Looking after your baby’s teeth

Daniel has had his first tooth, and its been about 3 weeks and it is pushing out and just becoming visible now. Which is so adorable especially when he smiles. The cons though – the teeth and falling together = bloody lips and gums. It got me to thinking about how to look after your baby’s teeth or tooth in our case. We were lucky I think that his teething really only started just before 10 months which was really late and I didn’t have to worry about this too much before now. But I know some babies start as early as 4 months.

I probably should have been looking into this before him actually getting teeth, but I assumed that having a toothbrush and toothpaste was enough. Apparently not!

Before teeth start, you should get into a habit or get baby used to having you rub his gums. In preparation of course for brushing his teeth later. Also I think creating this habit is really important from a young age. This can be done using a wet cloth or a gauze gently over his gums. You could also get a silicone finger brush that has small nubs on them – see below an example available from Clicks (R29,99 at the time of publishing).

We got Daniel a small toothbrush and some toothpaste to start using. Right now I let him play with the toothbrush, and little games to get him to put it in his mouth. Manipulation? Never! Moms call it clever creativity. I try to play our games before bed and then one other time that is convenient for us. Mostly in the morning when I am dressing him for daycare. It is advised to only use a very small amount of toothpaste if you do use any, when they are this little (up to the age of 2). As well as for it not to be flavoured so as to not encourage swallowing. Remember to brush gently, especially because the gums are so sensitive during teething. Make sure to brush the front and back of the teeth as well as the tongue if you can manage this.

I am extremely blessed that DJ basically only drinks water and breastmilk, so no sugary drinks. But he is eating now and he loves food, chips, biscuits and all that. Although I know that this is not good (junk food) and could cause possible damage to these milk teeth. I am also over the wonderful eating plans of only organic produce which I once had for my child. Not that there is absolutely anything wrong with that if you do or can manage to.

In the meantime – Do you have tips I have missed? When did you start brushing your baby’s teeth? What routine did you follow?