How to brush your teeth for children

You can start caring for your child’s teeth before their first pearly whites even appear. Truly! We explain why it’s smart to start early.

Around bedtime, at homes all across the country, parents are asking their kids the same question: “did you brush your teeth?” As they lean in for a goodnight kiss or snuggle, parents everywhere sniff their kid’s breath to check for the minty fresh scent of toothpaste. Kids being kids, sometimes they forget, try to skip it, or just don’t know why they should care. Save your future self from having to nag by establishing good dental hygiene right now.

The importance of teaching kids how to brush their teeth properly

It’s really important to know how to brush your teeth well. Make caring for your child’s teeth part of their daily routine right from birth and it will become something they just do. Even though baby teeth are eventually replaced by adult teeth, it’s important to keep them healthy. Baby teeth help children chew food and speak properly and they hold the spaces in the gums so adult teeth can grow in the right spots. If kids are used to keeping their baby teeth clean, they should take better care of their adult teeth too. That’s important because knowing how to brush your teeth helps prevent cavities, gum disease, and other oral health issues.

When to start teaching kids how to brush their teeth

Parents can start cleaning baby’s gums with a soft, damp cloth even before teeth appear. Once the first tooth erupts, usually at about 6-12 months, dentists recommend transitioning to a baby toothbrush and brushing gently with water (no toothpaste) twice a day.  Add a pea-sized amount of low-fluoride toothpaste at around 18 months old and encourage children to spit out the toothpaste, but not to rinse. Around the age of 2-3, parents can help children learn to brush their own teeth, by giving them a turn and then following up to make sure all surfaces have been properly cleaned. By around 7-8 years old, children should be independently brushing their teeth, but it doesn’t hurt for parents to check their technique and give them a good brushing now and again.

How exactly do parents brush their children’s teeth?

Parents need to brush their child’s teeth until they learn how. Start early and your child will be used to you poking around in their mouth! Here’s how:

• Have the toothbrush ready and apply toothpaste
• Stand or sit behind your child – in front of a mirror is helpful to demonstrate the correct technique
• Cup your child’s chin in your hands and rest their head against your body
• Angle the toothbrush bristles towards the gum and use gentle brushing motions
• Brush the outer and inner sides of the teeth
• Gently brush your child’s tongue
• Encourage your child to spit out the toothpaste. There’s no need to rinse as the fluoride in the toothpaste helps strengthen their teeth
• Rinse the brush

How to brush your teeth for kids step by step

Once your child shows interest and seems ready, usually around age 2-3, help them learn to brush their own teeth. You’ll need to supervise them and follow-up with a good brushing for a few more years yet, but teaching how to brush your teeth is an important lesson.

• Step 1: Choose a soft, child-friendly toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste. You could reward good tooth brushing by letting your child choose their next toothbrush colour or toothpaste flavour. There are also singing toothbrushes available to make the experience more exciting!
• Step 2: Make sure you demonstrate how to brush your teeth properly. Show your child how to hold the brush and to cover all areas of each tooth (front, back, sides), and to brush for two minutes. It may be helpful to brush your teeth alongside your child to check their technique. You can set a timer so kids know how long to brush or play a brushing teeth song and brush until it finishes.
• Step 3: Establish a routine, brushing twice a day (after breakfast and before bed at night) to create a consistent habit.
• Step 4: Gradually encourage independence, allowing your child to try brushing on their own after watching a demonstration, helping until they develop the necessary skills.

Tips to make toothbrushing more exciting for kids

Some days it may be helpful to have a few tricks to make brushing teeth more enjoyable and exciting for children:

• Use a toothbrush song or a toothbrushing app to make brushing time fun and encourage your child to brush for the full two minutes.
• Create a toothbrushing chart with stickers to reward consistency and encourage good brushing habits.
• Turn brushing into a game by brushing together as a family or letting kids “teach” their favourite toy how to brush.

Brushing teeth songs

Use songs and videos to demonstrate how to brush your teeth. We like Sesame Street’s Healthy Teeth, Healthy Me, KidsTV123’s Brush Your Teeth and Super Simple Songs’ Brush Your Teeth.

Oral health care tips for parents

Dental experts recommend children protect their teeth by avoiding sugary food and drinks. Children should have their first dental check-up around one-year-old. That’s a great opportunity to check the health of your child’s teeth, have an expert demonstrate how to brush your teeth and receive advice about any areas of concern.  Check out the Edge Early Learning blog for more information about why dental health matters for kids.