What happens if the baby swallows the toothpaste?
Since it is difficult to tell babies to rinse their mouths, baby toothpastes have been developed so that babies can swallow the toothpaste. The fluoride content is so low that, according to the manufacturers, it should not harm the babies. Furthermore, baby toothpastes must not contain any potentially harmful substances.
Small children are not yet able to spit out the foam properly. So it can happen from time to time that they swallow some toothpaste. However, this is harmless as long as the amounts are small.
To prevent babies from swallowing too much toothpaste, parents should use only small amounts of a fluoride-containing toothpaste for brushing their teeth (maximum pea-sized blob and with a concentration of 550ppm) until the age of two. Excessive fluoride intake (through food or toothpaste) can lead to unsightly white enamel stains on permanent teeth. Swallowing should therefore not be too much of a concern for parents. After all, when babies brush their teeth, most of the fluoride runs out of the mouth anyway.
What are the problems of difficulty?
Several difficulties and problems can be encountered by parents who are trying to brush their babies’ teeth for the first time. Experience shows that children do not like to do it and babies even less. It is the unknown situation that is perceived as rather unpleasant and disturbing.
Most babies don’t like the prolonged breastfeeding and keeping the mouth open for a long time. So the act of brushing teeth at least twice a day becomes a stress test for parents and baby. Babies usually turn their heads away, start crying and chewing on the toothbrush, making brushing almost impossible.
Therefore, it is important that parents try different tricks individually for their baby to relax or distract the child so that brushing their teeth is possible. There are various tips and tricks to avoid problems when brushing teeth and to distract babies from the annoying, unfamiliar object toothbrush when brushing their teeth. Especially popular is the playing of so-called “tooth brushing songs”.
Much more often, however, parents pick one of the countless songs on the Internet and sing the song to the child/baby while brushing their teeth themselves.This kind of distraction leads to a fixation of the protégées’ concentration on the singing, which at best results in less protest against brushing their teeth. In addition, playing or auditioning toothbrushing songs can be very funny, especially for somewhat older children (texts usually rhyme or have funny contents). This way, the child can be introduced to tooth brushing in a playful way.
The idea behind it is – brushing teeth should be fun! However, it doesn’t always have to be toothbrushing songs that are played or sung to the children/babies. Sometimes simply putting on the child’s/baby’s favorite music helps.
However, the younger the children are, the more difficult it is to find suitable music. This means that you have to try out which song makes the child/baby especially quiet or distracted. In addition to the above-mentioned tricks with music, there are also other helpful tips that can be used to encourage children to brush their teeth or make it easier for babies to brush their teeth.
However, it is usually especially important to introduce babies/children to brushing their teeth in a playful way. For babies, it is a good idea to use silicone finger hats instead of toothbrushes. These are slipped over a finger and have toothbrush-like bristles at the ends.
This is a good way to introduce especially babies to brushing their teeth. Another option, especially for older people, is to choose your own toothbrush. Sometimes it also helps to read stories to the children (e.g. about “Carius and Bactus” or the “Tooth Indian”).
These take away the children’s fear of brushing their teeth and teach them the consequences of not brushing. Other tips include using a tasty toothpaste, colorful toothbrushes, a toothbrushing watch or a toothbrushing app.
