How to Teach Your Children to Brush and Floss

One of the most important skills you’ll teach your children is how to brush and floss their teeth.

These habits will be necessary to prevent decay and maintain good oral health over your child’s entire lifetime.

Tips for kids to properly brush and floss

• Let your child pick out his or her own toothbrush so the activity is something he or she looks forward to rather than dreads. As you teach your child to brush and floss, try turning it into a game or implementing a reward system, and provide encouragement along the way. Making oral hygiene as fun as possible will make the task easier on the whole family.
• You should brush and floss your child’s teeth until he or she is able to hold the toothbrush and floss by themselves. It may be helpful to let your child hold the toothbrush and make an attempt at brushing to get him or her used to the idea.
• Teach your child to brush making circular motions instead of just back-and-forth. In addition, show them that they need to clean all surfaces of their teeth, including the insides and the teeth in the very back.
• Your child should brush his or her teeth for 2 minutes. Parents need to monitor brushing to make sure their children are cleaning their teeth thoroughly and for as long as they should. It may be helpful to play a song so your child knows how long to brush (in fact, some toothbrushes made for children play songs for this purpose).
• During a dental appointment, one of our hygienists can show your child the proper techniques. Our pediatric dentists can also recommend the best tools for the job.

Learning the right techniques is something that takes time, but with a little patience and the right tools, your little one will be brushing and flossing with the best of them!