Tips For Teaching Kids To Brush Their Teeth Properly

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Orajel Kids.Tracking Pixel

Tips For Teaching Kids To Brush Their Teeth Properly

Are you currently training your child to brush their teeth by themselves? Not too easy, huh? I know because I’m doing the same thing for my son right now. And while my son loves brushing his teeth (because he gets to turn the faucet on and off), I noticed that he’s not brushing his teeth properly. If you’d like help teaching your children how to look after their teeth properly, a family dental clinic such as brunswickdentist.com.au could give professional advice, however if you think you can tackle it alone here are some tips for teaching kids to brush their teeth properly.

Show them how to do it properly.

They say the best way parents can teach kids is by providing an example (and that works not just for brushing teeth). So what I do at least every other day is brush my teeth the same time my son is brushing his. I show him the right strokes — not just left/right but also up/down — so he can brush his teeth more effectively.

Guide their hands to where the toothbrush should go.

I also sometimes guide my son’s hand so that he can see how to maneuver the toothbrush so the bristles can reach all the different areas and surfaces of his teeth. Afterwards, I let him do the same thing by himself. There are times when he does it successfully but there are also times when he forgets. But I know that with practice, he’ll eventually perfect it.

Brushing teeth upon waking up

Describe the process in a fun and exciting way.

This takes a bit of creativity on our part. You can sing or hum, or dance or do steps that can help your child remember what he/she needs to do. If I want my son to do left/right strokes, I say “left-right-left-right” while moving my hips left and right. I also do animated faces and voices and sometimes pretend to be one of his favorite cartoon characters.

Use oral care products with fun characters your kids love.

They say kids learn more effectively when they enjoy what they’re doing. And one way to help them enjoy brushing their teeth is by using oral care products with cartoon characters that they love!

Orajel has a line of oral care products for kids with familiar characters like Elmo, Thomas The Train, Bubble Guppies, and My Little Pony. And ever since I showed him all the Orajel products we have, he’s always been asking me if it’s time to brush his teeth again — even after we just brushed his teeth!

These are just a few tips for teaching kids how to brush their teeth properly. Some might be more effective on other kids, while other kids may need other teaching tricks. But feel free to try these on your kids too and see if it works for you!


Orajel Smilestones Photo Contest

Wouldn’t it be nice to celebrate your child’s awesome smilestones by taking a grand vacation? You bet! Orajel wants to celebrate your child’s smiling milestones –- or “Smilestones” — through the Smilestones Photo Contest on Facebook! By entering, you get a chance to win a grand prize trip for a family of 4 to Beaches Resorts!

All you have to do is identify your kid’s oral care stage (teething, training, or brushing), upload a photo of your smiling kid, and add a brief caption! That’s it! If you’re like me, you probably have a lot of photos of your little one on your phone and computer so I’m sure finding a photo of them smiling is going to be really easy!

Deadline for entries in on June 18 so be sure to upload your photo before then!

Orajel Smilestones Photo Contest

Do you have other tips for me? Feel free to leave them in the comments below!

 

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Orajel Kids.

Comments

Tips For Teaching Kids To Brush Their Teeth Properly — 26 Comments

  1. These are good tips. My four and three year old granddaughter make a game out of brushing their teeth and I play along with them. It’s fun for them and it teaches them to brush longer and in all the right spots. Early cavity prevention is key 🙂

  2. Great tips! Thanks so much, I’ll be passing this info on to some family/friends with little ones

  3. These are great tips, I didn’t know that Orajel makes toothpaste. This is great, dental hygiene is very important. Thank you for sharing this post.

  4. i learned this when i was younger and can’t thank my parents enough for it. i plan on doing the same for the kids.

  5. These are great tips. I also taught my kids to immediately put the cap on the toothpaste before they even began brushing.

  6. Love the information! I am proud to say at 44 years old, 12 years of braces and multiple jaw/teeth surgeries I have never had a cavity. I am very particular about how I and my kids brush their teeth. I would like to keep the streak of not cavities going in my house.

  7. I always love what my dentist taught me: brrushing is like painting a wall: a few light coats are so much better than one heavy coat!

  8. I think this is an important habit to instill in children early, since teeth and oral health affect our overall health.

  9. I love the idea of singing left and right while moving your hips and brushing! Also, don’t they make toothpaste that changes the teeth color where there’s plaque? That would be good to help kids get all the plaque off, too!

  10. When my son was little and learning how to brush his teeth we got him an electric toothbrush that was SpiderMan shaped. He had seen the 1st SpiderMan movie and really loved it and he really liked brushing his teeth with SpiderMan.

  11. We were not having any luck at all either so we bought an electric toothbrush too… it has made all the difference in the world. Now if I could only convince her to floss!

  12. I got both of my young granddaughter’s new toothbrushes that are battery operated. They stay on for 2 minutes so they have so much fun seeing if they can get their teeth brushed before their toothbrushes stop. It was a great idea and they have good teeth too. Love your article and advise for children brushing their teeth. I know so many who don’t teach their children how to properly do this and it just burns me up. All children need to brush them teeth and visit the dentist too. Thanks for sharing.. 🙂

  13. Great tips! My two year old loves to brush her teeth and usually I brush them to make sure I get everything and then let her brush, I will have to try and show her more rather than doing it for her all the time.

  14. Brushing is so important.I don’t know why kids put up such a fight about it.

  15. wonderful ideas and yes brushing should be fun , and also the toothpaste should not be harsh if you do you use it, i prefer baking soda and then rinse with mouth wash.. thanks for share

  16. Those are all good ideas. When mine were young, before they had teeth, I wiped off their gums. The younger they are when they first see a dentist is helpful too. That way they don’t have too much fear.

  17. These are some really good ideas. I started mine out pretty young having him brush his teeth and he does well now.

  18. Those are good tips! I also love the timers that play music they like until they’ve brushed their teeth for the right amount of time.

  19. I like that companies are coming out with products that appeal to kids. It makes them want to brush.

  20. In this blog, I really get so much helpful ideas to take care of our kid’s teeth. As my baby will be one year old in this february, So, I afraid about his oral hygiene but after reading your blog, I got an idea about how to maintain our baby’s oral hygiene.