a way to start a good habit. Other things you can do are put a little bit of rice cereal in her milk at night it's will help to sustain her hunger through the night, and it helps her not to have too many bottle throughout the day. Also try giving her half-water, half-apple juice, that helps cut some of the sugar. My son is three and I still water down his juice. I hope this helps some.

Hi K., yes you can brush her teeth. There are tooth brushes especially for babies. What I did with my daughter I went and bought tooth anf gum cleaner for her teeth. You can wipe her teeth with a damp cloth or obtain a finger brush.

You can brush infants teeth AND gums! You can simply use a towel to wipe them doen at night. As for hunger in the night, have you started her on solids yet? Cereal or veggies/fruit? If so she really isn't waking because she is hungry. By this age she is waking and you are not there which will make her cry. Giving her a bottle is a smoothing mechanism. Have you tried a pacifier? A bottle at night can rot teeth and cause ear aches as well as dental problems with how her teeth are comming in. I would try to wean the night time feedings and give her another outlet for soothing such as a pacifier and this waking up stage will pass when she gains object permanance and knows just because you are not there, you are not gone forever! Hope this helped?

There are infant toothbrushes, you can buy them right at Target, Walmart, etc. There is even infant toothpaste - it is safe for them to swallow it in small amounts.

I agree that you should give her water instead of formula at night. She is definitely old enough to go through the night without feeding, it just takes some time to "train" her to do this.

K., I would call your family dentist and ask about the proper toothbrush for your daughter. You didn't say if she was eating a snack at bedtime or just a bottle, but how about trying a bowl of cereal at bedtime or maybe some fruit to help tide her over? Maybe that will be enough food so she won't wake up and you can then give her the water to go to bed with.

Just a thought.

I had the same problem, they do make infant toothbrushes and paste or sometimes i would just take a wet cloth after my son fell asleep and wipe inside his mouth gently so he wouldnt wake up

OMG K.,this sounds JUST like my daughter!My daughter uses her bottle as a security blanket at nap and at night,but for MILK only,I'm sometimes successful with the water and keep it on hand.My daughter is 21 months old and had to have her four front teeth removed!!!!We thought at first it was bottle rot(I felt SOOOO bad about this)but after her dentist started surgery,he said she had an enamel defect in her teeth!!Still I think had I been more firm about taking the bottle OUT after she fell asleep,we would not have had to go through this now,she would still have the enamel problem,but MAYBE,just maybe she wouldn't be walking around with no front teeth!!!My boys also slept with a bottle,and they never had this prob.,why her,I DO NOT know.but try your best to break her of that bottle after she goes to sleep!!!!Be a stronger woman than I,I still have this prob with Devon,my daughter,and we fight a constant battle-everyday-so she still gets the bottle at nap/bedtime (milk) and then she washes it down with water.Does your daughter eat well???It seems Devon gets the most STILL from her bottle,she JUST WONT eat,nibbles,however during the day the only thing she gets is watered down juice/water in a cup and does fine,this is JUST a bedtime thing for her,I'm still trying to find help for this!!!Also,I'll wrap this up in a sec,the dentist said he didnt care if she was on the bottle until she were married.....ONLY put water in it!!!!But again my daughter is older than yours,but DO try and break that bottle habit at night!!I hope this was insightful.R.
p.s. to answer your question..YES as soon as they get teeth put a pea sized amount on the brush and go to town(dentist said at least 2 mins,and boy do I have fun with this(LOL)I practically have to strap her down)TWICE a day....GOOD LUCK

You can use a wet gauze to clean an infant's teeth. It is not a good idea to let your daughter to sleep with a bottle of milk. At this age I guess your daughter must eat solid food, I think she should not wake up from hunger. You should consult her pediatrician to see if she really needs that midnight food or she just wakes up due to habit.

Hi Again K.,
you can get baby toothbrushes, atleast you could when my two older boys were little (Tony is 25 now and Cesar is almost 23) but you could start with a clean wash cloth and just wipe her teeth off. The whole bottle while she goes to bed is really bad for her so try weening her off... you could try water that won't hurt her... I know easier said than done...

S.

I have to agree with your mom about giving your daughter water at night. The formula could really mess up her teeth. I started letting my son play with a toothbrush and some infant/toddler toothpaste around 6 months or so. It is safe for them to swallow.

Hello K.,

There are a couple of things at play here. First of all, to answer your question...yes, there is a baby toothbrush, so to speak, that is a wonderful tool. In fact, I still use it on my two year old because he fights the toothbrush so much. It's a finger brush that you put over your finger and brush using your finger. It's usually blue and made of a soft rubbery material. You'll usually find them in the baby toiletries section and often is packaged with non-floride toothpaste that's safe for babies to swallow.

As for your child sleeping with the bottle, it would be easier in the long run to ween her from that. It really is not good for her teeth. You can feed her really good right before bed and when she wakes up hungry, talk to her very soothingly and rub her to let her know you're there. It'll be hard at first, but eventually she'll fall out of the habit and you won't have anything to worry about anymore...at least with night time bottles and tooth decay.

I think a lot of night time feeding in older infants is really more related to wanting the attention and warmth of mommy than really being hungry. But I'm no expert on the matter either. :-)

Good luck!

Hi K.,

Yes there are baby toothbrushes and toothpaste. Go to Walmart or a babystore and they should have them. I have the same problem with my son. He just wants to suck on something all night and doesn't want a pacifier. He would also still get hungry too when he was younger and we would give him milk in his bottle. I think that it is just going to have to happen on her own time. Now, I know he is not hungry I do give him water and it seems to help, but he is also older than your daughter, but we did the same thing you did till a few months ago. Just go get a toothbrush and toothpaste, the rest will come in time.

Good Luck,

D.

Not to worry because, yes, you can brush an infant's teeth! The key is to make sure you get the right kind of brush and toothpaste. If you go into the baby section of any grocery store, CVS, Target, etc. look for the special toothpaste (which usually comes with a toothbrush) for infants. The important thing to consider is that it does not contain fluoride because babies swallow everything and fluoride should not be swallowed. If it makes you feel any better, my daughter, who is now 20 months old, still needs milk before she'll got to sleep. I know that's "against the rules," but it works for us for now, so I'm not going to worry about it. :-)

You can start brushing your daughter's teeth as soon as they appear. Gerber makes soft baby toothbrush and non-fluoride toothpaste.

However i would recommend that you do not let your daughter sleep with the bottle and not just because of possible tooth decay but also because it will increase her chances of ear infection. With my daughter, I gave her a bottle as part of her bedtime routine (and also because it calms them down) and made sure she finished it before putting her to bed. Maybe you can try the same..

Good luck.

I used to be a dental assistant so I can tell you that we saw a lot of kids come in with bottle rot. The thing about losing baby teeth to that is the spacing isn't the same once the permanent teeth come in. Could mean braces in the future. Or other problems. I don't know if you daughter has a lot of problems with ear infections but that can be another issue of going to bed with a bottle. Since their eustation tubes haven't finished developing, laying down can cause ear infections. As hard as it may be, in the long run try to wean her from her bottle while sleeping. Talk to your peditrician about increasing her solids. Good Luck.

Yes you can brush her teeth. I got a brush set, it has an infant toothbrush(finger toothbrush) and a gum massager and a toddler toothbrush. Most store's have what's called a finger toothbrush and they have that toothpaste in with it. I use it on my 6 month old and he loves the banana and apple toothpaste. It's by Gerber it's called grins and giggles. My sister is a dental assistant and it is actually recommended to start brushing their gums even before they have teeth in the morning when they wake up and before they go to bed. As for your daughter sleeping with her bottle,she isn't eating she is just nuzzling because my son always wanted to be on me when i was breastfeeding him. Try putting baby cereal in her bottle. Start with a tablespoon and gradually increase it. Use a size 2 nipple when giving cereal in her bottle. They also have special nipples that have the perfect flow specially made for cereal and formula.My son took to it right away. The pediatrician's say don't do it before you spoon feed it to them but I did with my son when he wasn't getting full with just formula. My son slept through the night the first time i gave it to him until i could give him solids. His pediatrician told me he was just nuzzling and try giving him a pacifier. Everyonce and a while he nuzzles his bottles also. If he falls asleep with his bottle in his mouth,I just take it out and give him his paci. if he starts crying till he falls asleep again. If she is hungry or needs to burp she will let you know. My son does. If she falls asleep and she hasn't burped or finished eating she will be fine. They will let you know when something is bothering them. My son is 6 months old and i am a first time mom. I have learned what he needs by his behavior. Good luck. Hope the advice helps. If you have any other question's don't hesitate to ask.
T. R.