Brushing your child’s teeth
AdventureDad | February 28
I think I speak for everyone when I say that we all want our children to grow up with nice teeth, no gum disease, and only a few (if any) cavities. By teaching your child how to take care of his/her teeth you are giving a gift for life and it will not require more than a couple of minutes a day. Not to mention the (tens of ?) thousands of dollars you will be saving by not constantly going to the dentist.
What do I know about teeth? Not much but both my parents are retired dentists and taught me early on to brush my teeth twice a day and have decent eating habits. Nothing more groundbreaking or advanced than this is usually necessary to avoid those anxiety filled visits to the dentist. Does this really work ? I’m turning 40 this year and haven’t had a single cavity in my teeth. Same with my slightly younger sister. So what can you do to give you child a good start with his/her teeth? Start at an early age, make it fun habit, be consistent, and establish good eating habits.
– Start early. It’s never too early to start brushing. Don’t wait until your child is three years old, everything will be a lot more difficult by then. You can start as soon as you see one little tooth peaking out. At this point you are naturally not doing any real brushing, just letting your child feel the brush in his/her mouth and play around with it. Keep the brush handy when the teeth are itchy and let your child bite on it.
– Have fun. You want your child to look forward to brushing twice a day so come up with some creative ideas. Play a game, sing a song, play with water, or brush the teeth of the favorite doll/bear/truck at the same time. It’s crucial to make it fun at this stage. If your child is protesting, have some patience and try at a later time. You’re just trying to move the brush around the mouth for a few seconds in the early stages and then build on that. I strongly discourage you from forcing your child at any point. You want him/her to have a fun and positive feeling about brushing.
– Make it a habit. I can’t emphasize this enough. This is the most important part. If you make brushing a habit early on it will be as natural as eating and your child stand a very good chance of having healthy teeth. Experiment with what suits your family best but try to establish a morning and evening routine. Right after breakfast/dinner, right before sleeping, or before getting dressed in the morning, etc. Whatever works best. Try to brush right before your child goes to sleep if possible. Doing the nighttime brushing at 3 pm will not be a waste but certainly not as effective as later in the evening. Some people recommend brushing after each and every meal but I think that’s going way too far. It’s difficult to remember and hard to follow in real life. If you are concerned about this, spend some extra time brushing morning and night. Unless your child develop some unusual teeth problems later in life, two minutes morning and night should be the absolute maximum.
–Toothbrush. Choose a soft brush made especially for kids. There are lots of different choices so you might want to experiment a little. Brushes with fun colors or themes like Disney usually work well. Rinse the brush in warm water before you start brushing. It will feel much more comfortable for your child.
– Toothpaste. Buy a mild toothpaste for kids that has a nice taste. This could also take a bit of experimenting until you find the perfect match. Make sure you choose a toothpaste that contains fluoride. This is very important. Fluoride strengthens the enamel of the teeth and helps to protect against caries. Use generous amounts of toothpaste. Do not rinse your child’s mouth when you’re done brushing. This is a common mistake. You want the fluoride to remain in the mouth for as long as possible. You don’t have to worry about your child swallowing toothpaste. It’s completely harmless in normal amounts. If your child eats a whole tube or two while you’re having a “private” moment with your spouse doing the dishes, call your pediatrician for advice. Otherwise there is no need to worry.
– Brushing technique. At an early age you can basically forget about how to brush your child’s teeth. Focus instead on a good routine and making it a fun habit. As your child grows you need to pay more attention. Basics are that you need to brush the inside of the teeth, the outside, and also the chewing surfaces. Use small movements and brush near the root of the teeth to also clean the gum. The most hard to reach areas are naturally the most problematic. This is usually in between teeth or in the very back. Try to spend a little extra time in those areas.
– Eating habits. Every time your child eats or drinks something, acid forms in the mouth and this lasts for about thirty minutes. This powerful acid eats away at the surface of the teeth. It’s very important not to have your child eat snacks all day long. It doesn’t matter if the snacks are healthy or not. Drinking sugary soft drinks, eating cookies, or eating fruit, etc. constantly throughout the day will lead to problems. It’s far more important for your teeth to get a break in between meals than to worry about sugar content etc. Having some sugar or candy will not destroy your child’s teeth, constant snacks/sugar drinks will. In case you wonder what a soft drink like Coca Cola does to your child’s teeth you can do a little experiment. Pour a glass of Coca Cola, drop a dirty penny in there, and let it sit overnight. Look at the penny in the morning and then imagine what it will do to your teeth.
—Some people have emailed and asked about dental visits for children so I have added a short note about that—
– Dental visits. This advice will vary depending on what country you live in but at my current location, Sweden, first visits are scheduled at age 3. Dental care is free until age 19 and this might unfortunately cause parents living in other countries to schedule later visits because of financial constraints. Even if your child has few problems in his/her life, annual visits are always helpful. Your dentist will be able to see how well your child (or you) is brushing and advice you of potential problem areas, like braces. The most important thing is that your child is comfortable with visiting your dentist. I know that a restraint device is occasionally used in some countries but I recommend you to never use this approach unless it’s a life and death situation. Being terrified of the dentist is a feeling you never want your child to have. Being scared to death at an early age will make dental care extremely difficult and the anxiety will most likely stay with your child for a very long time. Start with quick visits at an early age and talk to your child about what’s going on. Like brushing, be creative and find an approach that works with your child.
