Most parents will have experienced the struggle of trying to get a young child to clean their teeth properly. Unfortunately this battle of wills can result in some children only brushing their teeth once a day or even less frequently, while many will brush their teeth for just a minute or less. If you speak to any good pediatric dentist, you’ll find they recommend children spend at least two minutes on brushing their teeth twice a day. If tooth brushing is a challenge for you and your child, we’ve put together a few tips for you to help encourage them brush their teeth without it being a struggle every time.
Let Your Child Brush Your Teeth
Instead of brushing their teeth, arrange to trade places with them so they can brush your teeth first of all. This way you can show them how nice it is to be cared for and pampered and it’s highly likely that their tooth brushing efforts will result in a lot of laughter for you both.
Let Your Child See You Brushing Your Own Teeth
Get your kid to watch you brushing your own teeth and afterwards demonstrate how nice, clean and shiny your teeth look. Show them how happy you are to have a healthy, bright smile and once they have cleaned their own teeth encourage them to smile and show off their own healthy teeth.
Get Kids to Participate in Tooth Brushing
Get them involved in tooth brushing by making sure they pick out the type of toothbrush they’d like to use, from the huge range of child friendly toothbrushes now available and allow them to pick out their own toothpaste. Even if kid oriented flavors seems revolting to you, if it encourages your child to get brushing then it’s well worth it. If your child is old enough, allow them to squeeze out the toothpaste onto their toothbrush so that this increases their participation in brushing. Make sure they don’t use too much toothpaste so you may need to scrape off the excess. If they are old enough to begin brushing their teeth on their own, guide their hand with your own as they brush so they can feel the correct movements they need to make.
Use a Chart and Stickers as a Reward System
Setup a chart showing how often your child brush is their teeth. Use brightly colored stickers or gold stars that they can place on the chart every time they brush.
Ask Us for Help
You’ll find that pediatric dentists are extremely good in helping to encourage young children to brush correctly. We can explain to your child the importance of brushing thoroughly at least twice a day and can show them how to brush properly in a way that is very easy for them to understand. Sometimes it can be simpler when these instructions come from a third party rather than from a parent who may have faced an uphill battle over tooth brushing for some months.
