[*krista*]

When are you supposed to transition babies from the finger brush to a real tooth brush? The finger brush seems too soft to accomplish much, but I don't know how charlotte would handle a real tooth brush. We are using the finger brush now but she has four good sized teeth now so.... what to do?

Also, we only brush her teeth at night right now during her bath. Should we be doing it in the morning too?

[Resi]

I'd get a kids toothbrush and start forcing the issue. She might put up a fight at first but will get use to it. Better now than when she is older.

I brush Oliver's teeth first thing in the morning, after almost every meal, and before bed. I also floss his teeth every night. I wish I would have taken better care of his teeth when they first came in because he has had some issues. I was not getting them clean enough and some night got skipped when he was a baby. I use an electric toothbrush because I think it does the best job on his teeth.

[**Jenn**]

I never used a finger brush. As soon as they started getting teeth we just got a toothbrush for them. Luckily mine have all loved having their teeth brushed so its never been a problem.

The boys do before bed and after breakfast. Lila I just do before bed because honestly I always forget in the morning.

[Mars]

We used a washcloth initially to rub them and then introduced the toothbrush. At first she liked it, then she hated it. I had to fight with her to get her to brush. Now she will brush them but not all that well. I think she will have minor issue with her as I'm sure I see something at the back of her bottom teeth but she will never let me get a good look.

Resi, how did you get Oliver to floss? How did you go about it? (sorry, don't mean to threadjack).

[Nami]

Originally Posted by **Jenn**

I never used a finger brush. As soon as they started getting teeth we just got a toothbrush for them. Luckily mine have all loved having their teeth brushed so its never been a problem.

The boys do before bed and after breakfast. Lila I just do before bed because honestly I always forget in the morning.

[Resi]

Originally Posted by Mars

We used a washcloth initially to rub them and then introduced the toothbrush. At first she liked it, then she hated it. I had to fight with her to get her to brush. Now she will brush them but not all that well. I think she will have minor issue with her as I'm sure I see something at the back of her bottom teeth but she will never let me get a good look.

Resi, how did you get Oliver to floss? How did you go about it? (sorry, don't mean to threadjack).

Mari, He lets me do it without a fight. I've been doing it for about 5 months now. From what I remember he let me right away because he was interested in it. I think from seeing me floss my own teeth. I started by laying him down on my bed with his head on a pillow. After I was done I let him have the floss to have his turn. Now he stands on the bathroom stool while I floss them. He likes it when I count his teeth while I floss. He has never given me a hard time with it.

When I started taking the time to really brush his teeth well he put up a fight. I would sit on top of him and he would scream a bit. That didn't last long and then he was use to it. Now we always brush on this stool or I let him sit on my bathroom counter.

[*krista*]

Oh my I better find her tooth brush then! The pedi didn't make a huge fuss over it and said last visit as long as we are making an effort it is fine. Of course, she barely had two teeth then. Geez, I hope I didn't do any damage. I didn't realize what we were doing was wrong.

I'm thinking she wouldn't put up a fight if we used the tooth brush on our own teeth then decided to share with her, if you know what I mean. You think there is anything bad in that? I feel like I might introduce icky adult germs to her or something! maybe if I brushed my teeth first with my own brush.

[soImarriedAnerd]

We used a toothbrush first, skipped the finger brush thing. But we only do teeth once a day around here.... I kind of suck at remembering. Troy and I don't floss so we don't even own any....hmmmm maybe I should look into that! LOL

[Resi]

Originally Posted by *krista*

Oh my I better find her tooth brush then! The pedi didn't make a huge fuss over it and said last visit as long as we are making an effort it is fine. Of course, she barely had two teeth then. Geez, I hope I didn't do any damage. I didn't realize what we were doing was wrong.

I'm thinking she wouldn't put up a fight if we used the tooth brush on our own teeth then decided to share with her, if you know what I mean. You think there is anything bad in that? I feel like I might introduce icky adult germs to her or something! maybe if I brushed my teeth first with my own brush.

Don't share your toothbrush!! Big no no. I did all that and it may be the reason for Oliver's cavities/minor tooth decay. You can introduce a bacterial infection that will cause the baby teeth to decay. It's very common. Basicly if you have a certain bacteria in your mouth and share your toothbrush or anything that has your saliva on it can cause tooth decay.

[Capns Girl]

Originally Posted by Resi

Don't share your toothbrush!! Big no no. I did all that and it may be the reason for Oliver's cavities/minor tooth decay. You can introduce a bacterial infection that will cause the baby teeth to decay. It's very common. Basicly if you have a certain bacteria in your mouth and share your toothbrush or anything that has your saliva on it can cause tooth decay.

Thats what I was going to say!

At first I used a finger brush on Madi. When she turned one I bought her a singing toothbrush. At first I would brush her teeth and when I'm finished I let her brush her teeth. Once she realized that she gets a turn too she stopped throwing as many fits. She loves the music.

When she was teething I let her (of course supervised!) use her toothbrush to chew on. It helps clean the teeth, plus it helped get her used to the toothbrush.

[*krista*]

Wow I am really uninformed on this aren't I?

I share food with her occasionally. Like a strawberry that I already took a bite out of. That's bad?

The teething thing is a good idea! In fact, if I just gave her her toothbrush she might just gnaw on it herself enough to get a good brushing. Especially if it had her "toothpaste" on it.

[Resi]

Originally Posted by *krista*

Wow I am really uninformed on this aren't I?

I share food with her occasionally. Like a strawberry that I already took a bite out of. That's bad?

The teething thing is a good idea! In fact, if I just gave her her toothbrush she might just gnaw on it herself enough to get a good brushing. Especially if it had her "toothpaste" on it.

I didn't know about any of it until it was too late. Sharing food, spoons, or even kissing can pass the bacteria. I still share spoons/forks, food, and kiss Oliver on his mouth. But I don't share my toothbrush. Not all kids will have a problem with it but it can happen.

[*krista*]

I'm with you on this one Resi. I don't know that I would stop sharing food with her, she really enjoys when she gets to have a little of what mommy or daddy are eating. But I can definitely refrain from sharing toothbrushes!

[soImarriedAnerd]

I can't share my toothbrush with anyone! DH used it once on accident and I threw it away because it grossed me out so bad. LOL

[Mars]

We've never share toothbrushes but Amara gave me a hard time with brushing her teeth as she got older. She was really good when we started when she got her first set of teeth and it was great up until she had 8 teeth. After that, it was awful to get her to brush properly.

[Bre*n*Will=Reid]

I would probably start on a soft real brush now

[*krista*]

I found her tooth brush and gave it a try this morning. I have always sat down in front of her on the floor when I brush my teeth in the morning, hoping it would pique her curiosity. She gets so excited when I do it, so I was thinking maybe it would be easy if we brushed our teeth at the same time. Hah! Not so much. I even put her favorite tooth paste on there and as soon as it went in her mouth she made a face and turned her head. Complete failure! I guess we will try again tonight during bathtime. She is used to getting her teeth brushed then anyway.

[freesiangel]

It took a few months for Xander to accept the real toothbrush. I'd always try and then let him play with it for a few minutes, then would just use the finger brush to get whatever was missed. About a month ago he finally let me use the real toothbrush better, so we're done with the finger brush now. I wouldn't panic too much about it... My dr also recommended using a washcloth to wipe out his mouth after meals, but I always forget. heh.