Dr. Timon's Pediatric Dental Blog

One question I'm frequently asked is at what age should parents start brushing their children's teeth. You should start cleaning your infant's teeth as soon as he gets his first tooth. Before the first tooth, you can just use a wash cloth to clean your infant's gums. When the first tooth appears use a soft children's toothbrush.

Because there is some danger if your child gets too much fluoride, your choice of toothpaste is important. Keep in mind that most brands of kids' toothpaste are fluoridated. They just have different flavors and popular characters on them to make them more fun for children, but that doesn't make it safe for your children to swallow too much of the toothpaste.

If using a fluoride toothpaste, use less than a pea-size amount of toothpaste so that there is little danger of your child getting too much fluoride if he swallows it. And begin to encourage your child to spit out the toothpaste at a young age. The other alternative for younger children is to use a non-fluoridated toothpaste, such as Baby Orajel Tooth and Gum Cleanser, until they are spitting the toothpaste out.