How to Brush your Baby’s Teeth – You should start cleaning and caring for your baby’s gums well before the first tooth appears. A couple of times a day just wipe her gums gently using a clean, damp face washer or gauze. When teeth arrive, you can clean them twice every day in the morning and before bed. Wrap a clean, damp face washer or gauze around your finger and wipe the front and back of each of your baby’s teeth.
If it’s all the same to your child, you can introduce a small, soft toothbrush designed for children under two years. Use only water on the toothbrush until your baby is 18 months old. Once your child is 18 months old, you can use a pea-sized amount of low-fluoride toothpaste on the toothbrush.
Baby teeth are very important to your child’s health and development. They help him or her chew, speak and smile. They also hold space in the jaws for permanent teeth that are growing under the gums. It is important to keep baby teeth clean. This will protect against infection, cavities, and pain. Decayed baby teeth can damage the permanent teeth underneath.
Top 7 Tips for Baby Teeth Care | When to Start Brush Baby Teeth
1. Start Before Baby’s Teeth Come In –
Start cleaning your child’s mouth even before her teeth come in. Clean the gums with the help of wipes after feeding your baby with a warm, wet washcloth or a dampened piece of cloth wrapped around your finger. You can also buy thimble-like, soft rubbery devices (they fit over your index finger) to use for rubbing off excess food
2. Identify your Baby’s Mouth Area –
You have to make sure that your hands and fingers are clean before you examine your baby’s mouth to keep any bacteria that can cause infection at bay. Peel back your baby’s lip very gently to examine her gums. Be aware that you may see bulging gums, especially around the molars. In different cases, you may notice a build-up of fluid that creates a bluish cyst. This is completely normal and you should leave it alone Massage your baby’s gums as you feel for teeth or hard spots. This can give a bit of relief to your baby while helping you figure out if she is teething.
3. Biting –
Many babies will bite or suck on toys, fingers, or other objects. Sometimes you notice that you see that your child to be biting or sucking things more frequently, this is a likely sign he is about to start or has begun teething.
4. Toothpaste Optional –
Don’t let toothpaste limit when and where you brush. Toothpaste can make children want to gag or need to spit and can make things unnecessarily messy, which makes brushing a chore.
5. Mirror –
You will not be successful if you set your child on the toilet and go at your kid with a toothbrush. Rather, when your child looking in the mirror while you stand behind her and brush her teeth (or assist his/her, depending on the age) while you both look into the mirror.
6. Family Activity –
Just as dinner is a family activity; you can make brushing a time when the family gathers in the bathroom to brush after a meal. This is incredible when your kid is just starting to brush their first tooth at around age one.
7. Positive Way –
The worst thing you can do is threaten your child with brushing. Try not to tell your child that if he/she doesn’t brush, she’ll need to go see the dental specialist as if it’s some huge scary punishment for not brushing.