Children’s Toothpaste

Brushing your teeth removes the plaque bacteria that cause cavities, gum disease, and bad breath.

Toothpaste is an essential partner with brushing because it provides abrasives to scrub away stains, soaps to loosen the gooey plaque, flavors to make it taste better, and usually fluoride to strengthen the enamel.

The many types of toothpaste at the store are almost all the same as far as cleaning and whitening (do not be fooled, the whitening is almost always by removing the yellowish plaque, not by bleaching the enamel).

The differences between toothpastes are almost always due to flavor, consistency, and fluoride content.  Fluoride added to toothpaste has been shown to be extremely effective in preventing cavities by soaking into the enamel and making it more resistant to plaque bacteria acids.

Children under two should be careful not to eat too much fluoride containing toothpaste so consider using a ‘baby’ toothpaste that does not contain fluoride for these little ones.

Starting at age 2.5 to 3, rice-sized toothpaste strips of American Dental Association accepted fluoride toothpaste can be used.  Even the awfully sweet children’s toothpaste works just fine.

If your child swallows small amounts of fluoride toothpaste, do not panic.  Twice daily brushing with a SMALL smear of toothpaste that gets swallowed will not cause a problem with the developing teeth.  Although young children struggle to spit out their toothpaste, keep encouraging them and they will eventually be successful.