2yo w/ smelly breath

[KLTA]

We brush 2yo dd's teeth morning and night, but there is still this gross odor when I smell her breath. Nothing you'd notice if you weren't trying to smell it, but it does remind me of how I feel when I first wake up in the morning. Does anyone else notice this? I think we're doing a pretty good job, but now I'm worried about it. She can't spit out the toothpaste yet, and we use a very small amount of the Tom's of Maine children's toothpaste since it has some flouride (which I want her to get), but not enough that I worry about her swallowing too much of it. Any ideas whether I should care about this odor and, if so, how to improve it? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Has she been congested, or is she a little asthmatic? My toddler's breath is pretty bad when she sleeps with her mouth open. The increased air circulation/ decreased saliva production encourages bacteria growth.

Another thing to think about is hydration. Dehydration leads to increased ketone concentration which can cause bad breath.

[Anonymous]

Two ideas:
1) Try brushing her tongue
2) Is this new? Has she seemed really tired lately? Dark circles under eyes? In our case, it was a sinus infection.
HTH.

[Anonymous]

My DC would get really bad breath when coming down with a bug. It could be strep.

[Anonymous]

My then 5 yo dd had really bad breath for almost a year. turns out one of her teeth had abcessed (after a trip to the dentist and xrays). once the tooth was removed, which we had to do in her case, no more smelly breath. The tooth that ended up being pulled had been discolored and had 'fused' to another tooth.

[Anonymous]

strep smells badly just fyi can have it without fever

[Anonymous]

Dehydrated?

[Anonymous]

My son often has stinky breath - really stinky - especially after naps. For him, I think it is congestion.

[Anonymous]

I suppose you already know this, but just in case... She should have no food or drink other than water after brushing her teeth for the night. Aside from causing cavities, it feeds the bacteria that cause bad breath.

BTW fluoride toothpaste, even in small quantities, is not recommended for babies. It can discolor their teeth even if it is below toxic amounts. The only approved ways to deliver fluoride are through fluoridated water (such as tap water) or drops.

[Anonymous]

I should have said babies and toddlers who cannot spit it out.

[Anonymous]

You might also switch to a non-fluoridated toothpaste for one of the daily brushings (if not both, since swallowing fluoridated toothpaste is not good, as PP mentioned). My DD was having bad breath, and I increased the amount of toothpaste I was putting on her brush, and it helped. We use the Weleda brand, which is ok to swallow. I also take a turn brushing her teeth after she does it by herself first (sounds like maybe you already do that), since her technique is a little lacking!