Okay, I know this is a wierd question...after all, what parent WANTS to TEACH their child to spit, but here's my problem.
I took my son to his 2-year-old check up at the dentist (has all 20 teeth in already/finally!!!) and they gave me some fluoride toothpaste and told me they would like him to start transitioning to it, but he has to know how to spit first! My son knows the action of spitting (he and daddy play a game in the shower that they fill their mouths with water and then spit it at eachother and then make an excited sound and it makes my son giggle like crazy!!!), but he just hasn't got the concept of keeping the water (or spit) in his mouth...instead he swollows and then makes the spit sounds with his lips! We have tried giving him water from a cup, as well as just the spit that comes with brushing his teeth. We have tried to show him the water in our mouths before spitting it out ourselves, but he just isn't getting it yet.
He just turned 2 today, so I am certainly not feeling overly rushed to transition him yet to the fluoride toothpaste (he brushes his teeth every day with an electric toothbrush and toddler toothpaste right now and even lets me floss them a little), but I know it may take some time to teach him to spit. My hubby's next idea is to put cherrios in the sink that is full of water and tell him to sink them with his spit (channelling the "pee standing up" trick)!
My questions is...any other ideas to try to teach my kiddo to spit in the sink?
Any thoughts?
Both dentists, the one for DD and the one for DS -it's a long story- recommended that we use fluoride toothpaste at age 3. That's typically when kids can brush while not swallowing. There's not need to push fluoridated toothpaste so young. Truly. He can practice, learn to brush and floss and do everything with the non-fluoridated paste AND keep all his teeth :-) GL!!
Maybe you could try using a few drops of food coloring in a cup of water, so he could spit out a color into the sink? That way, if it disappears (when he swallows it), it's not as fun.
My dentist says, "lets get all the sugar-bugs off your teeth." So I ran with that, and my some who didn't get the whole spitting thing, either, likes to spit out the sugar-bugs after I brush them off his teeth. He understands that it's more fun to wash them down the drain, because we make sounds like the sugar-bugs swirling helplessly and crying for help. "No! I liked those teeth! I was going to eat them! But they scrubbed me off and now I'm ooooooooooh!" (fading as they go down) My son thinks it's so funny!
I don't think there needs to be any rush to transition him to flouride toothpaste. As another poster mentioned, it is the act of brushing that is most important. Beyond that, more likely than not, you city water if flouridated, so your son is already getting flouride on his teeth. I would keep trying to teach him to spit with baby toothpaste, and hold off on the flouride toothpaste until he has mastered it.
Our dentist said that if you were stuck on an island the only thing you would need is a toothbrush. She said the most important thing about brushing isn't the toothpaste, but removing the food from your teeth. They were not in a hurry to have her on a fluoride toothpaste. It wasn't until after our daughter turned three that she was able to spit.
I don't know about the spitting part, my son picked that one up way to easily. I'm wondering if the dentist worried about him ingesting the fluoride. Years ago, I worked as a dental assistant and at the time, as long as they didn't get it in huge dosages, ingesting fluoride while their permanent teeth were developing was a good thing and I've never heard differently. We had fluoride pills that the children took once daily and then brushing with a fluoride toothpaste was optional. Many cities also have fluoride in the water so you might check to see if that is the case in your area. If so, then your child is likely getting enough fluoride and you needn't worry about it. As far as the spitting, I'm guessing the shower game with his dad will eventually pay off.
You know, we had the same concerns. We actually kept using baby toothpaste until a few months after my son turned two because we didnt' think he could do it. Well, we ended up getting some "big boy" toothpaste and told him it was the "spitting kind". The first time he swallowed a little bit, but we just said "spit it out, spit it out" when it was the right time. By the second time he used it he was doing it correctly. We have been using it for over a year now and he is a pro. We thought it would be a more difficult transition, but it really wasn't bad. I wish we would have tried it earlier.
My kids (age 3.5) sort of figured out spitting when I showed them how to swish the water around in their mouth. They think the swishing is fun, then they just lean over the sink and let it out. Of course they sometimes spit on the faucet, the mirror, or down their shirts, but their aim is getting better.
Show him with you brushing your teeth so he can see. That's what finally did the trick for my son. Along the way we had a discussion about how different things are good for different parts of our bodies. We talked about how lotion is good for dry skin, but you wouldn't want to eat it. And how water is good for drinking and taking a bath, but you don't want to be wet all the time. Then we talked about how toothpaste is good for your teeth and bad for your tummy. And each night we would talk about that before he brushed his teeth. It takes awhile for them to get it, but they will. And in the meantime -- a little bit of flouride won't hurt him. (and by a little bit, I mean just enough to change the color of the toothbrush bristles)
I wouldn't worry yet. We had one son who was spitting and using fluoride at about 2 1/2. Our now 3 1/2 just prefers to not have to spit no matter what we do. His teeth are perfectly healthy, and the dentist told us not to stress it yet, as long as he's drinking fluoridated water. Spitting comes soon enough. I think 2 is very young for it. Keep playing the games. He'll get it soon enough. In the meantime, keep using the toddler toothpaste. GL!
