How can I get rid of my 3 yr old’s bad breath?
No matter how many times I brush her teeth or how long, in minutes after brushing stills lingers the smell of bad breath. I know bad breath is caused by bacteria and I have been told by some to brush her tongue, but I heard that could brush off taste buds too and could be a bad thing. I can’t think of anything in her food that could be causing this. She is a nibbler. She won’t finish a full meal but will nibble constantly throughout the day.
Ok I appreciate everyone who could answer my question in a civilized and respectful manner, but I still cannot believe how many of you are just flat out rude and seem to have no clue so you just make things up to assume! Like the stupidity of telling me to quit feeding my daughter onions. Nobody in my house eats onions. None of us like them. Second, whoever said it was rotting teeth, Umm, my daughter’s teeth have been checked out and they are perfect so I’m told. Anyway, thanks to those of you who were decent human beings in your answer.
January 8th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Try a tongue scraper or an alcohol free mouthwash. You won’t destroy any taste buds by doing so :o)
January 11th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Take him to a dentist something might be wrong with him.
January 13th, 2009 at 12:18 am
No you can’t brush her taste buds off…check to see if there is anything lodged in her nose…my cousin’s son stuffed a bit of sponge up his nose about that age and it started to mildew and caused his bad breath.
January 14th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
chewing gum. brush teeth after every meal and floss
January 17th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Does she have sinus problems? That can cause bad breath.
January 19th, 2009 at 6:03 am
You’re SUPPOSED to brush your tongue. You won’t lose any taste buds.
January 20th, 2009 at 12:06 am
you should take her to the dentist. maybe it isn’t her mouth but her stomach
January 20th, 2009 at 3:09 am
Parsley is supposed to be good for bad breath. If it’s a digestive problem, try some of that activa yogurt.
January 21st, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Umm, brushing her tounge won’t hurt her, but it will get rid of some built up germs that might be causing the bad breath. If that doesn’t work then take her to the dentist.
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:38 am
Sometimes it could be related to sinus problems. Does she have allergies, maybe?
January 24th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
most of the time, bad breath in babies and young children is not due to poor dental hygene, its due to a sinus infection. have her checked out, because those can linger for a very long time, if left untreated. let your doctor know, she has bad breath, and guaranteed, he/she will think of sinus infection first
January 27th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
take her to the dentist her teeth coukd be wrotting
January 27th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
don’t let her nibble, it will lead to obesity, and make her have tic-tacs.
January 30th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
take her to the dentist. As soon as you get your teeth you should start goiing to the dentist, for cleaning,and checkup, she might have a bad tooth aall rotten.
January 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Brush her tongue- it works and it does not brush off taste buds. Dentists scrape the tongue to get rid of bad breath.
They also sell Listerine type products for tots that help.
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:12 am
mouthwash might do the trick- nut if that still isn’t working, tell your dentist abiut this and he/she may recommend a special toothpaste or mouthwash.
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:06 pm
maybe change his eating diet….are you feeding him alot of junk food? brush his teeth 2 a day or 3 times a day and make sure that you scrub his tongue.
February 5th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I would suggest taking your child to her pediatrician or, as someone else said your dentist.
February 6th, 2009 at 10:20 am
Usually it is caused by:
a) A tooth (caries)
b) A stomach disease.
c) Flu (the accumulate mucus in the throat)
Talk to your doctor …
February 7th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
seriously…brush her tongue already….my taste buds are in tact
oh yeah and quit with the onions
February 9th, 2009 at 10:32 am
She could be gettingfood stuck on her tonsils thats is what happened to me so i got them removed. She may never have good breath for the rest of her life!!! its sad 🙁 by the way that is a bad reason to get them removed because I have had a double ear infection in both ears, a cold, and a broncial virus all within 3 weeks of getting them removed. but my breath doesnt stick any more.
February 11th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Believe this or not my 3 yr old had an odor that I thought was bad breath but it wasn’t . I found out he had a wad of gum way up in his nose and that was causing the bad smell.
February 13th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
I would talk to your childs doctor. But, I know one thing that can cause bad breath is calcium deposits. They form in the back of the mouth and on the tonsils. Sometimes they are hard to see. To get rid of them I gargle with warm water with a little bit of salt in it. This seems to remove them over time.
February 16th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
I doubt you would brush off the taste buds off, I say just give brushing the tongue a try and also some mild mouth wash would do the trick. Try a health food store for natural mouthwash.
February 18th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
We brush our three year olds teeth every day too but when we took him to the dentist the dentist pulled his lips back further and told us we need to do the same when brushing his teeth. The incisor and the one next to it had tarter and the brushing we were doing wasn’t getting to that area well enough. He fights every time but we have to do it until he can do it himself.
Also, no milk or sugary foods before bed.
February 20th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
my daughter used to have that. we finnaly figured out she was alergic to milk. it use to make her stomach upset and her breath was like sour milk. we switched to the milk that has the lactose taken out and the problem went away . try that its cheap and easy. taste pretty much the same. we all drink it now
February 22nd, 2009 at 6:49 am
You should brush her tongue it won’t hurt her taste buds. That could be the cause of her bad breath. If all else fails you can always see a doctor about it.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:31 am
hi i work in a daycare going on about 5 years now and your child may have thrush it makes there breath smell really bad i would call your doctor asap and make a appointment just to be sure if it is she will have like white all over her toungue and it will look like baby milk good luck and i hope it gets better
February 28th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
brushing the tongue does NOT remove tastebuds and it is a very effective way to get rid of bad breath and the reason she doesnt finish a meal is that you let her nibble all day and she is already full that is a bad habbit that can lead to obesity it is much easier to keep track of the food she eats when it is done at a structured meal it took me a long time to break that habbit with my daughter
March 2nd, 2009 at 3:27 am
She’s probably too young to use listerine, but how about that stuff that removes plaque…I think it’s called Plax? Does she know how to swish and spit out? If so, you could try this, because plaque can cause bad breath.
And scraping/brushing the tongue doesn’t remove taste buds that I’m aware of. I have a tongue scraper that I use every day (bought from my dentist’s office) and my taste buds are fine.
Also, have you tried flossing her teeth? She might have food stuck between them that’s causing the odor.
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:01 pm
If your daughter has allergies,a cold or just a runny nose- the post nasal drip down the back of her throat will cause bad breath.
March 6th, 2009 at 12:07 am
brush three time a day and know they have kids mouth wash