Question of the week

This is an interesting topic.. and necessary too. My son brushes once a day .. sometimes twice. He has this gag reflux reaction.. so most of the time he does not use toothpaste.. I take him to the dentist twice a year.. so far o.k. Not sure if he needs to use tooth paste or not.. thanks for starting this blog:)

Sounds something funny type of questions.............
My son brushes twice a day............but sometimes just one time.

Hello Anandchitra,

Thanks for your post. Very true. Some children have this problem. I am glad that you are taking the appropriate step of showing him to a dentist. Here are some suggestions for you:

1. Use peanut-size of toothpaste.
2. Use toothpaste on alternate days so that he enjoys brushing his teeth.
3. On the non-toothpaste days, wet the brush in warm water to make the bristles soft.
4. Do not tilt is head too much because when the toothpaste reaches the inside of his mouth it will make him gag. What u can do is use a step stool and make him stand on it so that he is in almost same level as you to avoid titling his head backwards.

Hope these help....

Thanks,
Niran

Niran Thanks for the tip of toothpaste.. using alternate days.. it will help.. He brushes himself and prefers to use the battery operated rotating type brush. I buy the inexpensive kind.. He has improved over the years:) I am thinking of getting him braces.. he doesnt really need it but could use some.. Thanks for reply.. it is very helpful:)

Niran what do you think of the battery operated toothbrush.. you know we get some quite inexpensive too.. not the fancy priced ones.. please let me know what you think of using these.. thanks

As long as the bristles are in good condition and you make sure a good two and a half to three minutes is spent for brushing they are okay.One thing u need to watch out is the condition of the bristles.

Dear Niran,

I find it very difficult to coax my daughter to brush her teeth once also. I insist she brushes her teeth immediately after rising. This lady will be loitering here and there after about half an hour she will brush her teeth. But I don not offer her anything to eat/drink till she brushes. But in the night..........sorry that is not her cup of tea. Kindly give me suggestion to induce her to do her brushing properly.

Hello Lalitha,

Thanks. By now your 8 year old should have at least 4 or 5 permanent teeth. My first question is how do you know she has cavities? Take her to a dentist have her evaluated. The reason being sometimes stains on the teeth will also look like cavities, but they are not so it is better to have it checked.

To keep your child's teeth healthy:
1. Brush twice daily
2. Reduce chocolate and candies intake.
3. If at all your child wants to eat candy give her a raw carrot after the candy, because this will help her clean the hard parts of the teeth.
4. If not carrots, water will also help. Also give water after every meal and every drink, example after giving your child complan or any flavoured milk.
5. The last thing your child should do before going to bed is drink at least 2 or 3 sips of water.
6. Watch for highly sugared cereals and boxed juices.
7. Request your dentist to do a procedure called sealants which will [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]protect [COLOR=blue ! important]your [/color][COLOR=blue ! important]child's[/color][/color][/color] teeth from getting cavities.

Thanks,
Niran

Niran I have one more question. I only brush once a day (I know I am terrible(: .. is it a must to brush twice a day? What do you think? Thanks for answering questions here.. Very nice of you:)

Lalitha,

I am sure there are many parents undergoing same problems. I appreciate you for not giving up. You need to make it a fun event. Here are some ideas.
It is ok if your child drinks something before brushing her teeth.Coaxing her is not going to help. I would suggest you to buy some cartoon toothbrushes and kids toothpaste if it's available in the place you live. Buy a small timer and tell her that 'we need to brush before the timer goes out'. Talk to her about the need for brushing. Show her some pictures of teeth with bad cavities from internet. U can get them in Google. Let me know if you cannot find them. If you cannot get her to brush after dinner, I would suggest that you brush before dinner and make it a family brushing time were you brush your teeth along with her. First give her the brush and ask her to do it by herself, then you can finish it for her.

To put it in a nutshell:

Your child needs to understand the value of brushing- show pictures.
Make her enjoy brushing- cartoon tooth brush
Introduce family brushing time- evening time.

Guess this will be of some help. Let me know how the progress is.

Niran

Chitra,

Brushing twice a day is highly recommended to keep your teeth and gums healthy for a long time. First start trying 2 or 3 times a week before you make it every day.

Dear Dr.

Thanks a lot for your suggestion. The problem is with the family. Nobody brushes our teeth twice here that is the main culprit. After reading what you have written, will make it a point to brush twice.

I had her teeth examined by a dentist and he also confirmed the presence of two cavities and has advised to get that filled up which we are planning to do in a day or two. So my worry is whether the new teeth will be healthy? what are the precautions to be taken?

Lalitha,

Ideally speaking, new teeth will be healthy when they come into the mouth.
You can ask the dentist to do a procedure called sealants to protect the teeth called molars and premolars. They are a bit expensive but worth getting them if you are not confident about your child's brushing techniques. The dentist will coat the teeth with a material which will protect the top surface of the teeth.
But brushing, flossing eating less chocolates and sweets , drinking water after every meal will definitely help to prevent cavities.

Thanks,
Niran

Hi Dr Niran,

Nice to have you on board. Could you also cover how to help young kids floss. I have a 4 year old, and while brushing is okay, his dentist is quite particular that he flosses his teeth. which is what i have a problem with. he hates it that i go with that piece of string and quite a battle to get it in between teeth!!

Vandhana

Hello Vandhana,

Thanks, I have a super cool solution to your problem. You need to buy one of these fancy floss. These have a handle at one end and floss thread at the other end, so what happens is you don't have to put your hand into his mouth.
The names of the floss are :
1.Butler GUM Crayola Kids' Flossers

2.Locin Kid's Floss Individually Wrapped Children's Dental Flossers, 100-Count Boxes (Pack of 4)

I think it has to be ordered online, the second one is available at amazon.com.
Let me know if u need any further info.

Thanks,
Niran

Dear Niran
I wanted to suggest the same but did not want to butt in:)
These are so so easy to use.. really no hassle and meant for kids I think though I liked it too.. they gave my son a sample free to try at the dentist office and thats how I became aware of it..
Thanks for patiently answering questions and being so kind:)

ear Dr,

My son is 8 yrs now and and his ,ilk tooth are being replaced by permeant one. but problem is the permenant tooth comes behind the milk tooth and the milk tooth doesnt fall at all every time i need to go to the Dr to extract the milk tooth . Why it is happening so.and the new teeth growing hapazardly. The Dr. Says that teeth will come to it position as the age goes. It is ok if the permanent tooth errupts behind the milk tooth. kindly advice
rdgs anu

Anu,

If the permanent teeth has already erupted and if the baby teeth remains, then the baby teeth has to be pulled out by dentist to avoid crowding of teeth. But you can ask your child to nibble his really loose baby tooth with his tongue to loosen it further to help accelerate his baby tooth to fall out. This can be done only if the permanent tooth has not erupted yet.
Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Niran

Dear Dr Niran,

Thanks for joining IL and offering solutions for dental problems patiently. I too have problem with my 2.5 year old kid. She does not cooperate with me to brush her teeth. When I make her stand on the stool at the washbasin she plays with the water and does not even hold the brush. It is only after a 30-40 minute fight, she finally gives up and allows me to brush her teeth. Sometimes, if she is in a good mood, she tries to do it herself but it is very rare. I want to put her in discipline in this particular area so that she brushes her teeth as soon as she wakes up in the morning, but how can I do it.

She also has the habit of thumb sucking and keeps sucking while she sets off to sleep and also early in the morning before getting up from the bed.

She has a small gap between her front teeth, will it widen with her growth? Is there any remedy for this?

Tanmayi

Thanks Tanmayi, I bet its a challenge for you to get you kid to brush. That's totally expected of her due to her age.
As mentioned before, we need to do behavior modeling in her case. Here are a few steps:

1. Take her to the store, and let her pick the toothbrush of her choice. this will stimulate the desire to brush.
2. try battery operated toothbrush.
3. Try to use just the brush and not the toothpaste.
4. Talk to her that brushing is a must.
5. You pick the time for her to come to the bathroom, not necessarily the first thing in the morning may be after drinking milk.
6. May be you both can brush together.

I know its hard to follow all these in the fast paced world but this is the right age to start healthy habits. Good luck. Let me know if any of these work.

Niran