My daughter is almost 2 and we brush her teeth twice a day religiously! Lately I have noticed that her breath smells bad, even right after brushing. Is this normal? We brush her tongue really well and use the Orajel baby toothpaste with "little bear" on the front. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!
* Edit *
She does not drink a lot of milk, maybe a cup for breakfast and dinner. She doesnt have problems with allergies or drainage. Also she isnt too willing to open really wide so I can get a good look back there! Thanks again!
Thanks for all the tips for my toddler's stinky breath! Turns out the training toothpaste we were using just wasn't doing the trick anymore. Now we have "big girl" toothpaste and her breath is much better! Thanks again!
The only two things that cause halitosis, which is bad breath, are 1)Diabetes and 2) cavities or an abscess in her mouth. Is she diabetic, or is there a chance she could be? When was she taken to the dentist last? She may have an infection or a cavity.
All of the ideas you've been given so far are really good possibilities. At this age I haven't seen too many kids with stinky breath due to lack of hygiene. It's usually a sign of infection (throat, sinus), or a stomach/intestinal/digestive disorder, or it could be something stuck up the nose. If it's not a foreign object in the nose, or a sinus/throat infection then I opt for a chiropractor to give me ideas for home remedy digestive issues.
S.,
I also have a 2 year old. At his last appointment our doctor suggested that we start using adult toothpaste, just a tiny dot. The Dr. said the other stuff doesn't clean their teeth really well and since he is eating and drinking like an adult this would be best. Also we have been working on "spitting" so he doesn't swallow the toothpaste. He really likes the spitting. Maybe this will help your daughter. Good Luck!
When one of my children had this, we ended up getting their tonsils out and the stinky breath was gone. That wasn't the only reason we got the tonsils out, but it didn't take away the stinky breath problem too!
another thing to check would be glucose levels, because stinky breath is sometimes a sign of diabetes...which can be present even at early ages. Fructose also can leave you with stinky breath, & it's amazing how much this is used in foods.
Are you also flossing and scrubbing the top cavity of her mouth where the tongue lies a great deal of the time? If that doesn't help, then it is a possibility she is a mouth breather which increases the amount of bacteria in the mouth throughout the day creating the odor.
Good luck,
D.
Does she possibly have an infection? I've noticed with my kids in the past that if they were getting sick (not displaying any outward signs of it)they would have the stinky breath. A thought...
Hi S.,
I'm not trying to jump to any conclusions but we are going through this right now with my two year old. I actually posted my question about this on here about a week or so ago. I got a hold of her doctor and took her in. He said that it sounded like a classic case of a foreign object stuck up her nose. He looked and didn't see anything so he sent us to a ENT to make sure. Nothing was found so we're moving on to the next step and seeing a ped. dentist. But I just thought I'd throw that out there so you can rule that out. Good luck!!
M.
If it's a kind of sweet-stinky breath, it could be a sign of infection. That is one of the only ways I know when my daughter has an infection (i.e. sinus infection).
Good luck
My son had a problem with horrible breath. Come to find out he had several rotten teeth. Once we had these pulled out his breath was alot better. If she hasn't been to the dentist in awhile please don't count this out. Some kids just have horrible unhealthy teeth regardless of eating/ brushing habits.
