http://www.who.int/oral_health/media/en/orh_cdh_0304_05_risk_factors.pdf

This is systematic review of the literature on risk factors for cavities in primary teeth of children aged 6 and younger. Some things to note:

There is a shortage of high-quality studies of this issue.

The researchers identified the available studies that met criteria for non-bias. Few of the studies that looked at children under 3 found found that brushing less than once a day was a significant risk factor for cavities. This was more likely to be a finding in studies that looked at children age 3 and up. Also, only one study found that age of first dentist visit was an important factor in risk of cavities in primary teeth.

The final conclusion:

"Evidence points most consistently to a young child being most likely to develop caries if they acquire Streptococcus Mutans at a young age. It appears that a high level of Streptococcus Mutans may be partly compensated by other parameters such as good oral hygiene and a non-cariogenic diet. Less than daily toothbrushing (or visible plaque) and a highly cariogenic diet are thus important risk factors, but they may interact so that if there is a balance of good and bad habits the development of caries may be controlled. Enamel hypoplasia is also a predisposing factor."

Brush your baby/toddler's teeth if you can. If you can't, try to limit sweet, sticky foods and sugary drinks. The issue becomes more concerning if your child has enamel hypoplasia or strep.

Anonymous wrote:We started to brush her teeth when the first ones broke through at 5mos old. Teeth are teeth and especially once your child is eating anything other than breastmilk the oral hygiene matters.

Even when it's just breastmilk it still matters - that stuff is sweet.

We started to brush her teeth when the first ones broke through at 5mos old. Teeth are teeth and especially once your child is eating anything other than breastmilk the oral hygiene matters.

Just forget about it. Honestly. Try again in a month or so. It is really not that big a deal.

NP here. I've tried all these tricks with my 14 month old and nothing works. I let him brush his own teeth and try to move the brush a bit with him so it scrubs his teeth but he just clamps up or pulls out the toothbrush as soon as I touch it. I have two toothbrushes and try to stick the second one in while he is using the first. I brush my teeth or let him brush my teeth and try to brush his at the same time. I show him videos. I try to tickle him and make him laugh. I use fluoride free toothpaste so it is tasty and incentivizes him to put the brush in his mouth but he just sucks on it. Occasionally if it has been too many nights in a row of minimal brushing, I hold him down and try to force it but that never ends well. Is a finger brush the best option at this point? I'm afraid he'll bite me as he has ALL of his teeth now, even first molars. Damn baby shark.

Try letting her brush your teeth with your toothbrush, while you brush hers.

Yes. DD always saw us brushing our teeth in the morning so she was thrilled when she got to brush her own. We would give her the brush first and let her try to brush her own teeth and them take over and actually brush them. It's very important for the health of her permanent teeth to brush baby teeth.

Anonymous wrote:We started with the fingertip brush when her top two teeth came in (around 7-8 months) and "graduated" to a baby toothbrush (we use the MAM) around 12 months. We actually have two toothbrushes. One for the adult and one for the baby. Often she'll stick her toothbrush in her mouth and we help her move it back and forth, or she'll try to stick her toothbrush in my or DH's mouth and that will distract her enough that we can brush her teeth with the 2nd toothbrush. It's a complicated process

We don't use toothpaste, but if you do, I've read to use the kind without fluoride and they'll just swallow it. There is definitely no spitting at this age.

Also, are you trying to brush your baby's teeth in the bathroom in the front of the mirror? Because we just made it part of her bedtime routine. Bottle, books, brush teeth, night night.

That is to say, we just brush her teeth in her bedroom.

We started with the fingertip brush when her top two teeth came in (around 7-8 months) and "graduated" to a baby toothbrush (we use the MAM) around 12 months. We actually have two toothbrushes. One for the adult and one for the baby. Often she'll stick her toothbrush in her mouth and we help her move it back and forth, or she'll try to stick her toothbrush in my or DH's mouth and that will distract her enough that we can brush her teeth with the 2nd toothbrush. It's a complicated process

We don't use toothpaste, but if you do, I've read to use the kind without fluoride and they'll just swallow it. There is definitely no spitting at this age.

Also, are you trying to brush your baby's teeth in the bathroom in the front of the mirror? Because we just made it part of her bedtime routine. Bottle, books, brush teeth, night night.

As soon as they got teeth, we started brushing. For us a baby toothbrush worked great from the start, even if it was a little bit of overkill.

Two things: How big are the chompers? That finger tip thing can hurt like crazy if they clamp down. If you don't like the toothbrush idea, def try the washcloth.
Toothpaste for babies is safe for swallowing.

Please don't wait until your kid is 2 yo to introduce oral hygiene.

We also use the little finger brushes with infant toothpaste so it won't do any harm when our daughter inevitably swallows it.

Pp here - no they can't spit at that age. I don't think ds started spitting until 2, 2.5?

We used the little fingertip brushes at that age. Just rubbed them lightly across ds' teeth with a little but of infant toothpaste. You can also use a washcloth of something similar. I don't think I did the toothbrush until closer to 18 months

We were advised by our pediatrician to brush our 1-year old's teeth. Our DD has 10 teeth on the front. We bought the toddler toothbrush for her but she refuses to open her mouth. I also found the bristles to be a little too harsh and I worry about injuring her soft gums, while brushing. DH thinks it's too young to brush DD's teeth. How do parents deal with brushing teeth for such little ones? We let her drink water after each meal, which is the least we can do to "wash" her mouth. I also don't think children are able to grasp the concept of "gurgle and spit" at such as young age.