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So how do you make them NOT swallow the toothpaste?So DD is 3 and always swallows the toothpaste when I brush her teeth. I've never really cared that much because I use the swallowable baby kind and figured I'd switch to something with fluoride when she's older and gets the whole spitting thing. Anyways she had her first dentists appointment last week and apparently she has a little cavity on one of her teeth. Dentist says for a young child to have that despite regular brushing means she has a tendency toward cavities and so we need to switch to something with fluoride asap. So since I obviously don't want her swallowing fluoride toothpaste, I'm trying to teach her not to swallow the kind we have now, and when she gets good at it then we'll see about something with fluoride. But it just seems impossible to get her to not swallow the toothpaste. What I'm doing is brushing a row of teeth, and then getting her to rinse with water before I do another row. And she is fine with that, but at least once per brushing she swallows the water instead of spitting it out, and she'll swallow the toothpaste before we have the chance to rinse with water. And even if she did rinse successfully each time, the rinse each time wouldn't be thorough enough to get all the fluoride out, so she'd still be swallowing some.
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You can make a big deal when
You can make a big deal when you switch about it being big kid toothpaste that you don't swallow. Also, swallowing a bit until she figures it out won't hurt her. I need to Cae to a dentist, he is four and has never been.
since you should only use a
since you should only use a drop less than the size of a pea, swallowing a little won't hurt her.
Also most city water has fluoride already in it.
Really, so that's OK if she
Really, so that's OK if she eats it? Oh wow that would make things so much easier.
The dentist told her that soon she is going to start using a big girl toothpaste that will give her a tummy ache if she swallows it... So maybe that will encourage her...
a little bit of it won't hurt
a little bit of it won't hurt her and the dentist is right it will give her a tummy ache if she does swallow it... i don't know if you all remember this, but when i was in elementary school they had a program that once a week the kids would "swish" it was this nasty tasting bubble gum flavored pink stuff that we got in a tiny cup and had to "swish" with it in our mouths, what it was was a fluoride mouth wash for kids, i swallowed it once or twice and my tummy got a lil upset and felt kinda weird the rest of the day (remember i wasn't but maybe in the 1st or 2nd grade so everything felt weird to me at that age lol) but i was fine the next day and to this day i can't see anything wrong with me that is directly linked to my drinking of the "swish" stuff back in school...
My kid uses fluoride
My kid uses fluoride toothpaste and I have him spit but I am sure he swallows a good deal of it. He has never complained about his stomach hurting. We also have fluoridated water here.
Do you think she would
Do you think she would understand if you explain to her why she can't swallow it, that it will give her a stomach ache? Also, I'm fairly sure that my kiddo has swallowed toothpaste before while brushing and he's always been fine.
Could you maybe practice
Could you maybe practice rinsing and spitting, or even just practice toothbrushing, with water?
Oh that's a good idea! She
Oh that's a good idea! She loves toothbrushes and playing with water anyways so I might have to try that.
OK so I think I've decided to
OK so I think I've decided to go out and get her a toothpaste with fluoride tomorrow! She can help choose which one to buy too. My baby's all grown up! LOL!
Thanks for the input guys.
(Side note: OMG, children's dentists cost a small fortune, and there is nothing here to help me pay for it. Wish I'd started using the fluoride kind earlier, maybe that would have prevented this. Ugh. I guess hindsight is 20/20, right?)
Letting your kid swallow
Letting your kid swallow fluoride now can hurt her adult teeth. My daughter, at 2, has had to have three of her teeth capped, so we needed to start using fluoride even though she can't spit toothpaste out yet. Instead, we use a q-tip that we dip in a children's mouthwash that contains fluoride to apply it to her teeth. We brush her teeth with a toothpaste that contains xylitol, which studies have shown help fight tooth decay and it tastes sweet, making it easier to get my DD to help brush her teeth.
Not related directly to the fluoride issue, but if your child is having dental issues, one great mailing list I've found a lot of support is youngkidsteeth. Here's a link: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/veryyoungkidsteeth/
Also, feel free to message me about this. I know for us, this was very stressful. There are many different ways to help control the decay as well as many options around restorative treatment. It's hard to know if what you're doing is right. Good luck.
So I did some Googling and
So I did some Googling and confused myself even more. I think I'm just going to wait until I see the children's dentist, since she must have experience with this thing and will hopefully have some advice and know what to do.
My daughter has spots on her
My daughter has spots on her teeth where they have 'demineralized' but the spot is still hard and therefore not a cavity. I use a toothpaste that doesn't have fluoride 6/7 days a week. On day 7, I use the non-fluoride in the morning, and then the regular at night. My daughter swallows a little bit, but we are making an effort to spit.
That's a great idea, Yabinti.
That's a great idea, Yabinti. I know a mama who does two different toothpastes as well. The kid (5 years) brushes with the kiddie toothpaste on her own in the morning and the mom brushes with the fluoride toothpaste in the evening. We do the same thing with Cae, but all with one kind of toothpaste.
She has started swallowing
She has started swallowing the toothpaste on purpose now just to be contrary. Oh boy.
drat. hmmm, I guess don't
drat. hmmm, I guess don't make a big deal about it and she will grow out of it?