How to make your child want to brush their teeth

Convincing your children of the importance of good oral hygiene will help lay the foundation for a healthy lifetime habit they will thank you for one day.

Four Top Tips experts recommend:

Get a Routine Going

More often than not, a child will do the opposite of what you tell them. Being rebellious can be a natural part of learning to be independent. However, most children respond well to having a routine that provides structure to their days and makes them feel secure.Brushing their teeth needs to become one of the morning and nightly tasks along with eating, getting dressed, taking a bath and so on. If you can successfully slot in brushing teeth into this routine, it will soon become part of their daily schedule. The following tips may help with integration.

Play some Music

Most children love listening to music and dancing. A great way to make anything seem fun is if you attach a theme song to it. This will help them relax while brushing their teeth, something which often feels unnatural or perhaps even scary to a child. By linking the joy of music and dance with brushing their teeth, it may allow them to associate this process as an enjoyable experience. There are even electric toothbrushes that play music!

Roleplaying

Children love using their imagination in any event. If you make up a little story surrounding brushing their teeth, it will make it seems like an exciting quest that they will be only too happy to engage in. Perhaps tell them that their teeth are actually magical diamonds that were gifted to us by a magical fairy so that we can eat our food, and it is our job to look after them or she will be very sad.

Buying the Right Toothbrush and Toothpaste

Your child’s aversion to brushing their teeth might be because they hate the taste of their toothpaste, or for some other reason such as the design of their toothbrush does not feel comfortable in their mouths, or they don’t like its colouring. Encourage them to explain if there’s anything that worries them about brushing, so you can work out ways to address their concerns. For example, taking them shopping for a new toothbrush, and allow them to handpick whichever one is the most attractive. Or asking them to help you shop online for a new toothpaste most likely to suit your child’s tastebuds.

These tips should definitely help in getting your kid closer towards a lifetime appreciation for oral hygiene and maintenance. The skills that we learn as youngsters stay with us forever. You know your child best, however, so try and edit these tips around their personalities.

The brushing tips parents need to know:

• Avoid any drinks before bedtime, other than water

• Don’t rinse after brushing, just spit out excess toothpaste, as this allows the fluoride to provide the best protection

• Use a soft, rounded toothbrush head, with an easy grip handle

• Use a timer to ensure brushing for the full recommended 2 minutes

• Supervise your children’s brushing until they are seven years old

• Use a toothpaste with the correct levels of fluoride for their age (see below). Although there is a recent trend for many parents to move away from fluoride towards more ‘natural’ products, fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral, found to offer the best protection for enamel

  
  
  
  

• NHS recommended fluoride levels:⦁ Under 3 years: a smear of toothpaste with > 1000 ppm fluoride⦁ 3-6 years: a pea-sized amount of toothpaste with > 1000 ppm fluoride⦁ Adults: 1350-1500 ppm fluoride