What Type Of Toothpaste Should Infants And Children Use?
When you have your first child, you will probably have a lot of questions relating to how to care for him or her, and some of these questions might relate to your child's oral care. One common question first-time parents have about oral care involves what type of toothpaste to use to clean your child's teeth. Here are some tips to help you answer this question:
Newborn Oral Care
When your baby is first born, he or she will not have any teeth to clean, but the baby will have gums. Newborn babies do not need their mouths cleaned with any type of toothpaste for several months. Instead, you should simply wipe out your baby's mouth with a clean cloth each day. This helps remove germs and bacteria, and it is really all you need to do to keep your baby's mouth clean.
Care for Babies with Teeth
When your baby begins developing teeth, it can be an exciting moment as a parent, and this change in your baby's life will require changes to oral care routines. The main change is that you will need to start brushing your baby's teeth. To do this, you should purchase a baby toothbrush, which is designed to fit inside your baby's mouth. These toothbrushes are smaller than the type you use, and the bristles on the brushes are very gentle and soft.
As soon as your baby gets teeth, you will also need to start using toothpaste to clean the teeth. You should never use the toothpaste you use, though. In fact, you should never use any type of toothpaste that contains fluoride. If your baby swallows fluoride, your baby could develop dental fluorosis, which is a condition that causes white spots to form on teeth.
Instead, you should purchase training toothpaste. This type of toothpaste is ideal for small children with teeth as it contains no fluoride.
When Kids Can Use Fluoride Toothpaste
At some point, you will be able to change from training toothpaste to regular toothpaste that contains fluoride, but you should not do this until your child is old enough to know how to spit the toothpaste out of his or her mouth. The age in which a child is ready for this varies, but most kids are able to begin spitting out their toothpaste by the time they are around three years old.
To encourage toddlers to brush well, you should choose a child-friendly toothpaste, and there are a lot of varieties available for purchase.
If you have questions about kids dental care, contact a dental clinic that specializes in dentistry for children.