About brushing Kid’s Teeth
Be involved with a child’s home care
Before the age of six, a child is not ready to brush on their own. At this age an adult must brush the child’s teeth for them. Once the adult is finished brushing the child’s teeth, it’s a good idea to have the child make an attempt to brush on their own. This provides the child with a sense of achievement. At age six, children are ready to brush on their own, however, direct adult supervision must still be given to ensure that a vigorous and focused brushing is done.
Make a game of it…
It is common for parents to tell their dentist, ‘my child will not let me brush their teeth’. Please be strong. A child may not refuse to brush. Inform your child that everyone in the house brushes, and they must too. This is a time for you take control.
Here are some ideas to help make it easier to encourage good brushing habits
Give prizes. A good brushing can come with a prize once weekly, twice weekly, whatever you think works.
Go shopping for children’s toothpastes together so your child can help pick their favorite one (make sure the toothpaste contains fluoride. Children’s toothpastes have about a third less fluoride content than adult toothpastes).
Let your child buy two toothbrushes and then let them pick a favorite one to use each night (‘what do we do tonight? Is it going to be the red or the blue one?’). Let them try to brush first, then you ‘just finish up a little’.
Make up songs about what they ate that day and how they are now cleaning it up.
How to position a child for brushing
Have them stand on a secure bench or chair so they can see themselves in the mirror.
Stand behind the child and put one arm around their waist for security. Remember, this is a learning experience for life and your child must see their teeth being brushed.
Use a timer. Let the child set the timer. Usually a minute and a half to two minutes will do it.
The technique for brushing a child’s teeth
Use just one hand to hold the brush while your other hand should be free to hold your child steady
Use the toothbrush in the same way you would brush your own teeth. Start on the gums and brush down along the teeth surfaces.
To brush the back teeth, gently place the brush under the cheeks.
Do the same for under the tongue and simply use the toothbrush to ‘slip’ under the tongue.
What about electric brushes?
Should children use electric toothbrushes. The answer is yes! After age three, if the child is accepting of electric toothbrush use, this can be a fun and efficient way to improve a child’s home care routine. Just like with a hand brush, use a timer, provide incentives, hum to the sound of the brush. Make it fun. Once the child accepts the electric brush they will have a cleaner mouth. Electric boothbrush use cleans better for children and adults.
Here are some thoughts on electric toothbrushes:
The technique is the same as with a manual brush. Brush along the gums in slow circular motions going from the gums to the teeth.
A small head electric brush is well suited for a child’s small mouth. A small electric toothbrush head makes it particularly easy for a child to reach inside the lower teeth by the tongue.
Don’t worry whether the electric toothbrush is and oscillating or a rotating model. Both are generally the same in terms of cleaning and both types of electric brushes are far superior to manual brushing.
The oscillating brush provides 2,500 to over 7,000 rotations per minute compared to 300 for a manual toothbrush.
Sonic toothbrushes employ a high frequency pulsation to ’wash out’ underneath the gums in order to enhance gum health. Studies, however, find little difference between sonic and oscillating brushes. For some patients the oscillating brush is reported to be more comfortable.