When Should I Start Brushing My Daughter's Teeth?

R.,
You should start brushing their teeth as soon as the buds pop up, but better late then never...according to my kids dentist parents should brush kids teeth for them I sing the abc song twice and try to hit every tooth. Also they make non flouride toothpaste-there is enough in water and kids should be able to spit before going to flouride. My oldest insisted on brushing his own teeth, but it was not good enough-he had a cavity, so I recommend doing it for them from the get go...Good Luck.
By the way you are not a slacker. Oh, you may want to let her pick out a toothbrush-it will make her feel like part of the process.
C.

Just a word of warning. I was a real slacker when it came to my kids teeth. Sometimes I would brush, but it was never a priority. When we took my 4yr in he had 4 cavities and the dentist chewed me out (as well she should). The kicker is that he loves to brush is teeth, but we were just in to much of a hurry to do it. So start now and make it a part of your morning and nighttime routine. Learn from my mistake.

My daughter cut a sliver of her first tooth at 3 months and I started then. She sugars of the breastmilk or formula can do damage to the tooth. I'd start now and good catch at thinking of this sooner rather than later. When my daughter cut a few more teeth I started twice a day brushing. We recently visited the dentist when she was 2 years old and they said not to use floride toothpaste because the water has enough floride in it. The crest stuff says it's okay for 2 and over but the levels are way too much. I did get Crayola floride toothpaste before seeing the dentist and it has way less floride in it than Crest. Too much floride will speckle the teeth. Just a heads up.

Our pediatrician suggested starting at 1 year, I suspect that I could have started earlier, but it hadn't occured to me!

Don't feel too bad about not doing sooner, but I'd start now & make sure to do it at least everyday before bed. I would also recommend bringing your daughter with you to the store to pick out a toothbrush. My kids use the electric/battery operated ones and really seem to like them-even my youngest who's been brushing for about a year (she's 27 months) uses the electric one-they really seem to do a good job.

Try to make it fun, maybe you could brush your teeth at the same time so she can imitate mommy!

Good luck!

Hi R.-
Well from what I was told from my dentist is that you should start wiping down your infants gums right away to get away from the chance of Thrush. You are supposed to start with a little tooth brush once they start eatting baby food. Start with training toothpaste when they are 1.
So that is my knowledge on the subject!
Have a good evening-
B. L

You can start at any age, just make sure you are using baby safe toothpaste. I started mine aroun 6 months. I figure, if they have a tooth, its time to brush... and dentists will tell you even if they don't have teeth, its a good idea to brush as it is good for the gums.