When Thurston was a baby, he had a lot of difficulty learning to swallow and had to see specialists who taught him how to swallow solid food. It used to be an absolute nightmare for me, always worrying that he would never be able to swallow properly. However, when it comes to teeth brushing, I have the opposite problem with Thurston! He has absolutely no concept of spitting out on demand. Like any toddler, he quite often loves to dribble his water down his top, but ask him to spit out the toothpaste and all you get all return is a blank expression as he swallows the lot. Recently this has been really bothering me and I started to worry about the effects on his health from swallowing 2 lots of toothpaste every day.
A lovely company called Jack n’ Jill sent Thurston some natural organic fruity toothpastes to try. We have been using the Blueberry flavour for a few weeks now and I can honestly say I won’t use anything else on Thurston’s teeth now, it’s such lovely stuff. At first I was slightly dubious about the fruity flavours because I am so used to using minty toothpaste, but the Blueberry smell is actually really refreshing and smells gorgeous. It’s less harsh than the mint toothpaste too, and Thurston seems to much prefer it to his old stuff. I also love that it is a really clear formulation instead of the thick white chalky stuff you usually get. It doesn’t leave any marks on his face.
The best thing of all about Jack n’ Jill toothpastes is that because they are made using all-natural ingredients, it is completely safe for Thurston to swallow it. This has been so reassuring for me, and now Thurston can learn to spit his toothpaste out in his own time.
Jack n’ Jill also sent me one of their lovely little toothbrushes to try. They are made of 100% cornstarch which is brilliant, but Thurston is allergic to cornstarch so I gave it to Zeke instead. It’s a really easy to hold toothbrush and Zeke was very pleased with it. It’s also compostable and bio-degradable which is fantastic. I think it’s important to regularly change your child’s toothbrush and it’s so much better for the environment to use these compostable products.
I know when we did our Earlybird course, most of the other parents there were having trouble teaching their Autistic children to spit out toothpaste. The Jack n’ Jill products are such a simple, natural solution that is stress-free for mums. What could be easier than simply switching to a different kind of toothpaste?!
Thanks for reading
Hanj x
