AIBU to let my 3 year old clean her own teeth?

[BarbaraVineFan]

My 3 year old DD has recently become very independent and determined to do everything herself. She wants to get herself dressed and undressed, pour her own cereal, put on her own shoes etc. All fine, I'm happy that she is so determined and perseveres even when she finds things hard.

But she is also really keen to clean her own teeth, and with that I'm not so sure. I am obviously with her while she does it, and I remind her to clean all the different areas of her mouth and to continue for the full 2 minutes, but I'm not sure if she is really cleaning properly and if I should be insisting on doing it for her? Do most 3 year olds clean their own teeth? It seems too young to me but I'm not sure.

I've let my son do his since he was 2.5 🤷 it's fine

I let dd brush her own teeth only before or after I brush them

Let her do it then you do a 2nd brush.

Our dentists advised us to do that until they were 7. Mine have lovely teeth no cavities.

Let her do it then you do a 2nd brush.

Our dentists advised us to do that until they were 7. Mine have lovely teeth no cavities.

Joint effort.

My 3.5 DD brushes her own teeth and has done for a good year or so. How else will they learn how to do it?! She’s good at brushing them, me or her dad supervise whilst she’s brushing and make it fun for her.

I look after a three year old, I let him brush his own teeth and then I finish them off for him, making it into a bit of a game "ooh, you've missed a cornflakes at the back" sort of thing. I think they need to have an adult brush them at least once a day at that age, so maybe you could let her do them in the morning and you give them a good brush before bed.

Listen to the Dentists. People saying it's fine haven't teleported to 2055 to know how their kids adult teeth are doing.

Her then you or the other way, whichever she prefers! But not solo.

They don’t have the dexterity to do it properly until they have the dexterity to tie their own shoelaces

Thanks everyone, I think you're right and I need to join in.somehow by doing them myself after or before her efforts!

Our dentist says they prefer parents to do it until they are six.

We mostly let our 4yo do it but every few days I get him to let me "help" and try and do a bit more of a thorough clean.

Actually DH lets the 1.5yo do his own too and I think this is crazy. I try and do a bit of his every day though I don't always get the same part of his mouth, I try to rotate it.

I’m pretty sure the advice is that children up to the age of 10 should be assisted with brushing.

There's zero chance I'd let my three year olds do their teeth alone. They get a go, then a parent does it properly.

Our 3.5yr old does with us supervising. She has a little egg timer too. She does a good job

I agree with others your DD brushes her teeth and you finish off. From memory children need supervison until 7/8.

Do yours at the same time as she does hers and make sure she mirrors you so she gets them all. Use a timer, it's fine.

It's nothing like getting dressed - if a child puts a t-shirt on inside out a) you can see it and b) it doesn't really matter. Whereas it's impossible to tell if they're cleaning teeth properly and it could have serious consequences if not done well enough.

Plus surely it's a learning thing about how it feels to actually brush thoroughly?

i can’t remember what the exact age recommendation is on the NHS website for tooth brushing but it’s at least 6 or 7 when you allow them to brush by themselves. I would fully encourage DD to brush her teeth but would insist on a second proper brush done by you.
All those saying they’ve let their kids brush their teeth by themselves since age 2 are doing their kids no favours in the long run - a two year old will not brush their teeth effectively enough.

YerAWizardHarry · Today 22:50
that’s what the dentist told my daughter. If she can tie her shoelaces herself she can brush her own teeth.

Dentists advise you brush teeth till they are 7/8

So let toddler do it

Then you do

As a 2/3 even 5/6 won't be able to brush them properly

I'd be doing it too. I do it first, then she does it, or the other way round.
People managing to do it for a full two minutes though. I wish!

Absolutely no way- of course it’s fine if she does them on her own and then you have a go before/ after. Or maybe if she does teeth more than twice, she could do one and you do the other. But if it’s only once a day an adult should definitely do it- how do you know she’s applying enough pressure or whether she’s just sucking a toothbrush? I was once in hospital with my DS and heard a doctor absolutely laying down the law with the parents of a young girl in the next bed who had had to have 8 tooth extractions (I also saw her in recovery which was horrific) and this was one of the things she mentioned. If you think she’s doing a good job, test it a few times with a disclosure tablet.

Let her start then you finish off till she’s seven.