This Is The Way We Brush Trev's Teeth

I have always wanted Trev to learn how to take care of his teeth as early as possible. So when his teeth started cutting through one by one (or sometimes in pair), I have started training him with proper oral hygiene. Before, we used to brush his teeth with just his toothbrush and his Wilkin's water but about a few months ago, I decided that he needs a toothpaste already. 

I searched the net and found out a lot of kiddie toothpastes suited for a little toddler like mine. There are toothpastes kasi that are not suitable for little kids yet. I found out that fluoride - free toothpaste should be what little toddlers should use at this stage. I learned too a lot of brands available that are fluoride - free. There's Pigeon, Sansfluo, Tom's of Maine among others. Tooth wipes are also essential especially when your toddler refuses to brush his teeth. 

It's important to use non-fluoridated toothpaste at this stage as a training toothpaste because overexposure to fluoride could lead to Fluorisis.

According to Ehow: 

"Fluorosis is a staining or spotting on the enamel of the teeth caused by an overexposure to fluoride. Children are susceptable to this condition during the years when their adult teeth are developing. Fluoride can be found in many sources, some obvious and others surprising. Toothpaste, bottled water, tap water, and even juice and soda have been shown to contain fluoride in varying amounts"

Good thing that his drinking water is Wilkin's, which is a distilled water and is not fluoridated. 

Okay, so after researching, I finally came up with these for Trev's brushing routine:

Earth's Best Toddler Toothpaste, Sansfluo Tooth and Gum Wipes and Pigeon Stage 2 Toothbrush

I got the Earth's Best Toddler Toothpaste from the ever reliable Healthy Options at around Ph475 (1.6 oz size). According to the label, use a pea-sized amount, but I personally don't follow that, wehehe! I use a "munggo"-size amount of toothpaste only. Although, it's safe to swallow, I don't want to risk it. Besides, he's still training and he still doesn't know how to swish and spit, so might as well go on the safe side. :-)

I got the Pigeon Stage 2 Toothbrush and Sansfluo Tooth and Gum Wipes from Baby Company at Ph139 (12 packet wipes). I forgot how much the toothbrush was though. :-( I intentionally got him the Stage 2 Toothbrush as a training toothbrush for now because (1) He only has 6 teeth yet [4 upper and 2 lower] (2) It serves as a brush and a gum massager, which is good because Trev usually bites on anything to relieve his itchy and achy gums. We will upgrade to Stage 3 once his other teeth comes out. As of now, his canines are already cutting through and I can feel his other lower teeth coming out too. 

The Tooth Wipes, yes the Tooth Wipes! It's very cool that there's one being sold because it helps especially when Trev doesn't want to let me brush his teeth and just wants to play with his toothbrush. Although, he generally is not difficult to brush, he allows me to brush his teeth almost all the time, but since he's a baby, of course there are times that he wants to "prioritize"  his play time, wehehe! I generally don't force him into brushing because I don't want it to become a traumatic experience for him. To solve that issue, when those days come, sometimes I just let him be and just get a tooth wipe to wipe food morsels out of his teeth and gums. It's very handy, really! I bring a few packets along in his diaper bag so I can wipe his teeth when we're out.

Good thing also that my baby is breastfed, because based from this website: 

"Under normal circumstances, the antibodies in breastmilk counteract the bacteria in the mouth that cause decay."

Trev nurses to sleep at night but although there is a study that shows the benefits of breastmilk and tooth decay which I am very thankful for, I couldn't be so complacent yet. I brush Trev's teeth before bed time then he nurses to sleep after. So if he has already gotten to sleep while nursing at night, I try my best to wipe his teeth using the tooth wipes I got for him to make sure that his teeth are clean while sleeping. But I must admit, I couldn't do it every night. :-( I just hope and pray that it doesn't take its toll on my baby's teeth. I hope so because I believe the study above. :-)

It's very important to start early in taking care of your baby's teeth. I, myself, want to because of course, who wants her baby to suffer from carries early on in his life. And toothache! Oh, toothache! I don't want my baby to suffer from toothache as early as now. So, I try my very best as much as I could. I'm so glad that I have a very supportive husband that helps me with this. Since there are times that Trev doesn't want me to brush his teeth, Allan helps me. Although, I sometimes let Trev be if he doesn't want to, there are times when I need to endure Trev's resistance especially when he has eaten sweets or anything like that. The technique that so far works for us is this: my husband holds his head and arm while Trev is lying down (we sometimes do it the other way around because I can see Trev's teeth better if his head is on my lap). For me to be able to brush his teeth, I tickle him and start brushing. It's still a fun time because he enjoys it, laughing while I tickle him. He generally enjoys brushing time. We also let him watch us while we brush our teeth so he knows that there is really nothing to be afraid of in brushing teeth.

My baby enjoying his tooth brush time. :-)

I have learned a lot while researching about good oral hygiene for babies. I want to share it with you. 

• Cavities are caused by germs that are passed from adult to child, meaning it's contagious. So, do not put anything in your baby's mouth that has been in your mouth.
• Do not share spoon with your baby.
• Do not blow on your baby's food.
• Do not test baby's food with your mouth before feeding it to your baby.
• Give your baby healthy snacks like cheese. Apparently, cheese can help prevent tooth decay. (Good thing because Trev loves cheese!)
• Brush baby's teeth for a good 2-3 minutes at least twice a day. 
  
• Help brush your child's teeth until he is 9-10 years old. They couldn't reach and brush their teeth all around so better do it yourself.

So, there you go. We plan to schedule Trev on his very first dental check up already. Hope it becomes a good experience for him. :-)