Brushing The Toddler’s Teeth

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Being a parent is the busiest job you’ll ever have! Among the many things you teach your child, it is important to teach them how to maintain good dental hygiene. Our oral health is directly linked to our overall health.

 

To make sure your child’s teeth are healthy, it is advised you ‘start early’.  By ‘early’ we mean you start brushing teeth for kids as soon as they erupt so that your toddler gets used to the routine too!


Though some dentists advise you to wait till your child turns 2 or 3 years old, you must begin oral hygiene measures for your child even before their teeth erupt. When your child is still an infant, clean your child’s gums with a soft, damp washcloth after every feeding episode.

Dentists
advise the use of baby toothbrush as soon as your child’s first tooth erupts. You can use a soft baby brush and place a pea-sized amount of low-fluoride toothpaste on it for brushing teeth for kids.


But, what happens as your kids grow up? Well, it is not easy to get your kids to brush their teeth, is it? You will have to patiently make your way through a long list of pranks and tantrums of trying to get your child to brush.


If you are wondering how to get your child to brush their teeth, we’ve got a list of things you could try to make your child’s brushing and flossing a fun, regular habit.

  • Be a Good Role Model- Whether you accept it or not, you are your child’s first and most important role model. They look up to you for every big or small thing and copy as the parents do. Yes, brushing teeth for kids while they are still very young is expected from parents. But, as they grow up, they need to be taught how to brush their teeth too.
    However, just teaching them to brush their teeth isn’t enough to get them to do it. As a parent, you must practise what you preach! When your child sees you brushing and flossing twice a day, he/she is more likely to follow suit and take oral hygiene seriously. It is a great idea to make brushing teeth and flossing a family affair so your child finds it fun yet essential at the same time.
  • The Toothbrushing Game- Sometimes, you brushing and flossing your teeth isn’t enough to get your toddler to do so. Many parents, to save time, end up brushing teeth for kids. But, this isn’t the right thing to do.
    You must inculcate in your child the importance of brushing their teeth. One interesting and fun way to do this is by making toothbrushing a fun game! Play your toddler’s favourite song while they are brushing and flossing and tell them they must finish brushing right when the song gets over. This way they will spend a good 1-2 minutes brushing their teeth.
    Another fun suggestion on how to get your child to brush their teeth is to set up a timer and tell your child that they must finish brushing their teeth by the time the buzzer ticks off!
    While these are just suggestions, tap into your creative mind and come up with some exciting games to encourage toddler toothbrushing.
  • Reward Your Child: Where there is a game, there must be a reward! And kids love gifts and prizes, don’t they? Every time your toddler brushes his/her teeth, reward them. Instead of brushing teeth for kids, rewards act as a motivation for them to brush by themselves.
    You can give them stickers, pocket money, a fun snack the next day, or their choice of a bedtime story. The list of rewards is endless but the end result answers the worry of ‘How to get kids to brush their teeth’ that all parents have.
  • A Story Goes a Long Way: Toddlers and young kids are very intrigued by stories. They love being told stories during bedtime or while eating their meals. How about a story while they brush their teeth?
    You can tell them stories about their favourite character, or animal or some fantasy characters to that entices them to comply while brushing. This helps when you are brushing teeth for kids while they are still young and even after they grow up, and brush their own teeth.
    You could also play a video of your toddler’s favourite character or show while they brush their teeth to get them to do so!
  • Make it a Routine: When they are young toddlers, you end up brushing teeth for kids. When they grow older, you make sure they brush their teeth and floss every day. It is this ‘every day’ that makes oral hygiene a routine practise.
    Inculcating a habit takes a shorter time when kids are young as compared to doing the same in an adult. No matter if it is a school day, the weekend or a vacation trip, brushing teeth for kids and getting them to brush and floss their teeth must be second nature to both you and your child.
    When it becomes a routine, your child is more likely to follow it all throughout their life.
    Many homes are witness to the regular tantrums and fights over brushing teeth. But, with some fun ways and right methods, oral hygiene can become a life-long virtue for your child and keep him/her steer clear of tooth problems.
    Do not forget to take your child to the dentist when his/her first tooth erupts and thereafter, after every six months!

Have queries about how to brush toddler teeth, how to clean your baby’s teeth or any other related to tooth brushing and flossing? Drop by our Sabka Dentist clinic closest to you and our team of dental experts will help you out!

Expert opinion

  • Dr. Rupali Gujar Dental Director of Sabka dentist says “Oral hygiene for kids begins in infancy, even before their first teeth appear.”
  • Dr. Preethi Nagarajan Dental Director of Sabka dentist says “Brushing teeth for kids when they are toddlers is the best way to set a routine for oral hygiene for the child.”
  • Dr. Reena Waghela Dental Director of Sabka dentist says “Being a good role model to your child and practising what you preach goes a long way in developing the habit of brushing and flossing twice a day.”

References

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77 thoughts on “Brushing The Toddler’s Teeth

  • Janak thanth

    Actually a great informative for parents nd vary helpful to maintain oral hygiene spacially in childrens

    View all 1 replies
    • Aayushi

      yes true, parents must put a habit in their children so that they can take good care of their oral hygiene

  • Anusha

    Tooth brushing was always a difficult task to do for a child. Thank you for this article sabka dentist.

  • Bhavana tripathi

    Teaching the ideal way of Brushing to toddlers is a good way to teach them to maintain good oral hygiene for rest of their life.

  • Dr.Jaya

    Toughest job to teach them so worth reading it.

  • Aayushi

    maintaining oral hygiene from an early age will be really effective at later stage

    View all 1 replies
    • Dr. Vishva patel

      So important n helpful for new moms to maintain their kids oral hygiene

  • Vijaya P

    I tried to use the story method for my 4 year kid after reading ur blog and to my surprise he is motivated for it

  • Dr Manisha

    Very much enlightening article for new parents on how to maintain teeth of their toddlers

  • Minakshi tambe

    Good information

    View all 1 replies
    • Pooja Shah

      Worth reading for parents of kiddo… Helpful tips given..

      View all 1 replies
      • Ishani

        Must read for every parent..very good information

  • Avani telange

    Very nice ??

  • Tasneem

    Teaching the ideal way of Brushing to toddlers is a good way to teach them to maintain good oral hygiene for rest of their life.

  • Mohini

    Must read for all parents

  • Informative blog.

    View all 1 replies
    • Saudah Gulati

      A must read for every parent! great information

  • Chaithra G

    Informative and useful blog!

  • Rohan Subramaniam

    Good read for Parents …

  • Apeksha vaghani

    Helpful information to maintain oral hygiene

  • Madhura K

    Very useful article especially for learning proper brushing technique for kids.

  • Manali Pandya

    Common issue faced by parents, thankyou for sharing these

  • Nirali shah

    Very well explained !

  • Dr.Jaya

    Very useful technique for kids.

  • Drsachi

    Useful article for parents..

  • Namrata Dharmadhikari

    Nicely explained thank you

  • Dr Swapna Randive

    Very nice

  • Aditi Joshi

    Very helpful article.

  • Nidhi

    very well explained for parents…cz it is very difficult to maintain oral hygiene in children

  • Ankita Aggarwal

    Good oral habits start from childhood. Great tips provided in the article

  • Heena

    Good oral hygiene for kids

  • Sachin

    Very well explained..nice article.

  • Ankita D

    This information is very much needed for present time. Everything is well explained and researched.

  • Shreya dharia

    Very helpful article to maintain oral hygiene of kids

  • Chitra

    A must read article for parents. Very well
    Explained

  • Dhreya

    Parents!! Article for you to avoid day to day struggles to maintain ur child‘s teeth …
    Here are some amazing tips to overcome this…….

    View all 1 replies
    • Redes

      Start with letting them select their own toothbrush when buying.

  • Antima Saxena

    A great article for new parents. What a fun way to teach kids a proper brushing technique and establish a positive brushing habit. Will definitely forward this article to my family and friends who have young kids.

  • Shaziya

    Now here is something every parent should know. Nicely explained as how to take care of teeth in small children who find it a difficult task to brush

  • Pragati karekar

    Nice

  • Hiral Mehta

    Great article for all parents

  • Megha

    Helpful for parents to make the child learn the habit in the correct way at this age only.

  • Apurva

    Helpful article

  • Divya shah

    It is very helpful for parents and also protect kid for tooth decay..

    View all 1 replies
    • Pooja sawant

      Every parent should read and follow these steps to maintain oral hygiene in toddlers.
      Thankyou for information

  • Kruti

    To make a child brush teeth properly can be a difficult task. This article is really helpful.

  • Heni Shah

    Brushing teeth is usually not given much importance during early days, hence a great article for bringing awareness amongst parents for protection of their toddlers’ teeth.

  • Shraddha

    One of the difficult task to do, must read for new parents.

  • Dr.Aanal

    Very well explained as parenting is very much essential in making learn your children brushing techniques and oral hygiene measures

  • Dr. Nidhi H Patel

    informative

  • Akshata shah

    Difficult job to make toddlers brush hence with such tricks and fun it would make parenting easy.

  • Dipika

    Good tips and tricks for new parents … Nice article

  • Janak thanth

    Very helpful article for new parents and good tips are nicely explained.

  • Arpit Sharma

    Being a father myself, this article solves majority of my concerns. Thanks.

  • Kinjal engineer

    Teaching a toddler tooth brushing is a very tough job but this article gave many ways to make the task easy

  • Suunny

    Nice article

  • Sigi

    Must read for all parents.

    View all 1 replies
    • Seema

      Very helpful article in teaching a child the brushing habit.

  • Shaheda manjothi

    Great and important tips for all the parents

  • Vallari

    It’s a big task to make toddlers brush their teeth. Very well explained. Thanks Sabkadentist

  • Anusha

    What an innovative and creative idea to get toddlers brush their teeth. Simply amazing! Mothers tried telling them stories and make it a routine and they says it works.

  • Kanchan karad

    Childs toothbrushing is always very difficult task during growing years of life…thank you sabka dentist for this article…

  • Dhwani Dave

    It is important to take care of your teeth from starting to avoid many problems. Nice article

  • Adwiti

    A topic most common people are unaware of. Very nicely explained

  • Vaishnavi

    The information given in this article is very useful as it is essential for the parents to know how to get their children into keeping good oral hygiene from the very beginning. Well explained article

  • Sejal

    Great parenting tips!!

  • Mahajabin

    It is a great article about inculcationg good oral hygiene habits since childhood..must start taking care of teeth as soon as one sees it…

  • Bhavana tripathi

    Very important article for all parents to teach their children to maintain their oral hygiene.

  • Priyanka Gulati

    Great tips

  • Needa

    Very important for kids to know how to maintain oral hygiene from an early age, very informative article.

  • Nashra

    Nice article must read this blog.

  • Almas

    Very informative. It can help parents to come up with some ideas to maintain their kids oral hygiene

  • Zita

    Tough job getting our kids to brush . Very useful tips !

  • Ruqaya shah

    I’ve a niece in my house who throws tantrums on brushing… Very well explained how to make toddlers brush their teeth and keep their oral hygiene better. Keep updating such articles.

  • Rhythm shah

    Good tips for new parents . I will forward this article to all new parents in my group.

  • Krutika

    Very important to maintain oral hygiene in children.
    Good tips given for the same.

  • Virali Ambavi

    Every new parents should read this informative article as to how to handle toddlers with their teeth.

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