Toddler Teeth Brushing Tips That Actually Work!
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Toddlers and children often avoid the task of brushing their teeth, whether it’s due to the task itself or the taste of the toothpaste. Perhaps there could be an underlying sensory concern too. Hence, you’ll need to find fun and exciting ways to brush a toddler’s teeth. That’s where these toddler teeth brushing tips come in handy!
Whether it’s the taste and/or smell of the toothpaste or the sensation of cold water hitting their teeth and faces, most toddlers and children don’t like brushing their teeth.
Helping your child brush their teeth on a daily basis is an important part of their hygiene.
There are numerous reasons as to why toddlers try to avoid brushing their teeth; as adults, we may also find ourselves incapable of understanding any of them. What you can do is come up with toddler tooth-brushing activities that are fun and exciting and much less demanding.
The sooner you teach your kids how they can enjoy brushing their teeth, the sooner they’ll adjust to the new task at hand.
Toddler Teeth Brushing Tips That Work
Here are some popular tips that most parents use to teach toddlers how to brush their teeth:
1. Using Music As Teaching Material
Try playing music or singing songs when you get your child to clean their teeth. This makes the task more enjoyable and even calming.
You might be wondering toddler teeth brushing how long does it take?
Well, you can use music as a timer to figure out exactly how long your child needs to brush for. This will come in handy to know if your child has not brushed for the recommended 2 minutes.
You can even teach your child how to brush teeth with an electric toothbrush by getting them a musical toothbrush. This will make the task of brushing more fun.
You can teach your child to start when the music plays and end when the music stops. If they brush their teeth to the music, reward them with a toy or lots of praise. This might just give them an incentive to do it regularly.
2. Teach Them Whilst Doing It
Unfortunately, you simply can’t just brush your toddler’s teeth for the rest of their life, but what you can do is guide them by example.
If you’re wondering what age toddlers brush their own teeth, it’s around the age of six (sometimes younger around 3 to 4 years of age).
However, you can (and should) start early as well. Since kids try to imitate their parents often — why not model it for them?
Take advantage of this fact and clean your teeth alongside them every day.
This way, you can teach them how to brush their teeth and eventually learn how to rinse as well. By watching your moves, your child may start imitating this behavior and make it a routine.
3. Pick A Tooth Paste The Tastes Good
Sometimes, a toddler may hate brushing their teeth because of how ‘yucky’ the toothpaste tastes.
So, it’s very important to pay attention to whether it’s the task of brushing teeth or the toothpaste that’s bothering them.
You can find many types of toothpaste that are specifically created for toddlers; apart from tasting good, they look appealing as well.
One tip, since most kids love fruit, you can try to find a toothpaste that resembles that taste, like this one!
4. Use Technology
Thanks to technology, you can download a fun app or get a toothbrush that pairs with an app to turn brushing into a super fun toddler brushing teeth game.
These apps are specifically designed to make brushing teeth a fun experience. These apps feature scenarios or games where the main character’s goal is to maintain good dental hygiene.
Since kids are so impressionable, they’ll want to do the same thing their favorite characters from the app are doing.
This will encourage them to clean their teeth every day or let you brush them if they’re still too young.
Nowadays, there’s an app for every baby gear and child equipment in the market; so why not utilize it to make your life easier?
5. Find The Right Kind Of Dentist
To maintain your child’s oral health and hygiene, you should take them to see a good dentist regularly. That’s why I suggest finding a specialist who works explicitly with children or is at least good at handling them.
Such a dentist will not only boost your child’s confidence but will also reduce their anxiety during dental checkup routines. You don’t have to look too far and wide for a good dentist either.
You can search for pediatric dentists online and check their ratings.
Nowadays, you can find reviews on any dental establishment registered on the internet.
You can also take to various social media platforms and see if anyone has raving reviews there as well.
If the majority of reviews and customer testimonials about a particular dentist are positive, then you should try to set up an appointment and take your child to see them.
If your child enjoys that experience or at least doesn’t find it scary, and you have no other complaints, then that dentist is the right one for you.
6. Brush One Another’s Teeth
Brushing teeth can be turned into a fun activity by letting your child brush your teeth.
This will not only amuse them but in the process, also teach them how to brush their own teeth properly.
Take turns brushing each other’s teeth as it will help you both grow closer to each other as well.
7. Let Your Child Pick Their Own Toothbrush
Take your child shopping and let them pick a toothbrush of their own choice.
These ones tend to be kid favorites:
Tell your kiddo that since they picked the brush on their own, it’s their responsibility to look after it and clean their teeth every day.
No matter which toothbrush they choose, they got to make the final decision. This way, it encourages them to look forward to brushing their teeth daily and also feel a sense of responsibility and accomplishment.
Conclusion (Toddler Tooth Brushing Tips)
Brushing one’s teeth is not a difficult task, but to a toddler, that’s a different story.
One way or another, your child will learn how to do it as everyone else in the family follows a similar routine.
However, by implementing the aforementioned tips, you can turn this task into a fun bonding experience.
We hope that this article has provided you with a better understanding of how to get your child to brush their teeth and proves to be helpful when it comes to implementing it.
There are many ways to brush a toddler’s teeth. What ways helped your toddler learn how to brush his or her teeth?? Let us know in the comments!
These are awesome teeth brushing tips for the kids! We are getting ready to see our pediatric dentist in Logan, UT soon so I am trying to teach our kids about the importance of taking care of their teeth. Thanks for sharing!!!