Brushing your child’s teeth regularly sets the foundation not only for their earliest smiles but also for their dental health throughout their entire lives.
It ensures that their teeth develop properly, damage is avoided, and of course, that lifelong habits are created that greatly impact their lifelong dental health. If you can teach them the importance of brushing their teeth today, they not only have healthier teeth now, but they’ll carry those habits with them into adulthood.
However, there are two components to properly brushing a child’s teeth. The toothbrush and the toothpaste.
Today, the team at Dino Kids Dental is going to help you choose the best children’s toothpaste.
Let’s get started.
1: Fun and Excitement
This is going to sound like our priorities are a little skewed, but you have to take a different approach with children. If something isn’t enjoyable, they’re less likely to use it, and that means they won’t build the lifelong habits you’re trying to instill in them.
It’s crucial that you look for a toothpaste that makes each brushing session as fun and exciting as possible.
You might need to cycle through a few options since every child has a different preference when it comes to flavors and other fun aspects of child-friendly toothpaste, but try to find one that the child enjoys using.
It should taste good, the packaging should look fun, the texture should be enjoyable, and if you can find a dispenser that adds a fun element, that’s great, too. There are options that look like their favorite superheroes, play music, dispense the toothpaste in a fun way, etc.
Of course, while you need to find something fun, make sure the other points on this list are covered, too.
2: Training Toothpaste
If your child is a few months old to the age of 2, it’s worth considering a training toothpaste. This is a toothpaste that doesn’t contain fluoride or other chemicals that can be problematic in certain situations.
While fluoride is safe when used appropriately, kids have a tendency to swallow whatever you put in their mouth, and if your child hasn’t learned to spit toothpaste out yet, training toothpaste is appropriate.
However, training toothpaste lacks a lot of the features of a proper toothpaste product. So, you want to teach your child appropriate brushing techniques as fast as possible and move on to a genuine toothpaste option.
3: Fluoride
Any pediatric dentistry specialist will tell you one thing when it comes to toothpaste – fluoride is a must in any best children’s toothpaste contender. It helps fight cavities and promote healthy tooth development.
Luckily, this is extremely easy to check off your list. The vast majority of toothpastes on the market contain fluoride and label their packaging accordingly. So, your options are not limited in this regard.
4: Cavity and Enamel Protection Focused
The next feature to look for is whether or not the toothpaste is formulated to focus on cavity prevention and enamel protection.
If you take a child and an adult who both have excellent dental care habits, the child is far more likely to develop cavities. Their more frequent consumption of sugary foods and drinks tends to make cavities a little easier to develop than an adult who not only brushes properly but also watches what they’re consuming.
As such, making sure their toothpaste is protecting their teeth from the negative effects of all those sugary treats is an absolute must.
5: No Abrasive Materials
Some toothpastes use abrasive materials to help create a more substantial scrubbing action when you brush your teeth. That sounds great, and the material used is perfectly safe for consumption in most instances, but there’s another issue.
That abrasive material is too harsh for a child’s developing teeth. So, you can actually wear your child’s enamel out by purchasing it.
Products that are gritty, have little “balls” in the paste, crystalline particles, and similar things should all be avoided.
6: Unhealthy Ingredients
This is a commonsense concept, but if toothpaste has anything unhealthy in it, don’t buy it. Sugars, strange substances, unnecessary dyes, and other things don’t help the paste, and in some cases, they can be problematic.
This doesn’t just go for products that sound like strange science experiments, though. A lot of the “organic” toothpastes on the market should also be avoided.
Charcoal, weird waxes, and other ingredients aren’t helping your child’s teeth and can sometimes have negative results, as well.
Just a standard, fluoride, toothpaste with some sort of fun twist is optimal.
7: ADA Seal of Acceptance
Of course, you can make your purchasing choice pretty easy by looking for one little detail on whatever toothpaste you buy.
The ADA is the American Dental Association. This is an authoritative dental association comprised of accomplished dentists, and it has been around since the mid-1800s.
One task that the ADA takes on is testing dental products, whether they are toothbrushes, mouthwashes, or yes, toothpastes, and determining whether they are up to standard or not.
This means that they rigorously test each toothpaste to ensure that it’s reliable, safe, and of course, going to produce the results you’re looking for.
If you see the ADA Seal of Acceptance on a product you’re looking at, it’s a solid product. This does limit some of your options, but you should still have a great selection to choose from and find something your child will like.
Products without the ADA seal aren’t necessarily bad products, but you don’t get the peace of mind that comes from knowing qualified professionals in the field of preventive (pediatric) dentistry who personally tested and approved those products. You’re more or less taking a chance when you opt for toothpaste that doesn’t have the ADA seal on it.
8: Ask Your Child’s Dentist
Finally, what’s a better way to find the best children’s toothpaste than simply asking the same person you trust to take care of your child’s dental care needs?
If you reach out to your child’s dentist, they’ll be able to recommend their favorite products, or they might even have samples you can try to see if they work well with your child.
Here at Dino Kids Dental, we take care of your child’s teeth, both inside and outside the office. Contact us today for any additional information!
