What Toothpaste Should We Use??
A lot of things have changed with toothpastes over the last few years. There are toothpastes with and without fluoride, toothpastes for sensitive teeth, every flavor from minty to vanilla, different colors, dispensers, toothpastes that whiten and some that are made with charcoal. Picking a toothpaste has all the sudden become a difficult decision! In addition to all of this, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry has changed their recommendations about toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste from what we may have all heard in the past.
We used to recommend waiting until your child is able to spit well to switch from training toothpaste (toothpaste without fluoride) to the toothpaste with fluoride. We are seeing cavities in younger kids becoming so prevalent, and they usually don't become great about spitting until around four years old. The preventive benefits of the topical use of fluoride toothpaste are an important part to help avoid cavities, so the AAPD shifted their recommendations on this in recent years. We now recommend using a smear, or "grain of rice" amount of toothpaste on our younger patients, even if they aren't spitting it out well.
We recommend using the fluoride toothpaste when you (mom and dad) brush. If your child is brushing on their own before or after you brush, they can use the fluoride free "training toothpaste" or no toothpaste. As they get older and are able to consistently spit out any excess toothpaste (which usually seems to happen around 4 years old for most kids), you can switch to using a pea sized amount.
As far as picking a toothpaste goes, you have many options! The most important part is picking a toothpaste that has fluoride, and finding one that your child likes the flavor so they don't avoid brushing. Some kids love the minty taste and others hate it. If you have a child that isn't into the traditional flavors, we recommend trying Mr. Tanner's Tasty Paste (https://www.tannerstastypaste.com/). This toothpaste was designed by a pediatric dentist and a mom, and it comes in kid friendly flavors like Vanilla Bling and ChaCha Chocolate. Our kids love it and give it two thumbs up! Other favorites for the non-minty crowd are Colgate's Watermelon Burst (we like the dispenser it comes in and the gel consistency because it tends to be less messy) and Hello's Bubble Gum Unicorn Sparkle (the Hello brand also comes in non-fluoride so you want to make sure you pick the fluoride version; you can usually find this at Target!). These brands are just suggestions- the most important thing is that it has fluoride.
Kids fluoride toothpastes and adult toothpastes have the same amount of fluoride, so you do not have to use the kid version if your child likes a minty adult flavor. We do not recommend using the charcoal toothpastes or any of the alternative brands of toothpastes that do not have approval from the American Dental Association. Many of these have ingredients that might not be great for kids, and some of the charcoal and whitening toothpastes are more abrasive and can wear away the enamel.
We will add another blog post all about toothbrushing, but we recommend starting to brush as soon as the first tooth comes in. Your child needs to brush every morning (after breakfast) and every night before bed. Until age 6 or until they are able to tie their shoes on their own (this is a good judge of the hand skills needed to do a good job brushing), a grownup needs to help them with brushing. Make sure to brush in good circles and brush along the gumline and get all sides of the teeth. More posts coming soon about brushing and flossing! Any questions or thoughts? Share them with us below!
-Dr. Beth and Dr. Jenn
