Teeth brushing

[Kellog88]

My son has just turned 4. I'm a dental nurse. I just wondered at what age did you all start letting your children brush their own teeth more? I let my son 'try' every now and again time dependant but I still do the vast majority to make sure thryre done enough. Obviously being in the job I am I'm very particular about this. I just wondered what others were doing with their children of a similar age?

NHS advice says from 7 supervised. My 6 year old sometimes brushes her own teeth.

Yes I know when they need to be supervised up until as I say I'm a dental nurse. I just wondered what other mums with similar age children were doing about how much they let their little ones 'have a go'. Thanks.

Just turned 4

You can let them brush every time and then just ‘finish off’ surely to help them practice :D

Dd was 7 when she first had a go.

she’s nearly 10 and I brush her teeth every night and she does them in the morning.

the dentist recommended this due to over crowding and her teeth being difficult to clean.

I try and swish it round their mouth so all the teeth get covered and then I let them do it themselves. No issues with teeth, apart from one who grinds his down in his sleep.

Since my son was about 2. We do your turn, my turn for a count of 10 and then repeat a few times. Except I count his turn lightning fast each time and mine very slowly!

Mine are 2 and 4 and they have a go themselves every day and then me or DH ‘just checks to make sure they’re clean’. 4yo uses an electric toothbrush, and 2yo will get one when he turns 3.

Both of mine have always had their own turns at brushing their teeth, as I can't see it doing any harm. I have just adjusted my brushing accordingly, so for dd(2) I still brush fully on top of whatever else she does, whereas for dd (7) she brushes in the morning and I do about 90 secs at night and she does the rest.

In our house, the 2 year old has a go but basically we brush. The 6 (almost 7) year old brushes supervised in the morning and at bedtime we finish off.

Thanks peeps. Good tips with letting them do their bit first then I finish off. That's kind of what I do now when we have time. I like the idea of once a day let them do it then once a day I do it too, will try that!

Our dentist advises 8 but I do still give them a cursory going over after they've had a go.

We do this. DC aged 2 and 5. They do morning brush, though I always help 2 yo, and then I do a 'proper' brush at bedtime. Mostly do it this way as we are time compromised in the mornings, so the more they can do independently, the better! 🙈

My just turned 5 year old starts the brushing and gets the Big Bugs off. I then get all the Little Bugs, takes me two minutes every time thanks to the sand timer we have.

You do it together

Let them go first and then you do it.
Or vice versa

4 year old we brush his teeth.
6 (7 in September) has now been promoted to brushing in the morning & we brush in the evenings.
No adult teeth yet though!

@MonkeyPuddle 'big bugs and little bugs'
.. very cute :)

So it seems personal preference really, everyone's doing different things, just what we each feel more comfortable with isnt it for our little ones. Thanks for all your input appreciate it #alwayslearning :)

SHAMELESSLY jumping on this thread for some professional advice! my two year old HATES it, throws the brush - weve tried letting her pick the brush, apply her own toothpaste, sing it front of a mirror, pretend to brush dollys teeth or let her try and brush mine, and everytime she lobs it. She used to be fine but this has been months now and I end up having to pin her down to do it and she screams bloody murder.

Any other tips greatly appreciated!

Only advice I could give as it seems you've tried everything I could think of is persevere with the tough love and pinning down, she'll get used to it eventually and realise no matter the tantrum she has no choice in the matter of having her teeth brushed. Only other thing that's just come to mind is a reward system? We use a marble jar and once its full our son gets a toy.

Did she go up to the next age of toothpaste about the time this started? If so might be worth experimenting with other brands of flavours. Strawberry seems to be a winner in our house at the moment, but for a while it had to be a special flavourless and non bubbly one like this

Oranurse Unflavoured Toothpaste 50 ml (Pack of 1) amzn.eu/hXKQEOl

Amazing thank you!