Toothbrushing, fluoride, etc.

[TravelingGal]

So, toddler toothbrushers...

Are you using fluoridated toothpaste yet? If so, any tips on getting your kid to spit out? Amelia won''t spit/gargle out so I can''t use the normal toothpaste yet. And true to form, this kid is picky about toothpaste flavor and only likes the orajel toddler training toothpaste in berry.

My dentist prescribed fluoride drops for her...1 ml a day and it also is a vitamin supplement. I had her drinking tap water prior to get that fluoride in her. Trying to make sure the teeth developing behind the scenes have a chance to be as strong as they can be.

 

[DivaDiamond007]

James doesn''t spit yet either so we use Orajel toddler toothpaste 2x per day. Sometimes I will put a teeny tiny amount of regular Colgate on his brush if he''s eaten something particularly fragrant

He drinks tap water during the day so he''s probably getting enough flouride from that now, but I will ask the pedi at his 2 year well-check in a few weeks.

 

[lili]

Nope, not yet.
J still suck on the toothbrush like candy instead of brushing w/ it.
We did start having her spit after her brush about a couple of months ago.
Not until recently can she rinse and spit.
But I think it will still be a while before we use the non-baby toothpaste on her since what I mentioned above.


Hmm....her pedi didn't say anything about vitamin or flouride drop when we went in for her 2yr wellness check-up.
I was under the impression that if your kid drinks tab water, there is no need for flouride supplement.

 

[janinegirly]

I''m so relieved to hear C is not the only one basically eating that Orajel berry paste each night before bed. I usually have to wrestle it away from her. Then she sucks on the toothbrush. It''s the only way she lets me brush her teeth though (if i bribe her with some of the berry paste). She calls it "sweet stuff" instead of toothpaste.

For some reason when I brush my teeth with a mouthful of paste and show her, she doesn''t like it and wants me to stop. Maybe I look weird or something. So a long way to go for us.

I give C the bottled baby water which has fluoride. I do not give her a vitamin...just haven''t wanted to do that yet. NJ water apparentlly does not have fluoride.

 

[mrssalvo]

Jake doesn''t spit either so it''s still toddler toothpaste for us too. I don''t think my girls really understood the concept of not swallowing until they were older.

 

[janinegirly]

does anyone know if that orajel toddler paste actually cleans or is it just to encourage brushing? Is it different from Gerber?

 

[TravelingGal]

Janine, it kind of lathers up again, so maybe it helps!

Thanks for the 2 cents everyone. Seems like orajel is a hit. Amelia hated all other forms of toothpaste and would refuse them by the character on the tube. No dora paste! No bear paste! Only elmo paste!

lili, tap water is fine. That''s what I gave her, but I wonder about the other stuff in it. I use brita, and my dentist says that actually takes the fluoride out, so I decided to just supplement since she could use the vitamins...

I''m glad I don''t have the only toothbrush sucker! I''m like, really? Are they supposed to be spitting out already? But it was my dentist who said use fluoridated, not her ped.

 

[curlygirl]

I guess I win the bad mom award here.

We use regular toothpaste for Lily (she actually refused to use the "baby" stuff even though that Dora toothpaste tastes so darn good--Lucy loves to suck on her toothbrush full of it!) and she doesn't spit--she pretends to but nothing really comes out. Granted, I don't put a ton on her brush but the pediatric dentist never said anything about not using fluoride toothpaste. And we're in NYC so our water does have fluoride it in. Am I destroying their teeth forever?!?!

 

[TravelingGal]

Curlygirl, I don''t know much about it, but too much fluoride ingested isn''t good either. I''m trying to find a balance, but it''s hard to know how much she''s getting. It can cause the permanent teeth to have discoloring. Here''s a blurb I found on it.

Using fluoride for the prevention and control of decay is proven to be both safe and effective. Nevertheless, products containing fluoride should be stored out of the reach of young children. Too much fluoride could cause fluorosis of developing permanent teeth. Fluorosis usually is mild, with tiny white specks or streaks that often are unnoticeable. In severe cases of fluorosis, the enamel may be pitted with brown discoloration. Development of fluorosis depends on the amount, duration and timing of excessive fluoride intake. The appearance of teeth affected by fluorosis can be greatly improved by a variety of treatments in esthetic dentistry.

 

[TravelingGal]

And here''s some information on fluorosis

http://www.answers.com/topic/dental-fluorosis

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/23/2010 4:01:07 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Janine, it kind of lathers up again, so maybe it helps!

Thanks for the 2 cents everyone. Seems like orajel is a hit. Amelia hated all other forms of toothpaste and would refuse them by the character on the tube. No dora paste! No bear paste! Only elmo paste!

lili, tap water is fine. That''s what I gave her, but I wonder about the other stuff in it. I use brita, and my dentist says that actually takes the fluoride out, so I decided to just supplement since she could use the vitamins...

I''m glad I don''t have the only toothbrush sucker! I''m like, really? Are they supposed to be spitting out already? But it was my dentist who said use fluoridated, not her ped.

Apparently Brita says it does not.

I think for now I will stop the vitamin drops until I figure out what has fluoride and what doesn''t. Luckily, I''ve only given it to her twice.

 

[lili]

Date: 6/23/2010 5:21:34 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 6/23/2010 4:01:07 PM

Author: TravelingGal

Janine, it kind of lathers up again, so maybe it helps!


Thanks for the 2 cents everyone. Seems like orajel is a hit. Amelia hated all other forms of toothpaste and would refuse them by the character on the tube. No dora paste! No bear paste! Only elmo paste!


lili, tap water is fine. That's what I gave her, but I wonder about the other stuff in it. I use brita, and my dentist says that actually takes the fluoride out, so I decided to just supplement since she could use the vitamins...


I'm glad I don't have the only toothbrush sucker! I'm like, really? Are they supposed to be spitting out already? But it was my dentist who said use fluoridated, not her ped.

Apparently Brita says it does not.


I think for now I will stop the vitamin drops until I figure out what has fluoride and what doesn't. Luckily, I've only given it to her twice.

That's what I thought.
I thought I read somewhere that only those under the sink filtration removes flouride.

Funny that A is so picky about her toothpaste too.
J actually wanted the big kid toothpaste because it got this character on it (I forgot what it was).
But I told her that until she knows how to spit, she'll have to use the baby toothpaste.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/23/2010 5:30:02 PM
Author: lili

Date: 6/23/2010 5:21:34 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 6/23/2010 4:01:07 PM

Author: TravelingGal

Janine, it kind of lathers up again, so maybe it helps!


Thanks for the 2 cents everyone. Seems like orajel is a hit. Amelia hated all other forms of toothpaste and would refuse them by the character on the tube. No dora paste! No bear paste! Only elmo paste!


lili, tap water is fine. That''s what I gave her, but I wonder about the other stuff in it. I use brita, and my dentist says that actually takes the fluoride out, so I decided to just supplement since she could use the vitamins...


I''m glad I don''t have the only toothbrush sucker! I''m like, really? Are they supposed to be spitting out already? But it was my dentist who said use fluoridated, not her ped.

Apparently Brita says it does not.


I think for now I will stop the vitamin drops until I figure out what has fluoride and what doesn''t. Luckily, I''ve only given it to her twice.

That''s what I thought.
I thought I read somewhere that only those under the sink filtration removes flouride.

Funny that A is so picky about her toothpaste too.
J actually wanted the big kid toothpaste because it got this character on it (I forgot what it was).
But I told her that until she knows how to spit, she''ll have to use the baby toothpaste.

It''s all confusing. I think I am going to buy drinking water for Amelia and fluoridate it myself. The local water says there is fluoride, but it may be in minimal amounts and isn''t consistent throughout the year. Bah!

 

[qtiekiki]

Another toothbrush sucker here, with and w/o toothpaste. We have M rinse with water after brushing, and we tell her to spit it out. Two out of three times she''ll spit. 100% if I take a sip and spit with her. Maybe we should move her onto regular toothpaste since we have an under the sink filter system which removes the fluoride. I''ll have to ask her pedi at 2 yrs check up in Aug.

 

[soocool]

It was my pediatrician who prescribed fluoride drops for DD when she was under 6 months since we have well water (non fluoridated ). Then the rules soon changed to an older age, perhaps it was 6 months. When she started seeing a dentist he later prescribed chewable fluoride supplements but after a long long discussion with a doctor friend of mine who is totally against fluoride supplements I discontinued giving them to her. She is 17+ years old, does not drink soda at all and does not have a single cavity. The dentist attributes her great teeth to the fluoride. I never told him that I stopped giving her the fluoride when she was 3. My neighbor''s kids have taken fluoride until age 16 and all have dental fluorosis. The eldest just got dental veneers at age 20 because she was self conscious about how her teeth looked. Another set of neighbor''s kids also did not take fluoride supplements and have a ton of fillings.

I think as long as your daughter learns to brush her teeth well and later learns to floss, stays away from soda and sticky treats/candy, and goes to the dentist twice a year she will have great teeth.

 

[Pandora II]

Our water has fluoride and she drinks that, so not too worried. We use baby toothpaste and she won''t spit either. She does think tooth-brushing is fun though, which is a good thing as she has inherited DH''s sweet tooth.