Hello!

At what age do kids start using toothpaste? My little one is 13 months and we have always brushed his teeth with only water though I ran into a friend the other day who said he should be using toothpaste now. I’d like to know when other Mums started using toothpaste on their kids?

Emailed by Laura 5.12.2012


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  • Around 18 months for our kids.


  • Started mine at 2


  • AAP recommends using a smear (or roughly the size of a grain of rice) of fluoride toddler toothpaste for children from tooth eruption through age 2, and families should increase this to a pea-sized amount of toothpaste for children ages 3-6.


  • There is baby toothpaste in supermarkets now. Have a look a grab an age appropriate one


  • There is a toothpaste available for babies under 12 months. I think it’s safe to swallow


  • I think whenever he knows how to spit and listen to directions . Colgate first toothpaste should have a guideline too


  • Use just a little bit of toothpaste as you will find that at 1 they haven’t quite mastered spitting it out.


  • yes your friend is right!


  • Just water is ok until the age of one. There’s lots of foods being eaten then. Just a tiny amount is needed though, don’t go overboard. That’s how I did it with my kids, hope this may help


  • I’d recommend when they are old enough to spit the toothpaste out,rather then swallowing it :)


  • From memory I think DD was about 14 months old.


  • there are special kids toothpastes but they should never swallow only spit so until you can get the spitting happening i wouldnt bother


  • The Australian Dental Association (ADA) recommends using toothpaste from 18mths, preferably low-fluoride toothpaste.


  • maybe when they have 8 teeth in total? four each top n bottom


  • Pretty much from the time they get teeth, there are different types of toothpastes available for this


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