When should you start brushing your baby’s teeth (hint: it’s probably earlier than you expect)? What toothpaste should you use? How much toothpaste do you use for a baby? What about a toddler? How long should you brush for? There are so many questions when it comes to brushing your baby’s teeth. Despite thinking I was doing everything right, I found out I still made one mistake with both of my children.

This one actually surprised me when I learned about it.

To help you avoid the same mistake I made, as well as other easy-to-make mistakes when it comes to brushing a baby’s teeth, I created this article with 5 things every parent should know about cleaning babies teeth (and toddler’s too!).

This article will help you understand when and how to start brushing your baby’s teeth, what to use, and mistakes to avoid.

These tips are all things that often get overlooked, but make a big difference for your child.

You’ll also learn how to make the process of cleaning baby’s teeth easier and more enjoyable for them and for you.

The last thing you want is for teeth cleaning time to be a stressful and traumatic experience.

And despite what some people might tell you, taking care of your baby’s teeth (even before they come through) is extremely important despite the fact that they will eventually fall out and be replaced by adult teeth.

In fact, as you’ll learn in this article, the way we care for our baby’s teeth actually impacts their adult teeth as well!

5 Crucial Tooth Brushing Tips Every Parent Needs to Know

Should you use toothpaste?

I recently found out that I was brushing my baby's teeth completely wrong.

Like most parents, I thought it was pretty simple and I was nailing it.

I used toothpaste, I brushed their teeth twice a day, and I used a soft bristle toothbrush, which was made for a child.

But if you live in an area where the water is fluorinated, toothpaste is actually not recommended until 18 months of age.

And there's a really good reason for that.

It's because babies will swallow the toothpaste and if they ingest too much of that toothpaste, it can lead to them developing a condition called dental fluorosis, which causes permanent discoloration to their adult teeth.

However, if you live in an area where you don't have access to fluorinated water or your little one is at higher risk of tooth decay, then your dentist or doctor may recommend that you do use toothpaste with your baby.

How much toothpaste should you use?

And this leads me on to the second common mistake that we often make, and that's using too much toothpaste.

If your little one does require toothpaste and they're under 18 months of age, then you should only be using a grain of rice-sized amount of low fluoride children's toothpaste.

And this will ensure that when your little one does accidentally swallow the toothpaste that they're at lower risk of developing that dental fluorosis.

You can also reduce the risk of your little one swallowing toothpaste by slightly angling their head forward so that any excess toothpaste in their mouth will just dribble right on out.

Once your little one gets to 18 months of age, you can start using a pea-sized amount of low fluoride children's toothpaste.

When to start brushing (it's earlier than you think!)

Something else that might surprise you is that you should start brushing your baby's gum well before that first tooth appears.

I know this sounds a little strange, but by cleaning your baby's gum before those tooth erupt means that your little one is going to be more comfortable and familiar with the sensation of having their gum rubbed.

And that will mean that they're going to be more likely to tolerate the toothbrushing experience.

Now, at this stage, you definitely don't want to be using a toothbrush with your little one because that is going be uncomfortable for them.

The way you do it is by gently rubbing your baby's gum with a clean, damp face washer that's wrapped around your finger or using a finger brush, and you want to be trying to do it twice a day.

When that first tooth arrives, which typically happens at around four to seven months of age, you want to swap out that face washer or that finger brush with an infant toothbrush that has soft bristles and you want to aim to brush your little one's teeth twice a day.

Now, if you are really struggling with brushing your little one's teeth, it's most important to brush their teeth in the nighttime because this will ensure that any food or milk that's inside their mouth doesn't sit on their teeth overnight.

If your little one really doesn't like having their teeth brush with that toothbrush, then you can go back to using the face washer or the finger brush but just be aware that your little one may bite down on your finger, which can cause you a little bit of discomfort.

Flossing for babies and toddlers

Also, you don't need to start flossing your little one's teeth until they have two teeth that are touching and you can't clean between them so you need to use floss to remove any food that's stuck between the teeth.

Tooth brushing should be fun!

Now, when you start brushing your little one's teeth, they may resist the process, but it's really important that you respond to this in the right way.

We all want to make sure that your little one's experience with toothbrushing is a positive experience and not traumatic.

If we make it traumatic, then it is highly unlikely your little one is going to want to have their teeth brushed in the future.

So you never ever want to hold your baby down and you never want to lie them down to brush their teeth because this is going to trigger that gag reflex and it's going to be quite uncomfortable for your little one.

How to make tooth brushing easier and enjoyable

There are a few things that you can do to make toothbrushing easier and avoid those traumatic experiences.

But before we jump into that, if you haven't already, make sure you download the free developmental checklist in the description box below.

So the first thing we want to do is try and get our little one familiar and comfortable with a rubbing sensation in their mouth, and you start that by cleaning their gum well before the first tooth arrives.

The other thing you want to do is start to brush your teeth in front of your little one.

When you brush your teeth in front of them, they will see that toothbrushing is something that everyone does and it doesn't hurt.

So, of course, when you're brushing your teeth, you want to be smiling, you might even be dancing to make sure that your little one doesn't think that you're in any pain.

Also, when you're brushing your teeth, you can give them their own toothbrush and babies love to copy so your little one is highly likely to place that toothbrush in their mouth.

Now, if you are using an electric toothbrush, you might want to swap that out for a manual toothbrush when you are modeling in front of your child how to brush their teeth because they're going to be using a manual one.

And if they see you using an electric one, they're just going to want the exact same thing and they're also going to be wanting that toothpaste.

In addition to watching you brush your teeth, you also want to give your a little one a toothbrush they can have at certain points throughout the day and they are just going to be exploring and interacting with that toothbrush.

So there is no pressure to actually brush their teeth, it's all about just mouthing it and exploring it, and this will help them become familiar with having a toothbrush in their mouth, and the feel of a toothbrush in their mouth.

So you might want to do this when your little ones having a bath or when you're in the lounge room having a play and you can obviously be watching them or when they're sitting in the high chair.

When you are brushing your baby's teeth, the easiest way to do that is by sitting in front of a mirror, and then your little one is sitting on your lap and their head is resting against your chest so they can see themselves in the mirror.

You might then cup your baby's chin by putting your hand around their chin, but that's only if they like you to do that.

If they don't like that, then definitely don't do it.

And you just want to keep it really short and sweet.

So the first time, it might only be for a few seconds and you might just hum a little song, and then you might gradually increase the time that you are doing it.

But initially, they're only going to have that one tooth so you can make it quite quick, so that the process is done very quickly.

And then, obviously, you do a big celebration when you're finish brushing their teeth.

One quick tip that might actually help with this process is by giving your little one a toothbrush of their own to hold and this gives them a sense of ownership as you're brushing their teeth, and they may even put that toothbrush into their mouth.

Also, when your little one gags, which they're going to do, particularly, if you accidentally go a little bit too far back, make sure you don't react in a way that your little one becomes scared.

So when they do gag, you might go, "Oops, I went a little bit too far.

" And then, keep brushing their teeth.

Also, you might just want to start singing a song with your little one when you brush their teeth so this can provide them with some sort of distraction and there's a clear ending to that toothbrushing experience.

Now, your little one, initially, might not be enjoying that toothbrushing experience and you might want to stop, but it's important to remember that by brushing your little one's teeth, you are helping to prevent tooth decay which can be extremely painful and uncomfortable for children, and you're also helping to reduce the chances that they will require dental emergencies in the future.

Also, although baby teeth do fall out eventually, they play a vital role in your baby's health and development.

Baby teeth help in the development of the jaw and the mouth.

They also help in producing speech sounds as well as chewing food that they eat in their toddler and childhood years.

And they also hold the correct place for adult teeth so that when they do erupt, it doesn't result in overcrowding and the need for potential orthodontic treatment in the future.

Another activity that parents often find challenging is introducing solids.

Baby Development Toddler Development