Brushing your children's teeth

From the moment your baby cuts their very first tooth you embrace the task of keeping those precious smiles perfect. We all know that we need to brush those baby teeth at least two times a day, every day to ensure this. Sounds simple enough. Healthy diets and limiting sugary snacks is the easy part. As dentists we recommend parents make brushing their children’s teeth a part of their daily family routine when the child is a baby so that this becomes natural and accepted by the child early on. I often hear from parents, “my child doesn’t like it when I brush their teeth” or worse “my child won’t let me brush their teeth”. This is why starting this routine when that first tooth breaks through is key for success.

As a father to three small children I understand that you must choose your battles with your children. You would probably think being a dentist and being married to a dentist that we would never face these worries with our own kids. Not the case. There are days when it feels like you are trying to brush the teeth of a rabid raccoon. The struggle is real! You may need to be creative or use your best wrestling techniques to get the job done. Many parents shift the brushing responsibility to the child too early. A young child is not going to always do a good job at brushing, removing sticky fruit snacks from the groves of their first molars or spending adequate attention to their dental hygiene. It becomes a frustrating cycle for both the parent and the child when the child keeps getting cavities and the parent has to schedule and pay for dental visits. The best solution is for the parent to assume the role as the primary “Brusher and Flosser” and then let the child finishing up by also brushing. In the end it is definitely worth it. Preventing unhappy and expensive dental visits for your child is essential to guide the child on the road to a lifetime of good dental health.