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How to Care for Your Squirmy Toddler’s Teeth
By metropolitanmama | January 13, 2008
You may recall that I interviewed Pediatric Dentist Michael Hanna, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, in late November to bring you tips about caring for your baby’s teeth. This is a follow-up post for moms who are still struggling to make brushing teeth a part of their family’s routine…perhaps due to a toddler’s “squirminess” or resistance.
As a quick reminder, babies should have their teeth brushed twice a day pretty much as soon as teeth appear and should visit a pediatric dentist no later than their first birthday.
If you find that your baby is resistant to the toothbrush, you might want to try Spiffies Tooth Wipes, a convenient disposable wipe that parents can use “anytime or anywhere…to clean baby’s teeth.” Created by Dr. Ray Wagner, a pediatrician who practices in Southern Arizona, Spiffies are made with parents in mind.
Here’s another “made-up” interview (I came up with the questions; the Spiffies website delivered the answers).
Q. Does brushing really matter for babies? After all, those baby teeth are going to fall out anyway…
A. “Cavity causing bacteria live in plaque around the teeth. Once the bacteria become established in the baby’s mouth, they become difficult to remove. In fact, most children with early childhood tooth decay transfer this infection to their permanent teeth.”
Q. Are the wipes really as effective as a toothbrush?
A. “A recent clinical study showed that Spiffies are as effective as brushing for removing dental plaque from baby teeth. In addition, this study demonstrated that both moms and babies preferred the wipes to brushing, especially before bedtime.”
Q. I brush my baby’s teeth, but I sometimes forget to brush and/or floss and/or go to the dentist regularly myself. How will this effect my baby?
A. “Mom and Dad can transmit cavity causing bacteria to baby when they kiss their baby, or taste food with the same spoon the baby uses.”
Spiffies Wipes come in three different flavors: Mango, Grape, and Apple…and are designed for children four months and older.
Surprisingly, my daughter doesn’t mind getting her teeth “spiffied” at all. I give her gums and teeth a good wipe-down for bed as part of our routine and it seems to work out nicely.
I let my daughter brush her own teeth in the morning because she LOVES brushing her teeth. She often points at her toothbrush and wants to brush, brush, brush…especially when my husband and I are brushing ours (another good reason to make your own dental hygiene a priority - toddlers love to copy their moms). For us, the wipes are a convenience item - perfect for travel or times when we’re on-the-go, but not necessary for every day use. But some parents might find that they want to use them every day, twice-a-day.
Spiffies are sold at a variety of retailers across the U.S.
WIN IT! One winner will receive 3 boxes of Spiffies, along with a small booklet entitled The Baby Tooth Care Guide. To enter, simply leave a comment and your e-mail address on this post prior to Tuesday, Jan. 15, at midnight. The winner will be contacted and announced on Wednesday, Jan. 16. * Winner must provide a U.S. mailing address.
* UPDATE * The winner is #29 Becca. Congratulations!
January 13th, 2008 at 5:53 am
How cool…thanks for a great giveaway!!
-Megan
kings.3@comcast.net
January 13th, 2008 at 6:00 am
Hello, What a super idea! I think not only would toddlers benefit, but what about a child wearing braces? Thanks for the contest! Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com
January 13th, 2008 at 6:09 am
These sound so cool! My toddler brushes her own teeth a lot as well. Sometimes she clamps her lips tight, and I just can’t wedge the toothbrush in her mouth. I try to make it as much fun as possible. Oh boy, what an adventure sometimes! I do sing a little toothbrush ditty I made up while we brush. I read recently some kids love electric toothbrushes, so I picked up a bright Elmo electric. It is so cute, but it scares the pants off my toddler when it’s on! She’ll carry it around like a toy when off, though. I totally need to take her to the dentist–thank you for the reminder!!
January 13th, 2008 at 6:48 am
My son hates having his teeth brushed.
This would be a huge help.
January 13th, 2008 at 9:33 am
I’m having major toothbrushing problems with my 10-month-old. This would be great to try!
January 13th, 2008 at 9:47 am
What a cool idea. I would love to try it with my daughter.
ladymystra@gmail.com
January 13th, 2008 at 9:56 am
very interesting! i imagine they would be great for travel!
January 13th, 2008 at 11:40 am
Great idea! Grace loves the toothbrush - as long as I’m letting her lick it and it’s not actually touching her teeth.
January 13th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Joe loves the toothbrush-. I didnt know that it was after 1 to go to the dentist- always thought it was after 3. Good to know. Thanks for the chance!
January 13th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
I love the idea of this product, but there is no way I would stick my finger in my toddler’s mouth - LOL! She is at the age, however, where we can give her a Spin Brush and sing Raffi’s toothbrush song, and she will do a good job. We let her take a turn first, and then she knows she has to let us have a turn, too. But I can see how these wipes would be great for parents who don’t know they should clean little teeth. And they’re gentle, too.
Don’t enter me in the contest - I think someone else would find these more useful (although I definitely like it!!).
January 13th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
These sounds great!
January 13th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I’ve never heard of anything like this! Would love to try them out with Eve, she hates the tooth brush, but loves it when I take a washcloth to her teeth.
January 13th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
What a neat idea!! ( meg dot wilson at gmail dot com )
January 13th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
These looks great!
January 13th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I have a toddler that needs wrangling when it comes to teeth brushing time - these would be great to try! sj1026 at gmail dot com.
January 13th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
how neat!
January 13th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
These would be great for my 6 month old! She already has four teeth!!! And two more about to pop through!!!!
lmv311@aol.com
January 13th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
would love to win this for my wiggle-bot at home.
January 13th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
very cool…count me in!!
January 13th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Great idea! Count us in! Thanks!
January 13th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
great idea- please enter me!
January 13th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I have a 2 year old and brushing his teeth is like wrestling an alligator. I’m willing to try just about anything!!!
January 13th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I’ve also read that gum-brushing is important before teeth erupt. Teething pain can be caused by bacteria and brushing will get rid of this and help limit night waking from tooth pain. I’d love to give these a try!
normanfam at gmail dot com
January 13th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
My daughter becomes a screaming banshee when I try to brush her teeth, maybe she would like these better.
January 13th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
i would love to try these for ella as she is bad about brushing her teeth!! thanks
January 13th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
These sound great! gumbi1313@msn.com
January 13th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
oh! This would be so handy to have when my little one finally gets that first tooth through!
Thanks
palmersf@comcast.net
January 13th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
oh, I would really like to have these! I would love to try it out with Maddie!
Thanks for another great contest, Stephanie!
January 13th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
I’ve never heard of these before, but they sound like a life-saver, er, teeth-saver. My 9-month-old has seven now, but just chomps down any time I try to get the toothbrush in her mouth. Maybe I’d have more luck with a wipe.
January 13th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Boy could we use these!!!
January 13th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Yikes. I didn’t know I was supposed to be doing this!
January 13th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
wow. i wish i knew about these when my oldest was a toddler.
January 13th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Looks awesome! We could so use these.
January 13th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Eek Connor is 8 months old and I can say I have never brushed his teeth.. (he doesnt even have any…) I’m starting to wonder if he ever will!
LOL
I blogged you too
http://www.prizeatron.com
January 13th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
I would love this for my granddaughter who I raise most of the time
January 13th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Where do you find these things? Could definitely come in handy for the baby and possibly also my less-than-stellar brushing daughter…
January 13th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
I just wanted to say I completely agree with the need for early care of gums and baby teeth! I hadn’t ever seen studies on this, but my dentist would concur! I was adopted from Korea when I was seven months old, and have had to have several teeth pulled in my teenage years because my baby teeth and “first set” of permanent teeth were in bad shape due to malnutrition and poor cleaning in my first 7 months. Good thing I had another set of permanent teeth come in!
January 13th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
This is great. Thank you!
batgirl1 at bat-girl dot com
January 13th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
This is such a cool prize and thank you for offering it
January 13th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Very cool.
January 13th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
great idea. and thanks for the contest. thanks.
January 13th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
We love our Angel Brush: http://www.babyproofingplus.com/item2897.htm
But these look great, too!
January 13th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
This is a fantastic find! I hope I win but even if I don’t - I’ll definitely be trying this product out and spreading the word to friends. Thnks!
January 13th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
always good stuff
January 13th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
As my daughter is getting her first teeth now, these would be wonderful.
January 13th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
this would be cool to try. My daughter is hot and cold when it comes to brushing teeth. I was talking to a good friend who is a dental specialist recently, who told me you should never force a child under 3 to floss (I was telling him I read an article that said you should floss your kids teeth as soon as they have 2 side by side!!). He said it’s more important for the kid to not fear flossing than to floss the baby teeth (wait for their big teeth he said). Anyhow, thought I would pass along that tidbit….I was shocked an article reccomended flossing a toddlers teeth…are you kidding me? As if they would stand for that!!
January 13th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
I have an infant who has been teething for a while now…just waiting on the teeth to pop out. I am so glad I read this post. I’ll have to get me some of these!!
Count me in on this contest!
~melody~
info@penniesinmypocket.net
January 13th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Count me in!
bebemiqui82 (at) yahoo (dot) com
January 13th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
i would love to try these…
January 13th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
I would love to try this!
January 13th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Thank you! I would love to use these with my baby son.
royaldixie@charter.net
January 13th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Oh! I just received wird that my grandbaby is getting her two front teeth. Please add my name to the drawing pool for these!
January 13th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Neat Product. Please enter me
dreamweaver21us(at)hotmail(.)com
January 13th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Great idea!
January 13th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Oh…teeth-brushing is a struggle! Add me!
January 13th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
What a great product.
January 13th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Fantastic idea! Why do some kids hat to brush their teeth??
grayjones5 at yahoo dot com
January 13th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
This is a wonderful product.
January 13th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
This is a really awesome idea to help with a challenging task…
January 13th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
what a neat idea
January 13th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
I haven’t heard of these before, but they do sound great! Really sounds like a wonderful product.
January 13th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
surely would like to check these out, never heard of it!
January 13th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
I heard wonderful things about this product. Can’t wait to try.
January 13th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
I wanna win
January 14th, 2008 at 12:01 am
What a great concept!
January 14th, 2008 at 12:41 am
Looks like a cool idea!! Thanks..
stbaisch@yahoo.com
January 14th, 2008 at 12:44 am
great idea - they would be good for traveling
tiramisu392@yahoo.com
January 14th, 2008 at 12:55 am
great idea! they will be great when my 5 month old gets some teeth
January 14th, 2008 at 1:17 am
Very cool!
January 14th, 2008 at 1:55 am
Wow!!! Thank you for this contest!!! I really REALLY hope I win!
please email me at :
sarahmarie.pemberton@gmail.com
January 14th, 2008 at 2:17 am
These are awesome!
dansan826 at yahoo dot com
January 14th, 2008 at 2:25 am
Those would be good for “brushing” away from home, too.
January 14th, 2008 at 2:35 am
Sounds like something I’d like to try!
January 14th, 2008 at 2:59 am
Great for my grandson.
January 14th, 2008 at 3:18 am
I’d love to try this. My 11 month old finally has a tooth!
January 14th, 2008 at 3:23 am
even though my daughters only 4 months I would really like to try to this
January 14th, 2008 at 4:00 am
Please, give me anything that will be easier than trying to get my daughter to brush her teeth.
shay
shaythatcher@yahoo.com
January 14th, 2008 at 4:29 am
This is a great idea!
January 14th, 2008 at 4:57 am
What a great idea.
January 14th, 2008 at 4:59 am
great idea!
January 14th, 2008 at 6:00 am
Would Love for Grandchildren
January 14th, 2008 at 6:12 am
Why is brushing teeth such a big deal to little people? anything would be worth a try. Thanks for the awesome contest!
January 14th, 2008 at 7:01 am
Please pick me!
January 14th, 2008 at 7:08 am
An intriguing product that would be cool to try out.
January 14th, 2008 at 7:16 am
Awesome! I would not have to keep dropping hints about dental care to my family members! Just hand them a box or 2 of these sweeties!
January 14th, 2008 at 8:00 am
How interesting that my daughter and I were just today discussing her 7 months old 2 new teeth. I told her to make sure and brush them or wipe them off with a washcloth daily never knowing a product like this existed. These would be perfect for my Granddaughter!
January 14th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Interesting product. Would be nice to try with my little one.
January 14th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
very neat product. Thanks for the chance.
January 14th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
what a great idea - would love to try it
January 14th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
What a great product!
January 14th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Very interesting, It’s time for us to start wiing out baby son’s teeth. So I am eager to try this option.
jfleming73@gmail.com
January 14th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
My grandaughter screams bloody murder when her teeth are brushed, could definitely use this.
January 14th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
what a wonderful idea.
January 14th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I have a 13 month old that these would be great for!
4babybirds [at] gmail [dot] com.
January 14th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
These are awesome! It’s tough to know whether or not your toddlers are getting their teeth clean.
January 14th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
my grandson is getting old enough to use these. great idea.
January 14th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
What a good idea. I would love to try it with my child.
January 14th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Cool. Please randomly select me!
January 14th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Those sound wonderful for my baby’s chompers.
the_angel_forever at yahoo dot come
January 14th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
This would be great for my toddler who doesn’t do such a great job when she brushes her teeth herself.
January 14th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
These would come in handy for my squirmy worm!LOL! Thanks for the chance to win a set!
sblilly14(@)yahoo(.)com
January 14th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
This is so great! My little one has a hard time! It usually takes a good 10 minutes to brush his teeth! cookiecutter72 AT hotmail DOT com
January 14th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I have never seen these - what a great product!
January 14th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Wow, why didn’t I think of these. How cool.
tamaw@msn.com
January 14th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
What an interesting idea!
January 14th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
I would love these for my toddler who hates the toothbrush! Thanks for another great giveaway!
January 14th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
What a neat idea!
January 14th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
These look great! Would love to win
January 14th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
I have wished for something like this for years. I use a washcloth towel to “brush” fussy-butts teeth.
January 14th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
wonderful idea
January 14th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
what a great idea.
January 14th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
what a super idea!!!
January 14th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
thank you for sharing this product with us! my dd has eaten tooth paste on an occasion and this would definately eliminate that problem from reoccuring.
January 14th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
I would love to try this, I have a really hard time getting my little boy to stay still so I can brush his teeth!
January 14th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
This would be great for my grandson’s new teeth (all four of them!)
January 14th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
These would be interesting to try - maybe my baby wouldn’t bite my finger so hard with these as he does with the finger brush. Ouch!
January 14th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Sweet!
theyyyguy@yahoo.com
January 14th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
I haven’t had my baby yet, so I didn’t even know this was a problem - I’m glad I found this site!
January 14th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
What a great idea, love to try this
January 15th, 2008 at 12:02 am
What a clever product!
January 15th, 2008 at 1:26 am
That sounds fantastic! What a help.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:10 am
Id love to give those a try! agoodfellow@cox.net
January 15th, 2008 at 2:25 am
My son has two “teffs” to brush!!
January 15th, 2008 at 2:41 am
Great idea.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:41 am
I have never heard of this….very cool review/giveaway. Thanks for the info and direction towards the site.
Caryn
January 15th, 2008 at 5:20 am
What a great, and practical, idea!
January 15th, 2008 at 5:30 am
Thanks for everything!
January 15th, 2008 at 7:12 am
ohmygosh, this is a GREAT idea!
January 15th, 2008 at 11:04 am
awesome product!!
January 15th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
thanks for a chance to win
January 15th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Oh BOY, do I ever need these!
January 15th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
i brush my toddlers teeth, but then we give her milk at bed so these would help a lot. just wipe them down after she sleeps.
bwalleshauser at yahoo dot com
January 15th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
This would be great for my son! He’s almost 2
Thank you!
January 15th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
This sounds like a great new product. I have a cousin that needs this for her baby boy. Thanks.
January 15th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
I’m excited for this, I’ve never heard of these before!!
Hope I win for a chance to try!!!!
January 15th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
He’ll have teeth soon enough!
January 15th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
This would be an amazing product! I would love to try it!
January 15th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
I LOVE THIS GIVEAWAY ,THANKS
January 15th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
What a cool product. My daughter got her first two teeth at 15.5 months old, and now at 16.5 months, she only has 4. I need to start brushing them, and this product looks like an easy way to do it.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
These are great! Our dentist gives them to us when we’re there.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Great Idea, This is perfect for my granddaughter…Can’t wait to tell my daughter-in-law.
January 16th, 2008 at 12:56 am
Anything that promotes dental hygene is a good idea. I would like to try this.
January 16th, 2008 at 1:20 am
This will make it so much easier to brush Toothy’s teeth! Thanks!
January 16th, 2008 at 3:00 am
Good luck!
January 16th, 2008 at 6:22 am
Please enter me thanks~