When children reach the toddler years, it’s time for them to begin brushing their teeth with a safe, fluoride free toothpaste. As a parent, it’s important to teach young children the correct brushing techniques on their baby teeth to help guarantee strong permanent teeth in the future. Make dental care part of your child’s regular daily routine.
Why no Fluoride For Kids?
A young child doesn’t have the motor control to spit out all the toothpaste in his mouth. Some kids even like the taste and eat toothpaste like candy. At this age, it’s best to use a fluoride free toothpaste, as the amount of fluoride in fortified toothpaste is not considered safe to swallow. You want the toothpaste to effectively clean your child’s teeth, not to end up in his tummy.
Brushing Requires the Right Technique
Your youngster likes to watch his favorite person — himself — when he brushes his teeth. Make sure to position him in front of the bathroom vanity or hang a magnifying mirror from the bathroom towel rack, to dangle about two feet above the floor. He’ll do a better job at brushing when he sees what he’s doing. Here are a few tips for the technique and to make this task fun.
Please RETWEET!
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• Take your child to the store to pick out a favorite-colored toothbrush, making sure it has a small head just for kids and very soft bristles.
• Place a pea-sized amount of the fluoride free toothpaste on the brush and press it into the bristles. Demonstrate how to make little circles on his teeth and gums with the brush.
• Then, make back-and-forth strokes on the flat biting surfaces in back. Tell your child it’s like brushing on a race track — be sure to complete the circuit around the entire course. At this age, the brushing will not be perfect, but you are training your child for a lifetime of dental hygiene that will ensure a beautiful smile as he gets older.
• Always praise your child for his efforts and then say, “My turn.” Check your youngster’s mouth for any missed areas and go back and clean these spaces yourself. Brushing teeth will be a two-person job until the age of six or later.
• Aim for a two-minute brushing session, twice a day. Use tools like a wind-up timer or sing one of your child’s favorite songs while he brushes. Tell him to continue the brushing strokes until you finish singing.
• Create a tooth-brushing chart and place a sticker on it each time your child brushes. A child’s world is visual, so seeing his progress will encourage him to stick to the schedule.
What do you use in your household for the young ones to brush their teeth daily? For the past few years, we’ve been using exclusively Tom’s of Maine strawberry-flavored fluoride free toothpaste that is perfect for a younger child, and free of artificial and potentially harmful ingredients.
For later in life, Tom’s of Maine also makes toothpaste formulations with fluoride. Always check with your child’s dental health professional to see what he or she recommends for your child’s health.
18 thoughts on “Fluoride Free Toothpaste for Young Children”
With my first daughter who is now 7, we also used a Fluoride-free toothpaste. I’ll look for this brand for my second daughter and try it.
I did not yet have kids and do not know that about fluoride in toothpaste I always made sure I bought one with it in.
Since I do not have kids, I had no idea that fluoride should not be in their toothpaste! Thanks for sharing this was very informative!
I never thought about the fact that flouride free would be the best thing for kids! I always use toothpaste with flouride, but I will make sure that when I have kids, or babysit, I will make sure I give them flouride free toothpaste.
My daughter tried the Tom’s toothpaste and really liked it. Unfortunately we don’t have it in stores here and I keep forgetting to order more!
So important to get these good habits started early! We have one who brushes great and one who has to be forced to pick up a toothbrush. Toms is definitely a good brand esp for the kids!
I’m allergic to flouride so I really could have used this when I was a kid. It would make me so sick, and it was in all the tooth pastes, it was awful. I’m going to check these out for my kiddos.
I’m all about fluoride free toothpaste!! Even for me and hubby. Drives me nuts that Floride is even in tooth paste -_- and water! Ughhh
I had never heard that about using fluoride-free toothpaste for young children. Makes total sense.
I think children of all ages need to brush their teeth more as part of personal hygiene! I am not sure what someone would want a toothpaste without flouride, but I will be checking out and reading your post again as well!
I’d never used Tom’s Of Maine before I met my husband but as soon as he introduced me, I switched for good! I love that they offer so many different products as well and are so eco-friendly! 🙂
I love the Tom’s Of Maine brand! I had no idea that they make kids products as well.
I had no idea that there was fluoride-free toothpaste available! Thanks so much for the tips and suggestions, I’ll have to keep them in mind for the future 😀
Now that I’m pregnant, these are things I know I am going to have to start remembering. Thanks for the information, it’s definitely helpful!
We’ve tried a few flouride-free toothpastes before, but Tom’s has always had a great reputation. I need to find some for us!
Thanks for sharing! I’ve heard Tom’s toothpaste is really good and we’ve been meaning to try it out for ourselves too.
These are great tips. You are right about the flouride free toothpaste. Kids love the taste of fruity toothpastes and they chew and swallow it.
We use Tom’s toothpaste with out youngest and he really love it. Being flouride free is such a big deal to me. And these tips are really great. It’s so important to encourage your kids to brush the right way when they are little so they form good oral care habits!