Dental hygiene/Brushing Teeth for Three-year-old

Yesterday (2/21/2008) one of the guests on the Martha Stewart show was a dentist. He said the most common cause of bad breath is not flossing. You didn't mention if you did that or not.

Another suggestion is to find a different toothpaste. Tom's of Maine children's pastes are thick like adult pastes but the flavors are not as pronounced. The dentist on the Martha Stewart Show also made some points about the ingredients of toothpastes that are available and that he came up with his own version. I recently purchased one similar to what he was describing. I'll have to check out the show website because I'm wondering if the tube I bought is his product. It's the natural DENTIST: HEALTHY TEETH TOOTHPASTE: Anticavity NATURAL FLUORIDE: SPARKLE BERRY BLAST: with Xylitol Helps Prevent Cavities No Harsh Chemicals, and No Artivficial Dyes, Sweeteners or Preservatives. There is a cartoon cat on the front holding a toothbrush and smiling with sparkly teeth. At the top of the tube it says it is SLS FREE. The dentist on the show said that SLS, which is found in tons of products, is a detergent, and he believes it shouldn't belong in toothpastes. You can check out what he said about what is put in toothpastes at the show website I'm sure. This isn't an ad for the toothpaste, even though it probably sounds like it. My boys haven't even tried this gel yet. I tested it just now. It's a tiny bit gritty so it'll probably get the job done. Not sure if they'll like it. The flavor is nice though.

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E.
I had to respond...my 2 boys brush their teeth well , and now with regular toothpaste sometimes instead of kids. Their teeth are fine and the dentist says so. BUT their breath in the AM would kill you if you got too close, I mean really kill you!
So I tend to think its normal, just unpleasant. Usually goes away after breakfast and some awake time breathing...I think it's b/c they sleep all night and they may breathe through their mouths? Esp. if they have a cold..When my older one's was bad a few X's I let him rinse w/ Crest night time rinse a little bit to kill some germs. Worked pretty nice too. 3 is probably a little young. Also I help brush their tongues, where the bacteria builds up, that helps the most. Good luck, and don't worry !
R.

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I am dentist and I would continue to only use the children's toothpaste. If it has flouride in it, it is the exact same as adult toothpaste so there is no need to have him use adult toothpaste at this time. he will want to switch to adult on his won time.

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Hi E.:
Bad breath in the morning is normal, especially if your son is a mouth breather. Using adult toothpaste is ok only if he is not swallowing it.. just brushing and spitting. Too much fluoride swallowed can cause his adult teeth to grow in discolored. The kids toothpaste is usually fluoride free. He can not have too much fluoride topically (only in his mouth. If he is capable of spitting with out swallowing try using a crest toothpaste.. they have tons of flavors like vanilla and orange. Good luck!
Ps.. I am a dental hygienist with a 1 1/2 year old :)

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How many times do you brush his teeth? I brush my daughter's (who's also three) three times a day. Otherwise, she can get some nasty breath, too.

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I have heard that bad breath could mean there is a problem with the child's adnoids...he may need to see an ENT. I have a daycare and one of the children in my care had to have his adnoids take out, and the 1st symptom was bad breath. It was a fairly minor day surgery, and he did great. Hope that helps.

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At three years old you definitely want to make sure you find a dentist your child will be comfortable with. I suggest going to the library and reading books about "going to the dentist" (read through them first, some are not appropriate) with him. Sometimes, going with you for your hygiene appointment helps, so that he can watch you get your teeth cleaned. As far as the toothpaste is concerned, try some kid-friendly flavors which you can find at TOOTHPIX upstairs in Thornes in downtown Northampton. So go back and get a "ride in the chair" for your son and good luck!

G.

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Hi

That was happening to my son. I metioned it to the dentist. I did but (kids aqua fresh it's not as minty as adult toothpaste) and he told me to tell the pedi. Come to find out he has acid reflux! I kept saying he has old man bad breath! LOL! That might be happening to your child too! See if you notice if it is worse after certain fcoods.

Hope that helps! Good Lukc!
C. (Mom of 3)

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Another thing that can cause bad breath that no one has mentioned is post nasal drip. Is your son often congested? If the bad breath doesn't go away, I would go see your pediatrician about it.

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Colgate has a Mild Mint formula: http://www.drugstore.com/qxp166898_333181_sespider/colgat.... Do you brush his teeth in morning and at night before bed?

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Hi my daughter used to like plain baking soda. It sounds gross but does the trick. Just put a little in a dish with water and let him dip the brush in. You should try to get him back to the dentist even just for a check up. If he gets used to going it might be easier. I work for a dentist and he explained that kids at that age recognize the mouth as the first part of the body that belongs to them. Try not to make it a traumatic experience for him, their are great pedo doctors out their. Good luck

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HI
I am having the same problem with my 3 yr old son. He brushes his teeth at least 4 times a day and his breath is so bad that it makes me almost gag. I did ask the doctor when we were in for something else and he mentioned that sometimes kids get food stuck on their tonsils. With my son I don't think this is the case because it has been almost 2 weeks but it is a possibility! Also, his bad breath is all day not just in morning. Good luck, I know I plan to call the doctor to ask more questions.
J.

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My child uses watermelon flavored kids toothpaste. He is very sensitive to his mouth, and wouldnt have using any type of mint or any other toothpaste. We also have him use a bubblegum flouride rinse.

I often notice bad breath on him too, but I think bad breath has a lot to do with what is going on on the tongue and in the stomach. Stomach acids that sit there all night etc..etc..

Perhaps check back with his dentist, as they should have their teeth cleaned every 6mo.

Best of Luck

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does he eat a lot o f garlic or health food? Because if that is the case than that is why he has bad breath.

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Hi E.:

I am a pediatric dentist and mother of a 3 and 5 year old. I definitely understand your 3 yo not liking the spicy adult toothpaste. It is common at this age to start to have bad breath in the morning just like adults. Just some tips to see if it helps the issue would be to make sure that you are also flossing his teeth and brushing his tongue daily. Is he eating or drinking anything after you brush his teeth at night? You might also want to try a pediatric dentist. The environment is usually more child-friendly and he may feel more comfortable seeing other kids around. At this age he is definitely old enough to understand and has the ability to cooperate in the dental chair if he is comfortable in the dental office. Another source of bad breath may be an intestinal/gassy issues. Hope this helps if you need anything, please feel free to write to me.

C.

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My daughter (adopted from China) had dragonbreath in the morning. This improved after treatment of het H.pylori a stomach bacteria endemic in kids from institutions. Just on the odd chance that this may be a problem for you. When my daughter was on antibiotics for something else her breath improved. R.

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Hi E.

I have a 3 year old son. I buy him toothpaste with Deigo on it instead of adult toothpaste. He also has a Deigo toothbrush. I also floss his teeth every night before bed with mint flavored flossers. In the morning and before bed, I put a mirror (so he can see what he's doing) on the table with a cup of water and he brushes his own teeth. With this being said, we are doing a lot to protect my sons teeth and he still has bad breath in the morning. I look forward to seeing some of the other responses you get.

Thanks for posting!

Becky

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E.,
I have to chuckle because my 4 year old daughter has this same problem. I usually just have her brush her teeth again, like us, your son sleeps all night, knid of gross, but saliva etc builds up and works for those 10 hours.

A good water rinse and another brushing, can't hurt.

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E.,
I wouldn't really worry about it if you are brushing his teeth. Sounds like it could be coming from his tongue where most of the germs hang out. A soft brushing of the tongue before bed might help.
Good luck and try some of the flavored children's toothpastes (or even the natural ones at the health food store)if he doesn't like the adult flavors.

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Hi E. - my husband is a dentist - Ill call him in here to reply to you...

One possibility is that he is breathing through his mouth while he sleeps which would dry out his mouth. This can lead to bad breath which is very common (one of ours does this too). It does not matter what toothpaste you use - kid or adult, as long as it has fluoride and he is not swallowing it. If he cannot spit it out yet, look for a toddler toothpaste with no fluoride. The toothpaste is not causing his bad breath. Toothpaste will only affect your breath for a few minutes. His breath in the morning is most likely caused from mouth breathing, or post nasal drip (worse if he has a cold). My feeling is this is normal and you do not need to worry about it. Also, I recommend a pediatric dentist if he was really scared. That might help - they're really geared towards kids. You can email me (through J.) if you have any further questions - Im happy to help! Steven Goodwin DMD

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Have you tried using ACT rinse for kids? My dentist recommended it for my 3 and 5 yr old kids. They love it.

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I am a dental hygienist and my advise to you would be use a natural toothpaste. Regular name brand toothpastes actually contain many harmful chemicals for you and your children, along with many other household, health and body products! Do not be fooled by Tom's of Maine, its just as bad. Te FDA is not required to list every ingredient on anything used for personal use. It's very scary!! I know of a great store where you can get safe products for yourself and your children you miht liek to learn about! Contact me @ ____@____.com or ###-###-####
Also at 3 years old it is very normal to still be afraid of the dentist, if he wants to sit on ur lap when he goes let him, if he just wants to take a ride in the chair let him, dont push him he will come around just fine!

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Hi E.- that is really funny that your 3 year old called it too spicy, because my daughter said the same thing! And she also had terribly bad breath in the morning that the watermelon toothpaste was just not cutting. So, I bought cinnamon toothpaste a few months ago and made a deal with her, that she would use that to freshen her breath in the morning and she could use her watermelon toothpaste at night before bed. She accepted the cinnamon toothpaste better than whatever mint kind we had and it went much better with the deal. There were a couple of times when I think she got too much toothpaste on her brush and she complained of it being too spicy so I mixed just a bit of her Tom's strawberry toothpaste wiht the cinnamon and then it went smoothly. We also just bought last week the vanilla mint flavor toothpaste (I think it is Crest) and she accepted that as well. I also purchased but we have not tried yet the citrus mint toothpaste also by Crest. But we had to do something about the morning breath! yipes! It is normal because they eat the same food we do and the same bacteria enter the mouth during the night. It might be worse on nights when they have a runny,stuffy nose, which because of daycare seems like ALOT! They would breathe through their mouth more with a stuffy nose.

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Hi E. - Just a couple of thoughts... I don't think adult toothpaste is appropriate for children - something to do with the amount of flouride or something. My best advice is to bring him with you to the store and look at all the colors, designs and flavors of kid's toothpaste.

Having him involved in the choice - like so may times in child-rearing - goes a long way in encouraging his participation.

Next - we all have bad breath in the morning! That bacteria has been reproducing like crazy in there with our mouths closed and the saliva just sitting there...

Also - we have a wonderful Dentist - Dr. Wm. Bilodeau, on NE Blvd in Nashua. He is wonderful with Children, i.e. doesn't use "scary" words, etc... Plus, in all my years, I've never seen a dentist that even comes close to his caliber.

I wish I had known him years and years ago. He is fabulous.

Lastly - toothpaste isn't necessary! It's the brushing that needs to happen - the toothpaste flavor just makes it more pleasant and hopefully we'll brush longer. (However, that may not be the case with children. Ask your dentist this...)

Good luck!

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My now 9 year old son frequently has bad breath in the morning, as does my 12 year old daughter even though they now use "spicy" adult toothpaste. I think just like adults, kids will have morning breath too because of the natural bacteria that forms at night. My children also have a bit of post nasal drip, which can cause bad breath, according to their dentist. As long as you brush his teeth (and tongue) at night his teeth will be healthy, even if his breath isn't too fresh in the morning!

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i think that despite the breath you definitely do not want to use adult toothpaste. i think until age 4 or 5 because of fluoride, which is not in kid toothpaste.

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I have 4 children, ages 19, 17, 14, and 11. My 11 year old daughter never liked toothpaste. I was a mom that would get in there and brush the kids teeth once in a while to make sure they were doing a good job. I was concerned about my daughter not liking toothpaste too. I tried lots of kinds. I was always more interested in the toothpaste that was more natural too. Anyway. She is not 11 and every time she goes to the dentist, I get good news. Don't worry about it. Just make sure that he brushes really well. That's more important. Remember that everyone's teeth are different too. Make sure he gets his calcium in it's natural form.
Best of luck!
S. from Massachusetts.

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Bad breath is usually a sign that the child needs more water. My son is the same way and he likes the spicy toothpaste, however when he has enough water it is much better.

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