Natural Birth and Baby Care.com

Brushing Teeth?

by Katrina
(Bermuda)

My son is 9 months and still not really on any solids as I want to practice child led weaning.

I have the little tooth brush that fits on your finger and I try to brush his teeth during
bathtime so he views it as something fun and another toy. Well that hasn't worked so now I
just give it to him and he chews on it.

How important at this stage is it to brush his teeth?

I don't want to have to hold him down as I think that is ridiculous. After he has eaten solids,
usually at dinner time with us, I give him water to drink to wash it down. But obviously I don't
want to cause dental problems later on. He has 6 teeth. Any suggestions?

Answer:

Hi Katrina,

There are differing opinions on this issue. I don't generally share my opinion because I tend to be in the minority ;)

I'll begin with the standard opinion: brushing teeth is absolutely vital. Just as you insist that your baby ride in a car seat for his own safety, you must brush his teeth. Conventional wisdom dictates that tooth decay begins with substances on the surface of the teeth that break the enamel down. Therefore, brushing teeth removes these substances and protects your son's teeth.

If you follow this line of thinking it makes absolute sense that you should be brushing his teeth even now, because the food and other substances on his teeth could begin the decay process even while he's still an infant.

Being gentle, but firm about brushing his teeth is probably the way to go. You can try rubbing his teeth and gums down with a soft cloth and see if he prefers that. It's good to start now, as well, because it will become routine for him. I always recommend working something like this into the routine... take a "this is just the way life is - we brush our teeth" attitude. Be calm and matter-of-fact about it.


As I hinted above, I do not exactly agree with this theory on the importance of brushing teeth.

I think we should brush our teeth so we don't scare our neighbors away ;)

But I believe that tooth decay begins from inside the body - an unhealthy body creates unhealthy teeth, which is what allows a tooth to become weaker and decay. It's the same as how our bodies become sick - when they are weakened.

The way that you prevent tooth decay in children is by nourishing their bodies.

My older three children do brush their teeth most days, mostly because they enjoy it. However, I've never really pressed the issue and they all have lovely teeth. I believe in nourishing and strengthening their teeth from the inside.

I highly, highly recommend you read Dr. Weston A. Price's book - it has amazing pictures and research about this issue. I've written a review of it - Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.

Another excellent book is by Rami Nagel - here's my review of Healing Our Children.

Rami has written another book, also excellent called Cure Tooth Decay. You can visit the Cure Tooth Decay website - he's written quite a few articles about children's dental health and published them to the site.

Here's an article on the Weston A. Price Foundation website on the causes of tooth decay, which has many references listed at the bottom.

In the end you have to research for yourself and decide what you're comfortable with. In this issue I'm just another mom like you - but I'm happy to share my experiences and my sources!