Baby care · First teeth
The baby toothbrushes we tried after the first tooth
We tried a finger brush, a small traditional brush, and a few silicone brushes. All were worth trying; the simple silicone tube-style brush became our favorite.
We first used a Haakaa silicone finger toothbrush. Sliding it over a finger gave us plenty of control and made the first brushing attempts feel gentle and familiar. It was a useful introduction, although reaching into a wiggly baby's mouth was not always the easiest routine.
We later bought a Dr. Brown's baby set with a small brush and strawberry fluoride-free toothpaste, and we tried a few other baby brushes too. They were all worth trying. A brush that one baby accepts—and that one parent can hold comfortably—may not be the one another family prefers.
Our favorite: the silicone tube-style brush
Our favorite was the simple tube-style silicone brush from a three-pack. The soft shape was easy for our baby to hold, and the wide guard helped keep the brush from going too far into the mouth. We still held or guided it and treated it as a toothbrush, not an unsupervised teething toy.
- Haakaa finger toothbrush: our gentle starting point.
- Dr. Brown's toothbrush and baby toothpaste: a more traditional small-brush option we tried.
- PandaEar silicone tube-style brushes: our favorite shape and grip.
A toothpaste note
The Dr. Brown's toothpaste we bought was fluoride-free. Current guidance from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Academy of Pediatrics is to brush as soon as the first tooth appears, twice a day, using a soft age-appropriate brush and only a tiny rice-grain-sized smear of fluoride toothpaste for children under three. That differs from the product we initially chose, so this is a good detail to confirm with your child's dentist rather than relying only on a package label.
The AAPD also recommends a first dental visit when the first tooth appears and no later than the first birthday. Starting early helped us focus less on finding one perfect brush and more on building a short, repeatable routine.
This is our family's product experience, not dental advice. Inspect silicone brushes for tears or damage, supervise every use, and ask your pediatric dentist which brush and toothpaste are right for your child.