I recently saw my dentist for my regular check up and while I was there I used that opportunity to ask him a couple questions about Mia's teeth. Mia didn't have any teeth until she was almost 11 months old, but since then they've been popping in like crazy! She's 15 months old now and she has 10 teeth so I was curious when she should see a dentist. I was surprised to find out that the American Dental Association recommends that a child see a dentist no later than his or her first birthday whether they have teeth or not. I guess we'd better get her in any day now.

We brush her teeth at home, but my next question for my dentist was should we use toothpaste? He recommended that we use a children's toothpaste because there is very little floride so it won't make her sick if she swallows it. Besides that children's toothpaste comes in fun flavors that she might like better than regular old toothpaste. He also told me that we only need to use a tiny amount of toothpaste even for ourselves. The toothpaste for Mia should be about the size of a grain of rice. Adults should put toothpaste across their brush instead of down the brush so we use less too. 

We should be brushing Mia's teeth twice, a day once in the morning and once at night. Obviously use a child's toothbrush. There are a few different kids you can choose, but as long as it's got soft bristles and isn't too big for baby's mouth the shape doesn't matter. Mia loves to brush her teeth with her winnie the pooh toothbrush. As much as Mia likes to brush her own teeth it's important that we help her so we can be sure to brush the front and backsides of all of her teeth.

As far as flossing goes toddlers usually don't have to have their teeth flossed because most of them don't touch, but if they do you should floss between them. Otherwise flossing usually isn't an issue until all the teeth come in.

When did you take your children to the dentist for the first time?