What age did you/will you brush your children's teeth until?

[Elliebobhobnob]

Or at least supervise them?

I think read that children should never be left to clean their own teeth before age 7 minimum. They might to do a bit of course but an adult needs to do it too.

After that I suppose you have to see what their individual abilities are. My daughter is only three but I cannot imagine a 7 year old doing a very consistent job without supervision and a bit of help!

But I’m a dental hygienist with a child with ADD. Child refused to brush so I did it - it’s non negotiable In my house The other two were 10 ish. But I still supervised until they refused to let me in the bathroom when they were in the bath/ shower After 13/14 they had to do it themselves I still replace toothbrushes every 3 months and we all use disclosing tablets and floss

Thanks.

My ds is 8 but has hyper mineralisation so could be more prone to decay.

We have him brush his own teeth in the morning (supervised) and we do them for him before bed.

Have been told that we shouldn't still be brushing his teeth and that we are babying him.

I'd like to brush them for my 4 year old but she often point blank refuses. I can't physically force her to open her mouth so I let her do it.

Both morning and bed time - probably around 8 I think.

After that I let them brush their teeth in the morning, but I carried on doing the bedtime brush until they were around 10 or 11.

Told by who? A dentist or dental hygienist? Or a meddling relative or friend?

BTW my desist said ideally children should have their teeth brushed by an adult until they are 12.

Around 10 particularly the evening brush. I still sometimes have to remind my youngest now who's 14!

Until they are least 8 you should be going around them after they have brushed. After that at least check and send them back if it’s not done properly .

Below this get they do not have the dexterity to brush by themselves and I’ve lost count of the number of young children I’ve had to fill or take back teeth out of because they just haven’t brushed back there and parents have not been brushing there themselves. Tooth decay is the number one reason for hospitalisation in under 8s.

I still do DS7’s and tbh he does such a half-arsed job when unsupervised, I’ll probably be doing it until he’s 18.

Following this thread.

My 7 year old hates having his teeth brushed, has for years now it's the big bi daily fight in this household. If I don't watch him do it he will not do it.
Not sure when this ends but it's straight up been about five years now

@Vinvertebrate word for word what you said!

Well, my six year old barely manages a swipe of the toothbrush across his teeth when left to do it himself, so I imagine I'll be doing it some years yet.

TBH I remember discovering I had terrible plaque on my back teeth via a disclosing tablet in early secondary school (probably Y7), so I definitely wasn't brushing them properly then.

Skim read the title and was going to suggest that a toddler was a bit young for a manicure 💅 😂

Sorry wrong tooth brushing thread!

These comments really surprise me. I don't remember a time anyone brushed my teeth. I was definitely doing them completely by myself by age 7. Never had any filling or problems with my teeth. That said I think it is a good thing to be on teeth brushing. I see no problem with an adult brushing a child's teeth throughout primary years.

OP you are definitely not babying him, it’s completely fine to be helping at that age.

Besides that, rather too much attention than the opposite. Whatever gets the job done. He’s not going to be like Prince Charles not knowing how to put toothpaste on the brush at 19, or whatever the story was…😁

Still doing my 5yos and will be for a long time. 8yo does her own but is doing a pretty good job according to the dentist so happy to continue as we are. If the dentist had flagged any issues we’d be still supervising. I want to get some disclosing tablets to hammer the point. There are lots of areas where I’m big on independence but tooth brushing and appropriate car seats are not areas I’m keen to rush.

I have to stand over my 9 year old and remind her to actually do every tooth or she'll just hold the brush in her mouth, she does have ASD though. I'll do it for her when she asks ( usually if she's particularly tired in the evening).
12 year old won't let me in the bathroom with him but dentist raised no concerns so guess he's fine doing it himself.

I think I last got DS1 in a headlock to do his teeth when he was about 12
He was a total toothbrush and soap dodger for years so I did them until he was as big as me! There followed a few terrible years when I suspect his toothbrish never got wet. Then he discovered girls and the tooth brushing resumes (along with a lot of Lynx Africa)
Amazingly he has nice white healthy teeth as an adult!

It's absolutely weird to brush your child's teeth if they are 4 +.Teach them how to do it themselves

Most children don't have the dexterity (and often the patience) to brush their own teeth properly for two solid minutes.

It's recommended to do it for them alongside teaching them to do it themselves until at least 7. Our dentist said nearer 10 is better.

I still do my six year old’s. With my eight year old, I mainly do them myself but get him to do them occasionally as I was told by the dentist to have him start brushing his own teeth from 8. Contrary to other posters, I always make sure I do the morning brush so he doesn’t have smelly breath at school! He probably brushes his own around two evenings a week. He doesn’t show any desire for independence on this front - quite happy for me to do it all for him!

No it’s not. I’m guessing your kids don’t visit the dentist or hear their advice then as they’d disagree with you.

My 8yo does it himself in the mornings but I do it every evening. Hygienist compliments the results, and no new fillings for 2 years since I started doing it.
Before that he was doing it himself that resulted in 3 fillings by 6.

Had no idea so many people do it as well :))