Caring For Your Toddler's Teeth

[Pediatric Dentist]

Hey Everyone,

I have had trouble with caring for my toddler's teeth. I got hold of my dentist to say that I was worried I could start to see some decay and he gave me great advice.

I could barely get him to sit in the dental chair but luckily everything was fine.
He had recommended that I needed to start doing more role play at home and instilling the brushing routine into normal play.

He had been working on a child oral health website, www.adjunior.com, which was awesome for learning about oral health for kids.

Does anyone have any other tips for how they get their child to brush?

[pennyroyal]

my daughter is almost 3 years old and i used to have such a hard time getting her to brush. she started teething very early and by the time she was a year old, she had a mouth full of teeth.. and didnt want anything to do with brushing or letting me brush them for her. it was a disaster. to make a long story short, my daughter had to have an extensive oral surgery due to tooth decay, and cavaties, shortly after she turned 2. she had her front four teeth removed on top, and had caps put on the top 2, and bottom 2 molars in the back. the front four top teeth were filled with decay, and impossible to save. i also learned that the permanent teeth were already present, underneath the gum line and any problems with the baby teeth could lead to serious issues with the adult teeth. they could sprout through the gum line and already be totally decayed. i dont think that people take toddler brushing as seriously as they should. theres a misconception that the baby teeth dont really matter, theyre going to fall out anyway and be replaced. brushing is deffinitely a huge priority now, a few tips i would give to anyone that is in a similar situation, or having a hard time getting their child interested, would be to allow them to choose the brush, first of all. there are so many new brushes that you can personalize now with designs and stickers, or their favorite cartoon characters. secondly, we make brushing a group activity. i always make sure that when i expect her to brush, i brush my teeth as well. not only can i keep an eye on her and make sure that she is brushing correctly but it instills the importance of brushing as well. there are other reccommendations that i have been given personally by the dentist, like finding a way to make brushing into a game or incorporating a favorite song or rhyme. anything that you can do to help gain interest in the activity is helpful.