How to make Tooth Brushing fun!  Tips on how to motivate your children to brush their teeth

When we are not in the mood to do something, it can be difficult to find the motivation and this is especially true for children.  Many of you struggle getting your children to brush their teeth properly, especially coming up to their bedtime but here are a few tips which may help to make the daily struggle a little easier!

 1.  Let your child select their own toothbrush.  This may mean buying a themed toothbrush or battery operated one but it will help them feel more involved in their own dental routine.  Remember to buy a brush that is appropriate for their age with soft bristles.

2.  Use a child friendly toothpaste.  Some children may not like the strong mint flavour of adult toothpaste so let them pick their own flavoured toothpaste.  Make sure that it an age appropriate fluoride toothpaste.

3.  Make it fun!  Brushing for 2 minutes probably feels like a lifetime to most young children so incorporate music into their brushing routine to make it more enjoyable.  It helps to pass the time quicker and is a good way of measuring how long the teeth are being brushed for.  There are some really great, free tooth brushing apps available that will play music for the desired time.

4.  Brush together.  Children learn by copying their parents or older siblings so make it a family affair.  Not only will it instil good oral hygiene habits in your child, but it will provide you with an opportunity to see how well they are brushing their teeth.  It is all very well brushing teeth for 2 minutes but it will be of no use if they are missing half of them!  It is good practice to help all children brush their teeth up to the age of 7.  By that age they should have developed the manual dexterity to brush those hard to reach teeth.

Ultimately, try and make tooth brushing as fun as possible.  Just because it is a habit, doesn’t mean it has to be a chore!  Developing good habits at an early age, will reap benefits in the long term.

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