1. Wrong choice of brush
It is necessary to start brushing your teeth from the first incisor that has erupted, choosing for this a special baby brush with a small head and soft or medium-hard artificial bristles. The size of the working part of the brush (head) should be approximately equal to the width of 2-2.5 adjacent teeth — then the child will feel comfortable. I note that for young children, the «beauty» of the brush plays a big role — choose a bright color, a funny pattern, and in general, make this purchase together with the child. Let him brush his teeth with the brush that he liked the most and feel like an adult. After all, he «bought it himself»!
2. Wrong choice of paste
When buying toothpaste for a child, choose baby products — this is relevant both for very young children and for those who are older. Pay attention to the ingredients. For teenagers, as well as for younger children, pastes with titanium dioxide and silicon dioxide in the composition are suitable, the amount of fluorine can be up to 1500 ppm, depending on age. But calcium carbonate, sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium bicarbonate should not be in children’s toothpaste.
Be careful about medical pastes, they can be prescribed by a dentist, and only for a certain period, usually for several weeks, but not by yourself. Antibacterial components in their composition, if used incorrectly, can disrupt the microflora of the oral cavity, and this will lead to new dental health problems.
I also recommend buying remineralizing agents in addition to toothpaste, but not instead of it. They should be applied to the teeth in the morning and evening after brushing and rinsing the mouth. As for the amount of paste, a «pea» will be enough to start with, and if the baby swallows part of it, it’s okay — he will learn to rinse his teeth properly only by 2.5-3 years, but this is not a reason to postpone brushing one’s teeth for so long.
3. Incorrect tooth brushing technique
Teeth can be cleaned immediately after eating. Brushing your teeth should not be horizontal, but sweeping movements: teach the child to do this from childhood, because then in adulthood it is difficult to get rid of this habit.
It is enough to brush your teeth for 2-3 minutes, just the time it takes to brush all your teeth with a high-quality brush. And the question is precisely in the quality, in the cleaning technique, which I mentioned above. Because if you brush your teeth incorrectly, then you can crawl back and forth with a brush in your mouth for 10 minutes, but plaque and some of the leftovers will remain with you.
Pressing the brush too hard can damage the tooth enamel.