[blparent] Teething infants and brushing young children's teeth

[Miranda B.]

Hi Tammy,
Thanks for your message! Where did you happen to find the finger toothbrush?
Also, do you know the exact name of it so I can tell the store employees the
right thing?
Which brand of baby toothpaste has everyone found to work well?
Thanks again, and have a great week!

In Christ, Miranda

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Tammy
Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 7:42 PM
To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] Teething infants and brushing young children's teeth

Hi,

I find that letting the baby suck on frozen bananas work well for teething
infants.  Just peal it and stick it in the freezer and then when the baby
wants it it's there.  You can put it in an infant feeder if you want but the
baby won't choke on it because by the time it's not frozen anymore it's soft
enough to swallow.  Bananas also have a sedative in them so they'll help a
little with the pain of teething.

As to the questions about brushing teeth, start with one of those finger
brush things and start young, before they don't have teeth just to get them
used to you sticking your fingers in their mouths and going through the
motions of brushing their teeth.  This will also help get food gunk and
bacteria out of their mouth. when you take out the real tooth brush let them
see and play with it before you use it, it will invariably end up in their
mouth cause that's where most toys go.  I usually brush little one's teeth
while they're sitting on my lap so I can have more control over their
movements.  It's a messy business but then with babies lots is messy so we
don't worry about the mess too much.  I start with the smallest toothbrush I
can get and try to hold it as close to the head as I can.  Put a little
toothpaste on it, baby toothpaste of course, and then just start by brushing
the outside of the front teeth a little bit.  Oh, I usually give the baby
another toothbrush to keep their hands busy and distract them while I'm
doing horrible things to their mouth.  grin  At some point the baby will
open their mouth to yell or something and then I just sort of get in with
the brush and get as much of the back teeth brushed as fast as I can before
they bite me.  After I do this a couple of times they will realize it's not
so bad and they let me brush their teeth.  I always make sure to talk to
them while I'm brushing and tell them what I'm doing and what things are
like toothpaste etc, and they get the hang of it pretty fast.
My answer to teaching them is pretty simple.  When they get old enough to
stand at the sink on one of those stools I start teaching them to brush on
their own.  I still stand behind them and help them, but aside from putting
the toothpaste on, I let them try it by themselves.  Since they like to
follow your example, I often brush my teeth before I let them brush theirs
so it makes them feel like big boys when they brush at the same time I do. 
I usually have them tell me how they're going to brush their teeth before
they actually do it so I know they know a bit about how to do it.  Generally
the task makes a huge mess cause spitting  in the sink usually means spit
all over the counter, but most of their teeth get brushed most of the time,
or so the dentist says.

I hope this helps some,

Tammy

-----Original Message-----
From: Miranda B.
Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 5:12 PM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: [blparent] Teething infants and brushing young children's teeth

Hi,

I have two questions along the same lines, so I thought I'd just put them in
one post.

1.       What have you found to be the best things to help soothe teething
infants? Whether it be comfort methods, specific teething products or
specific forms of origel (tablets, swabs, drops, ETC.)

2.       How does a parent who is Blind safely and effectively brush a young
child's teeth? I'm thinking when they first start using a toothbrush, but
they can't brush their teeth on their own. Also, what's the best way to
begin teaching a child how to brush their teeth independently?

Thanks, and have a great week!



In Christ, Miranda

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