To think there’s a dereliction of duty if a child gets to 5 years old and doesn’t know how to brush their own teeth?

[TheCandidGoldJoker]

By the time a child is 5, shouldn’t they at least have the basic habit of brushing their own teeth? Of course, parents might still need to supervise and check but surely it’s part of raising a child to teach them fundamental self-care skills.

I’ve seen cases where kids start school without knowing how to do it themselves and I can’t help but feel it’s a bit of a failure on the parents’ part. Or am I being too harsh?

Teeth brushing is being pushed into early years education because of how children are entering school with poor oral hygiene. If a child attends nursery they will likely be brushing their teeth at least once a day.

People are still insistent on rinsing too. At least if they’ve brushed poorly and not rinsed, there’s some fluoride hanging about but brushed poorly and rinsed…

@TheCandidGoldJoker
What's your point other than to judge other people's parenting???

Official advice is parents do it until age 8.

I have a fucking fight every morning over toothpaste. My 8 yo hates it with a passion. I don't use toothpaste at night I can't cope with 2 fights every day.

If anyone knows of non foamy toothpaste please let me know

I think that unfortunately many children don’t see a dentist because of the lack of NHS dentists! My children went to Dentist as babies ,whereas my granddaughter goes because I am paying for her ….absolutely awful TBH .

A strange thing to make a parenting judgement on. In what situation would a 5 year old actually need to be able to brush their teeth themselves? Why 5, not 6 or 7?

Wiping their own bums, using cutlery, changing clothes - these are all useful things to be able to do at 5 as they need to do these things with away from their parents. Brushing teeth is not one of those things to me. Its nice if they can as it's one less thing to have to do as a parent but it's 4 minutes a day if they can't.

Look for SLS-free toothpastes. SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) is what creates the foam but it does not actually improve the effectiveness of toothpaste and many of us are sensitive to it. I also had issues with mouth ulcers all through childhood until I switched to SLS-free toothpastes.

My DC use Hello brand in our- they have several flavors in both fluoride & fluoride-free options. I use one of several sensodyne varieties that are SLS-free, and you can find lots of lists online.

The dentists in Australia firmly tell parents that they should be brushing their kids teeth until they are 8, kids don’t do it well enough. We let our 6 & 8 year olds brush their own mostly but also regularly do it for them too so they get properly cleaned. That’s also the advice that comes out to the kids in school and childcare when the dental checks come into the school, and send home parents some information. But you judge away!!

Nhs says you should brush your childrens teeth until they are 7 I think. I brush my 5yr olds, she’ll do it then I go over it for her.

NHS advice is children should start brushing their own teeth at seven. I would silenty judge a parent who was letting a 5 year old brush their own teeth without brushing them too.

Over 50% of children have SEN

Dentists do not advice for 5 year olds to brush their teeth by themselves! I know some are really dying for their children to be independant when they leave the womb but letting a 5 year old be responsible for their teeth on a regular basis is just crap parenting.

Our dentist recommended we brush u til the kids were 7.

To be honest, I consider it more of a dereliction to not brush them myself, even if my five year old has a go first.

I brushed my children teeth until ten (although they knew how to and would have a go) I’d say it’s worse to leave a child to brush their own teeth at such a young age.

I completely disagree. There’s no way I would have let my 5 year old brush her own teeth. It’s far too important a job to delegate to a child that age. Both dentists that we have seen have said adults should be brushing their teeth until age 6/7. By age 7 we started letting her occasionally brush her own under supervision.

You seem to be lumping teeth brushing in with other things that have made the headlines recently, that children should be able to do when they start reception. Like using a knife and fork and going to the toilet. But it’s not the same at all.

I brushed both my children's teeth for them, twice a day, until they were eight. That's what dentists recommend. A dentist friend of a friend brushed her own children's teeth for them until they were eleven.

Our dentist recommended we do it until 7 or 8, so I've just started having my 6 and 4 year old do it themselves once a day (before I do it). In the morning they have a quick go, but basically we do it. Their teeth are brushed and I'm following the guidance I was given. Personally, I think my childhood fillings were partly because I wasn't very good at brushing as a small child.

As many have already said, parents should be brushing their teeth for them at that age. I still brush for 7 year old DS but I'm trying to teach him how to do it himself in case he goes to summer camp this year, or goes to sleepovers but I'll continue to the majority of brushing for as long as he lets me (which i imagine will be a long time because he loves our teeth brushing routine as it involves lots of cuddles and he is a very cuddly child!)

This. Dentists advise parents to brush until 7 as young kids don’t reach all teeth or brush for a full 2 minutes. It’s the opposite of neglect!

Im more shocked that some parents allow little kids to brush their own teeth - probably sucking the toothpaste off before using, rushing the brushing and barely getting the back teeth.

How are you related to this child? Do you have DC yourself?
It is unusual for a 5 year old to brush teeth unsupervised.

My dc have dental issues they are born with. We brush their teeth and dentist told us that we need to carry on until secondary at least to ensure they are properly cleaned. Apparently most children don't even develop the dexterity required to do it themselves until around 8.

Dentist always told me to brush until 7. Pretty sure I was brushing till around 8/9!

I’ve checked this with our dentist many times and they’ve always said they should start themselves at 7, adult supervision after that point so that’s what we’ve gone with!

At 5 I still brushed dcs teeth in the evening. They knew how to and would in the morning but I would before bed because they could not do it properly. Any dentist would also say that 5 year old should not be doing it by themselves, mine even said he brushes his at 9 as its better than cavities.

It's much better parenting than letting a 5 year old do a shit job and get tooth decay.

According to multiple dentists I’ve asked, you’re meant to brush their own teeth until they can do their shoe laces…… so DS is 10 and I still have a go on his gnashers because he just cannot do his own laces. Obviously he can brush his own teeth but I still supervise. I think the laces thing is obviously once you’ve got the dexterity for that, developmentally you’re old enough to be trusted to do your teeth properly. But hey.

Teeth is probably the least of a school’s concerns. Some kids piss themselves, fall asleep, don’t know not to beat others up, can’t wash their own hands, even in years 1 & 2.