Brushing teeth is a valuable skill that you need to foster as soon as possible. After all, do you want to have to brush your child’s teeth forever? Heck no! But when to start the transition to you doing it and them doing it by themselves is important, both for their own confidence and for them learning good habits. Most experts agree that this is between 2 and 3 years of age.
Hopefully, you have been having your child watch you brush your teeth at least once a day in the evening right before you brushed theirs. Continue having them watch but start giving them tips, like you hold the toothbrush, what angle to brush at, what motion to use, and for how long.
As you know, the best way to brush a toddler’s teeth is for you to kneel and have them stand in front of you facing towards a mirror. Then you gently press their head against you while you brush their teeth. When you think they are ready, start having them hold the toothbrush while you guide their hand, letting them feel the proper angle and motion (small, gentle, circular movements). Teach them a pattern that covers all their teeth in an order they can repeat, such as: bottom left, bottom front, bottom right, top left, top center, top right. Make sure they do both inside and outside. And teach them to spit out the toothpaste instead of swallowing it.
Once your child has begun to brush their own teeth, it is important to continuously check their skill and reward their progress. Here are some tips for both:
- Use a doll, action figure or stuffed animal to help teach the importance of brushing and to practice toothbrushing skills.
- Alternate brushing – you brush their teeth in the morning, and they brush them at night.
- Let them pick their own toothbrush and toothpaste at the store.
- Use a timer or hum a song to make sure they are brushing for long enough, minimally 2 minutes.
- Every so often check their thoroughness by using disclosing tablets, chewables that turn any remaining plaque red, so they can see how well they are doing.
- Make a chart to track progress, like Kalvin and Kaiser’s mommy did in Kalvin and Kaiser’s Very Busy Day.
Kalvin always brushes his teeth twice a day!
