Toothbrushing Toddler Tips

I brush my teeth with my 2 year old, I remind her up and down, side to side. It seems to help. AFter she gets done then I do a quick one over on her teeth, just so if she missed any part of her teeth...then she still feels like a big girl, sometimes I let her "go back over mommy's"

My 3 year old always wants to brush his teeth too, he finds it a privledge rather than a chore...I take advantage of this and tell him if he'll let me brush first then he gets to brush his own afterwards...has worked so far!!! ;)

Hi M.!
I have a 2 yr old girl and 4 yr old boy, and both want to brush their own teeth-so I let then, but afterwards they have to let me play dentist to check for any "sugar bugs" that may be hiding. When they ask I also show them what the big bad "sugar bugs" did to mommy's teeth when she didn't brush good enough.
Jen

I HAVE A 8 YR OLD AND A 3 YR OLD AND I SOLVED THAT PROBLEM BY BUYING 3 TOOTHBRUSHES FOR EACH. i KNOW IT SEEMS STUPID BUT I WANTED THEM TO HAVE FUN AND SEE IT AS NOT SUCH A BIG THING. THEY HAD A TOOTHBRUSH THEY PLAYED WITH IN THE TUB AND ONE THEY COULD PLAY WITH DURING THE DAY AND THEN ONE THAT THEY ACTUALLY HAD TO KEEP WITH THE REST OF OURS. AS FAR AS GETTING EVERYWHERE I GENERALLY BRUSHED THEIR TEETH FIRST AND THEN LET THEM DO IT BY GOING BACK OVER THE TEETH THAT I BRUSHED ALREADY OR VICE VERSA - I WOULD LET THEM BRUSH THEN I WOULD GO BACK OVER THEM. AS MY DAUGHTERS DENTIST TOLD ME THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO ESTABLISH THEM TO BRUSH THEIR TEETH HOW THEY DO IT AT THIS POINT ISNT REALLY A BIG DEAL BECAUSE THEY WILL LOSE ALL THESE TEETH ANYWAYS.

just make sure they brush right when their permanent teeth grow in and make sure they dont brush too hard.

Hi M.,
At our dentist visit he recommended that the child brushes his/her own teeth in the morning with direction and/or assistance and the parent brushes in the evening so it is done thoroughly before bed. I thought about an electric toothbrush, but I am not sure what the dentist thinks about that....
Good luck,
P.

We sing the same short song to our son while we brush his teeth (usually ABC's) and then when we are done we let him brush all by himself. It let's him do it on his own, but us the peace of mind that it was done right the first time. Our son is almost two and we have been doing this since before he was 18 mos.

M. with all my children I would brush their teeth then let them brush so that they can get used to brushing and they see how I brush their teeth that they eventually follow and did the same thing. Right now I have a daughter who just turned three and I've been brushing her teeth for her but I plan to let her brush too. I have 5 children 18,15,9,3,6months old. 4boys and 1 girl. So that is basically what I did with them and eventually they brushed on their own. As they got older I would examine their teeth and tell them where they missed a spot and have them brush there. I hope that I was some help. Take care and God bless you and your family.

We do the same kind of thing with our 2 year old. They love to do what you do, so one of us brushes our teeth at the same time he does his. Then we let him brush our teeth a bit and we brush his.

Good luck!

I have a 2 and 4 year old. I let them brush first because they have to learn, then I brush behind them. Works well, and so far all good check ups at the dentist. Good luck!

well heres what i do i have a 20 month old and a 5 year old i do the brushing at night mostly but the mornings i let them so they can learn my 5 year old does it both times by herself but every once in awhile i go back after her and do it some moremake it a game while brushing their teeth sing a song thats the lenth you should brush your teeth you can start off with a short one but then go to a longer one
T.

Here's what we do with our 2-year-old:

1. She brushes her own teeth (all by herself) in the morning when we do ours.
2. In the evening, Mommy gets a turn to brush her teeth first (making sure they get done well), then she gets a turn with the toothbrush to try herself.

We talked to our pedtrn about it and she said the most critical brushing is the evening one b/c of the change in saliva production during sleep.

Hope you find this helpful!

Hi M.,

I have 2 boys, ages 4 and 5 1/2. Since they were little, we'd ask them "who goes first?" That was how we let them choose if we brushed their teeth and they finished them up or if they brushed their teeth and we checked them with a final once over. As they got older, they always go first, but that way, we didn't have to fight over them learning and us making sure their teeth were clean. When we do our part, we tell them what a great job they did and sometimes suggest they need to be careful to brush _________ a little better tomorrow.

Good luck!!

Let them brush their teeth first, then you finish up the job for them. It takes time and coordination to learn how to properly brush teeth. Also, you can ask your dentist for special tabs your older daughter can let dissolve in her mouth and it will turn her teeth red. The dye will be all gone from her teeth when she has brushed correctly. it is a great visual aide. The two year old is probably too young for this.

I am not sure where, but I have seen tooth brushing timers that you turn on and the girls brush until it stops. If you cannot find one on line, then you could just use a regular timer. They think of it as a game.
R.

We have 4 yr old boy twins and a 2 yr old girl! They brush with just water while my husband gets the bath water ready then they each take a turn and Mommy or Daddy brushes their teeth with childrens toothpaste. In the morning I let them brush by themselves, we have a little sand timer and they love to tip it and brush till it's done. Good Luck!