My baby has bad breath

[tracya]

Help my baby has bad breath! DS is 11 months old and has a dummy for sleeps only. When he wakes up, especially after the long night sleep he has really bad breath. He is eating 3 meals a day with plenty of variety and each one is followed by a bottle of cows milk. He was breastfed for the first 5 months and I can't remember if this problem was present back then. He does not drink much else (water or diluted juice in very small amounts with meals). He has 2 top and 2 bottom teeth and there is practically no chance of me getting in there to clean them. Does anyone have any experience of this or any solutions?

[the_queen]

You need to be brushing his teeth. Bad breath is an indicator of either a) bacteria in the mouth (ie precursor to tooth decay) or b) digestive problems. Start brushing his teeth and see if the bad smell disappears.

[JoshienEmmiesmummy]

Make teeth cleaning a part of bathtime fun. To start with just give bub a toothbrush to chew on and play with, then slowly introduce some toothpaste. They say you have to get them to spit, i still have a hard time getting DS to spit and he is two. I gave him a toothbrush around 6 months old and now he actually reminds me to clean our teeth every morning and night! Persistence is the key and as the previous poster said bad breath is caused by some sort of bacteria in the mouth. Good Luck! :)

[melbourneprincess]

JoshienEmmiesmummy, I have a hard time getting my DD to spit too!! She will let me brush ok (even does a bit herself), but she automatically swallows anything that goes in her mouth, I can't get her to spit it out first!!! :banghead:

How do you get them to do this??!!

[aardvark]

If you get an organic children's toothpaste, getting them to spit is less of an issue.

[mumof03]

At schools they actually don't allow the children to spit. They teach the children to dip the toothbrush into the toothpaste instead of squeezing it on. This way they only use a small amount so there is no lather of toothpaste in the mouth, therefore reducing the need the spit. They brush their teeth, then have a drink of water. Just make sure you use a toothpaste designed for young children. You can get a variety now, Colgate is an excellent one and doesn't have any sugar.
Give your little one a toothbrush (suited for his age, again colgate have a variety for different ages) and then you get one and brush your teeth so they can copy what you do. They will soon get the hang of it and will want to be brushing all the time. My 3 year old goes through a toothbrush a month now!

[aardvark]

Colgate is an excellent one and doesn't have any sugar.


No, but it is full of artifcial sweeteners, which are not good for kids or anyone else for that matter.

And you don't want them to be swallowing the stuff. Too much ingested fluoride can cause fluorosis - basically fluoride damanging teeth, leaving white spots on the enamel of the developing tooth.

[mumof03]

No, but it is full of artifcial sweeteners, which are not good for kids or anyone else for that matter.


And you don't want them to be swallowing the stuff. Too much ingested fluoride can cause fluorosis - basically fluoride damanging teeth, leaving white spots on the enamel of the developing tooth.

Most tooth pastes are. They are not eating the stuff by bucketfulls, so there is no harm to their health.


That is why you only dip the toothbrush into the toothpaste, and not squeeze the toothpaste onto the brush. This method is taught to the kids in schools by dentists. Colgate toothpaste for children, is also the number 1 toothpaste recommended by dentists for children.

[melbourneprincess]

Aardvark, we have the Colgate kids one at the moment. What organic ones do you recommend and where would I get them?

Thanks!

[PinkBinkie]

My bub is 10mths and sometimes wakes up with smelly breath. She has a dummy too so I'd say this would be the culprit! And there really is no need for toothpaste if bubs doesn't like it, the most important thing is brushing the teeth. Maybe a drink of water before bed?