Taking Care of 10 Month Old Teeth

Hi,
Children don't need to go to the dentist before 3 years old unless there are concerns. No need to brush or use toothpaste at this stage. Actually, you don't have to do anything, but if you want to wipe them with cotton, that should be fine.

Best,
S.
Postpartum Doula

Hi Barbara, The first time I took my daugher to the dentist she was 3yr old. I remember the pediatrician telling me that was the age to start. My daugther will be 6 in October and she just went last week for her check up now I was told to take her every 6 months. My son is 17 months old and has a ton of teeth and they said to start taking him when is 3 also. I would check anyway with your daughters pediatrician but would think not to worry about that for a while unless of course she has any problems. Have a great day. Georgina

I'm not sure about the dentist visit...but you should def. be brushing in the morning, and in the evening...I think besides cleaning their teeth, it gets them into the habit of good oral hygeine.

Enjoy!
J.

you can go anytime, depends on what you want to do. most insurances have an age of either 2 or 3 for coverage to start. as long as their are no problems visually, i think seeing a baby is more for informational purposes, kwim. we had an injury to a tooth so my daughter went at 18 months. it wasnt covered but i was actually happy we went at that age. then every 6 months. at 3 yrs old, at our last visit, she sat in the big chair all by herself(previously she sat on my lap) and opened her mouth. she was a little scared with the flouride treatment but did great. i personally, after seeing her go at the different ages, highly suggest going by 2. its very important to get her used to it and at 3, children are more aware of choice where at 2, they dont realize as much they can say no.

i highly highly recommend going to a PEDIATRIC dentist who is good. no matter how good a dentist is, you want someone used to the antics of kids, and someone who knows when to be engaging and when to be stern. i believe it takes a certain kind of person to be able to deal with this, and have heard horror stories from people taking their kids to a "great" dentist, who apparently wasnt so great with kids.

yes, just get one of those baby toothbrushes and brush 2 times a day. it is needed for the health of your teeth but also gets the child used to brushing in general. good luck!!!

I called a dentist around my daughter's second birthday and they told me they never see children before the age of three unless you feel there is a problem.

I brush my daughter's teeth every morning and night and floss every other day. The finger brushes work great, although if your daughter lets you a toddler toothbrush would work fine and start training her and you can also buy flouride free training toothpaste to clean them well.

It's funny I just came from the dentist and asked him when I should bring my 22month twins. He said usually around three or four. Depends on the child. He said that the pediatrician should be looking in the child's mouth and if there was a concern bring them in. He told me in the beginning to just clean the teeth with finger brush or gauze - especially before bed.
S.

Barbara,
my pediatrician has always told me to take my kids for their first visits after their first b-day and yes you should be brushing your little ones teeth. if your little one is willing do it morning and night, it is a good habit to get them into. my ped. also told me that using infant tooth paste was not necessary just plain water was fine. i always used the tooth paste just to get them used to it.

Let me begin this post by telling you that my daughter needed a root canal at the age of two.

I use a pediatric dentist who recommends that the first visit be at about 9 mos. I think that's a bit early, but it might avoid problems... They recommend finger-brushing as soon as the first tooth comes in, and soft brushing with a non-fluoride baby toothpaste beginning at the age of 1.

My daughter had her first dental appointment at age 2 because that's what everyone told me to do At that exam a cavity was found between her two front teeth at the gum-line. I never saw it, and it's hard to adequately floss a two-year old's teeth... X-rays showed the decay was potentially threatening her permanent teeth, so the root canal had to be done.

The dentist did the whole procedure while my daughter was sedated with Valium ( and Novocaine of course) The Valium didn't work for her, and the whole thing was horribly traumatic for her and for me...I'll spare you the gory details, My baby had caps on her two front teeth till they fell out.

Call the Ped Dentist you would use, and ask their opinion.

hi Barbara. With 2 teeth , i think, it's too early to go to the dentist. Just watch if she didn't get any more teeth coming out soon, you can go to the dentist for the Xray just to make sure they're all on their proper spots. Yes, you should start brushing her teeth (I do it with a kid's brush (usually it says on it 0-2 years)) and water with a tiny dot of kids paste (containing no fluoride). By all means brush them before putting her to bed at night. And it's your decision to make if you want to do it in the morning (thinking of - 2 times a day - like grown-ups)as she has only 2 teeth so far.

My Mother-in-law is a dentist. You should begin bringing them around age 3. And as far as brushing goes, just use a baby toothbrush whenever (morning, night, after meals) its just so they can get used to it, but dont use any toothpaste (even baby toothpaste) until after age 2. Good luck!

Hello! As far as brushing, you should brush them as often as you would brush your own teeth. (In the morning and at night) And definitely use the finger brush and baby toothpaste. You don't have to worry about the dentist any time soon. I actually just brought my daughter for her first dentist appt. 2 weeks ago. She turned 3 at the end of April. I had asked my dentist when the best time is and he said 3 years old. So I waited till she turned 3 and I took and she was great. One tip though, bring them in the morning. If your child tends to get cranky in the afternoon that't not something you want to deal with.

We reccomend 2 yrs old for the first visit and then a follow up a year later for the first check-up full visit. A toothbrush is not necessary until all the teeth come in, plus at a young age if they dont stay still you can poke the gums and cause irritation.

I for my 14 month old son , use a warm washcloth and clean his whole mouth morning and night. Hope this helps.
L.

I would say go straight to the baby toothbrush with some baby toothpaste at least am and pm. That's what I did with my dgtr at about the same age and she's great at it now - has an electric toothbrush and only asks for help to 'finish' her teeth. Then - you don't need to transition from the finger brush to a toothbrush at a later time either and they develop some independence with it.

As for the dentist - there's a few different opinions - I've heard as early as 1 year so they get used to it (like they'll remember between 1 & 2 yrs!) - but I asked my dentist and they said wait until 3 or 4 unless there are problems earlier. My dgtr just turned 2 and I have no plans on taking her yet.

Tell your hubby thanks for the hard work!