dental care

Plunket told me to use the regular stuff but i don't use any at the moment cos he teeth only just came are am just getting him used to a toothbrush first. I remember reading that you only need to floss when they have their whole set and are quite close together. However I'm not a dental person so I'm probably wrong

i've been wondering about this too liz, i got told that i should be brushing mikeys teeth not that he's got 2 on the bottem but he won't let me put anything in his mouth so how is that supposed to happen??

I sing while I brush jake's teeth. Then he "brushes" them (read: sucks all the toothpaste off). taine has four teeth up top and two down the bottom. haven't attempted to brush yet, but may get a toothbrush for him to play with, and then we'll attempt the cleaning.

I think you can get lemon flavoured toothpaste from pharmacies as well... or at least it's not mint.

I thought flossing was not for children?!?! No wonder we are all confused! Still haven't taken my nearly 3yo to the dental nurse, guess I should look into that before the end of the year.

im a dental assistant and i asked the dentist i da for about flossing at that age and he said its not really necessary, and can do more harm than good if u go to low and cut into the gum, just make sure they brush 3 times a day (morning after lunch and after dinner)

also just a general guide if u dont have fluoride water then a tiny bit of adult tooth paste is ok and always use a soft brush, hard bristles cause major damage to the teeth, i see cases like that every day! ewww! and also you can take your child to the dental nurse but if there is something that the dental nurse isnt able to do, eg remove the tooth, then u can take your child to the "normal dentist" and you may have to pay normal standard price but first ask them if they take SDBs (special dental benefits) and if they do ask the dental nurse for a referral, cos then its free....and we like free!

sorry if i sound know all, working as a da for 2and a bit years has made me a bit obsessed with teeth...its actually now one of the first things i notice when i meet someone argh!!!

I don't even floss my own teeth! And we use Macleans Milk Teeth because the last time I bought the Colgate Junior Maya refused to use it so I can only imagine what she'd be like with adut toothpaste. She's a bit OCD sometimes.

lol Nikki, we actually used to tell parents that children dont have the dexterity in their wrists to brush their teeth properly until they are about 10.

I let Ella brush herself most of the time.. usually at night I'll try and get a quick scrub in, and world war 3 breaks out.. she goes all floppy, won't stand up, clamps her jaw shut etc etc.. she eats lots of apple so and I figure (yeah bad I know) that all her baby teeth are going to fall out and by the time she has her adult ones I will be able to reason with her more about brushing.

Christopher is completely shocking with his teeth. He is supposed to brush them twice a day but he doesn't and when he does - he isn't very thorough and trying to impress on a child the importance of dental hygeine is very difficult. You know when he was about six or seven, he hid a stash on mints in the bathroom and would go in there to "brush" his teeth but he actually was just sitting there sucking on a mint to get his breath fresh and then coming and getting the "breath test" before going to bed!! Creative huh. And you ask yourself - if you're gonna sit there, why not actually brush your teeth while you are doing it?? He has never been able to give me an answer to that one. ggggrrrrr - we have to do a visual test now and every now and then - even though he's nine - I get in there and give them a really good brush. He just hates doing it. I don't get it