What's the Trick to Getting Your Child to Brush Their Teeth

I tell my son we need to get the cavity bugs out!!

While we brush I pretend they are hitting me in the face.

I dodge them and tell him to keep brushing to get them all.

Its fun and he ends up laughing instead of complaining.

We have a selection of tooth brushes, ones that blink, different color ones, battery powered ones and plain ole run
of the mill toothbrushes.

We brush to get rid of the stinky cows and sugar bugs.

Stinky cows started when we were driving home one day and he asked me what that smell was and I told him that one of the farmers must have just fertilized his fields. He of course asked what fertilizer was and I told him it was cow poop. So anytime he thinks something smells bad he says it smells like stinky cows. One morning when I told him his breath smelled bad like stinky cows he wanted to go brush them out.

Sugar bugs started at his child care center when the dentist came to visit. They talked about how eating too many sugar foods and drinks can cause "sugar bugs" which will chew holes in your teeth.

Any how in the morning it is kind of our "thing" he runs up and opens his mouth so I can check for sugar bugs and stinky cows and I of course see a bunch of them in there so he hurries to go brush. I usually do most of the brushing but he does help and he likes to floss.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

We play a game. We chase bugs. I set it up ahead of time by having a conversation with my daughter about bugs and germs, and how they live in your teeth and make homes, grocery stores, swimming pools, banks, playgrounds, homes, etc. Brushing your teeth gets those buggies out and you catch them and spit them out in the sink. I'd say very eagerly..."I see a buggie...it's down there (pointing)", and she'd hurry and brush and catch it. Sometimes, they're slow bugs...and sometimes they're fast. The fast ones usually jump all around...then we say "Got it! Quick...spit it out!" Then...after she was done, I'd smell her breath and I'd say, "no more buggie poo-poo smell." Sometimes, if her teeth are really bad, I say., "Oh no,...it looks like they built a swimming pool, we better brush and get rid of it quick." (or whatever building you can think of). The point is that the buggies will try and build a city if they could so brushing teeth keeps them from building before they get too far in construction. That got her excited about brusing, and now that she's 4 we don't play that game anymore and will usually brush without too much fuss. I also explained to her that a fully built bug house or building is called a cavity. But, have fun with the game...it worked great for us.

The biggest thing that helped I think for us was having multiple tooth brushes in the bathroom for her to choose from! I would say "OK we are brushing our teeth, which one do you want?!" We make sure to tell her how PRETTY her teeth are after she brushes them! Plus, we ask her to let us smell her breath when she is done, and tell her how good it smells! (I came up with doing that after she told me my breath smelled like poopoo one morning!!!)

I have been battling my 5 yr. old for years until I found the only flavor he liked and I let him pick a new song every couple months, that I have to learn and sing while he brushes. It is actually pretty entertaining considering I have no talent and sometimes my husband chimes in on his way past the bathroom. My son loves it and can't wait to pick new songs.

Kids who put up a fuss about brushing teeth don't get to have snacks.

We also play games: I "knock" on the "door" (tap the toothbrush on the lips) to get in, and I go "upstairs" and "downstairs". We also use an anti-cavity rinse b/c I worry that the teeth don't get adequately brushed.

Hi C.,

We had that problem when our kids were little too. Try different toothpastes.

We found one that worked with our kids and they loved brushing after that.

J.

I took my 3 year old to the dentist for a quick visit/checkup. He told her that she had nice teeth @ encouraged her to brush daily. The pep talk @ toothbrush helped because she used to give us alittle stress over it. I know of others who used a chart w/stickers for it as well.
M.

We have two books the kid loves. One is about Dora going to the dentist. Another is a pop up book called "Brush Your Teeth Please!" and that is a big hit. Your child can help a a variety of animals brush their teeth.

Having them pick out their own toothpaste at the store like a big kid helps. And floss is pretty fascinating, too. Good luck!

I wish I knew. When my little one was under two, we had to hold him down. Then we got older, he wanted to do it himself...so we let him. Then we'd brush after he did. I let him pick out his own toothbrush and toothpaste. He even likes to floss with thos floss sticks. What if you put it on a chart (like a chore) and give her a sticker every time she does it? Good luck!