Once your toddler starts to teething, its time for parents to learn how to take care of their teeth. Although the first set of your baby’s teeth won’t last a lifetime, the next six to ten years of your toddler’s growth is still a fairly long time to practise good dental care and hygiene.

Start your child off to good dental health practise. Cultivate the habit of good daily dental care and to ensure it lasts a lifetime. Therefore, it is never too early to get your toddler into habit of brushing their teeth regularly each day.

When my baby Clarisse’s first pair of teeth came out a few months ago, I started to clean her teeth and mouth when she her teeth started to grow. I used a small wet handkerchief, damp it with some warm water to wipe her teeth and tongue instead of a baby toothbrush.

When more teeth sprouted, I started to introduce her to the toothbrush. She was hesitant initially but it didn’t take long for me to tempt her into brushing her teeth. Just like a particular character in her favourite TV show “In The Night Garden”, the Tombliboos who sang and danced their way while brushing their teeth in one of the episodes. “Let’s brush your teeth like Tombliboos” I used to say to her, she would gladly open her mouth wide and let mommy brushes her teeth.

Here’s a few pointers on toothbrushes, toothpaste and overall good practises when brushing your toddler’s teeth:

• Do select a toothbrush designed for young children which specify the age group on the box. A small head and soft with rounded bristles is most suitable for young children
• Never use toothpaste until your toddler is able to rinse and spit out the residue. Instead, I’d put a very small amount of mineral salt in a small cup of water and dip the toothbrush into the diluted salt water to brush my baby Clarisse’s teeth.
• Rinse toothbrush thoroughly after each use and keep it in a holder. Remember not to put the tooth brush lying around where it can easily pick up bacteria.
• It is advisable to replace the brush every three months or when it looks worn. On top of that, if you’re the extremely cautious sort, some people replace toothbrushes after their child has recently been ill. This is to avoid reinfection whereby germs may hide in the bristles.
• It’s more important to focus on the molars than the front teeth, therefore always remember to brush from back to front. I gentle brush Clarisse’s teeth with back and forth motion across the chewing surfaces. Then use a circular motion along the sides and the outer gum lines, a back-and-forth motion on inner surfaces. Gums where teeth has yet to erupt should be lightly brushed or wiped with a gauze pad.

Again, one of your biggest hurdle is to get your toddler sit still long enough to get the entire job done. My baby Clarisse would stand still for a few seconds for me to brush her teeth, then walk about here and there. It takes a bit of complimenting and persuasion to get her back standing still for me to finish the job. Hopefully, as time goes by, she’ll get into the habit of having her teeth brushed every day and won’t make a fuss about it.

It’s never too early to instill good dental habits in your toddler. Happy brushing!