1 Year-old Oral Hygiene

My daughter is 15 mos. She already had her first dentist appt and they told us to brush her teeth after breakfast and also at bedtime. We use the toddler toothbrush and the Tom's of Maine natural toothpaste (in Silly Strawberry flavor). It does have flouride so we only use a TINY bit at the dentist's recommendation. She recommended using the flouride paste, not the non-flouride, as long as you only use a very little bit (it's not harmful if they only swallow that small bit).

Your best bet is to brush in the morning after breakfast during your morning routine getting dressed and stuff. Then again before bed. If you do it a third time after lunch, that would be a bonus.

Be sure to use just a smear if you're using toothpaste with flouride so that a minimum amount is swallowed, before they learn to spit it out. If you're using water that is not from a well, which most are not with wells, you'll have flouride in the water from your tap so your child should be getting plenty of fouride in their diet. So your best bet is to use the toddler toothpaste that does not have flouride in case of swallowing.

You should do the brushing thoroughly first, then let them practice, making sure they do not chew on the brush.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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It is better to use a non-fluoride toothpaste. In the toothpaste section there is "training toothpaste" for toddlers. It is safe to swallow and removes plague. I would brush his teeth twice a day. In the morning and before bed. :) That's what I do with my kids. Once he knows how to spit, you can switch to the kid's toothpaste with fluoride. His drinking water should have fluoride.

Just make sure you are using non-fluoride toothpaste. Otherwise you will cause staining on his adult teeth, which are being formed right now.

We let our 17mo "brush" his teeth with his toothbrush, and then I use a wet wash cloth to wipe them down afterword. Once a day is sufficient until they are 2 or 3 (I can't remember what the recommendation is.)

I work in the dental field and have for 30 yrs now. Toothpaste is "not" needed for a 15 month old, getting the toothbrush in there and working it on the teeth is most important.
Thanks R.~

I don't think it would be a bad idea to do it after breakfast as well.

If it is hard for you to get a good brushing in at bedtime, you may want to also try one other time during the day. Twice is always better than once, especially if you have to do a quick job. My 5 year old was very hard to brush at that age also.
They do make a baby/toddler toothpaste that I would highly recommend using. I used that on all my kids at this age until they learned how to spit. Then you would move onto a tiny bit of childrens toothpaste.
I hope I don't come off as judgemental in any way but you should start brushing your children's teeth as soon as the first one appears. And actually they recommend brushing their gums before the teeth even come through( I have to admit, I never did that). You may want to consider taking him to a pediatric dentist, just in case. They recommend you have them checked out at 18 months anyway. Just a suggestion.
Good Luck!!