Choosing a Toothbrush for You and Your Baby

It is the cheapest thing in your basket and it does more than most of what is in there.

What makes one right comes down to the bristles, the head and the handle. The brand does not come into it.

Soft bristles, always

Soft cleans as well as firm does, and it damages far less while doing it.

Firm bristles wear enamel away over years. They also push the gums back, exposing the root surface underneath, which is thinner and more sensitive than the crown and will let you know about it every time you drink something cold.

That goes for you as much as for her. Nobody needs a hard brush.

A small head

A small head reaches the back teeth without setting off the gag reflex. That matters twice over: your gag reflex is heightened in the first trimester, and her mouth is tiny to begin with.

For a baby: a finger brush, or something with a very small head. From the day the first tooth appears.

A handle that fits whoever is holding it

For a baby or toddler, the person doing the actual brushing is you, so the handle should fit an adult hand. Those chunky child handles are for her own practice attempts, not for the cleaning.

Once she brushes for herself, a thicker handle helps her grip. Both have a place, and they are for different halves of the same job.

Replacing it

Every three months. Sooner, once the bristles splay.

A splayed brush cleans badly and irritates gums. If it looks tired at six weeks, replace it at six weeks. Brushes wear at the rate you brush.

And after any illness, so you are not putting the bacteria straight back where they came from.

Who actually does the brushing

Children need an adult doing it until around seven or eight, when their hand control catches up.

What works for most families: she brushes first, for as long as she likes, then you finish it properly. She gets ownership. The teeth get cleaned. Nobody has to win.

Positions that make it less of a fight

Stand behind a toddler and tilt her head back against you. You get the view a dentist has and far better control than facing her.

For a baby, lie her across your lap with her head towards you. You can see everything and she is stable.

Either beats trying to brush a standing, moving child head-on, which is how most people start and why most people give up.

When she refuses

Refusal at this age is normal, and it passes. What tends to help:

• Move the timing, rather than doing it when she is already spent
• Let her hold her own brush while you use a second one
• Brush yours at the same time, in front of a mirror
• A book or a song about it
• Short and consistent beats long and occasional

Never use brushing as a threat or a punishment. A habit built on that rarely survives.

Looking after the brush

• Rinse it properly after use
• Store it upright, in the open air, not in a closed case
• Keep brushes from touching in a shared holder
• Never share one

That last one applies to spoons too. Sharing cutlery, blowing on food and kissing her on the mouth all pass over Streptococcus mutans, the bacterium most associated with decay.

And the paste that goes with it

Mama's Choice My First Toothbrush is made for the very beginning, when the first teeth come through.

Baby & Kids Toothpaste comes in two flavours children tend to accept, without fluoride and without sulfates.

Natural Toothpaste is the adult one, without SLS and without fluoride, with a mild mint that suits you if brushing makes you gag.

On quantity, whichever paste you use: a grain of rice under three, a pea from 3 to 6. Fluoride-free is a comfort choice for a child who cannot spit yet. Fluoride toothpaste, in the right amount and supervised, is still what most dental bodies recommend.