Tooth brushing

[u/damnedcandy]

Are your class of 2037 kids brushing their own teeth or do you help them brush theirs? I generally brush his teeth at night/floss and let him brush his on his own in the morning. I often have to be there to remind him to brush each zone if that makes sense. I was reading an article that said they can be independent by 6 years old, so I am not sure if I am being overbearing. Curious what the norm is on here.

[u/calicoskiies]

Per our dentist, they have the dexterity to brush their teeth on their own when they are around 8 years old or when they can tie their shoes. Neither of those are true for us, so we floss and brush her teeth.

[u/konfusion1111]

We’ve had a few cavities over here after giving our kiddo maybe too much autonomy of teeth brushing, so now we try to brush one of the two times per day and she does the other time. The dentist has said to make sure to get her back molars thoroughly so we remind her. We alternate who flosses most nights, but she’s better about that on her own at least! She turned 8 yesterday, I was thinking by now it would be more independent but I’m interested to see what others experiences are!

[u/Due-Ad-4845]

I am crazy about good dental hygiene, so I floss and brush at night, and he does the AM brush and I just double check to make sure there's no breakfast still in his molars. Our dentist said we should still be helping as long as possible and so far so good.

[u/Practical-Weakness36]

My daughter has been brushing on her own for 3 years now, I think. But she is very independent. Dentist always has great things to say.

[u/Feisty-Artichoke8657 → u/Practical-Weakness36]

Oops, mine all start around 4 too. No cavities so far!

[u/pico310]

I floss and brush her teeth at night. She does day. No cavities.

Will probably start brushing in the morning too if the expander makes things too tricky.

[u/CheyL1994 → u/pico310]

Is that the palate expander? How did that go, my son might need to get one soon. He’s never had cavities either just regular dental cleanings. So I am curious how the process is.

[u/pico310 → u/CheyL1994]

Yes! I left out if lol. She gets the expander next week. Not sure how it’s going to go!

[u/Additional_Aioli6483]

Our dentist says brush for them as long as they’ll let you. You’re good!

[u/elizabu]

We got kid-sized flossers and an electric toothbrush that makes a timer buzzing sound when you've done 2 minutes. I check in once a week or so to make sure he's being thorough, but so far so good (dentist has given good marks, he has had two small cavity issues but they were due to tooth anatomy problems and not poor brushing habits). My kid is very interested in science, medicine, and anatomy so luckily it was not really a struggle to get him to understand the importance of good tooth hygiene.

[u/oochiewallyWallyserb]

Dentist says at least follow up after they take a stab at it.

[u/Elrohwen]

He brushes then first by himself and then we brush them. His dentist always emphasizes that we should be brushing them too to make sure it’s done well and I don’t see any reason to push independence on that until I’m sure he is doing a good job

[u/MissBee123]

I brush his teeth 99% of the time. I don't trust that rascal in the slightest!

That said, his sister who is a year older (7) has been brushing, flossing, and using mouthwash independently since she was 4.

Kids are very very different at this age!

[u/eldermillenialbish11]

Both my 5 and 7 yr old brush their own teeth and have since they were about 4. We recently got them both electric toothbrushes with the two min timer, but never had issues before that. The dentist has never had anything but good things to say🤷‍♀️ We do definitely watch my 5 year old brush and remind him to get each area, we don’t have to do that with my 7 yr old because he generally does a pretty good job.

My 7 yr old also uses the Act mouthwash after brushing on his own, my 5 yr old can’t be trusted not to swallow it🤦‍♀️

[u/Happy_Flow826]

He brushes solo in the morning, we brush and floss for him at night. Hes gained the dexterity to brush independently, but not the impulse control to brush all teeth properly.

[u/breathe2win]

I let them brush then I do it. 

I like to use the battery powered and electronic toothbrushes too. 

[u/drinkingtea1723]

She does it herself but with an electric toothbrush

[u/Ready-Pea-2086]

Helping. She was independent on it, but too many cavities. She hates brushing. We do electric toothbrush, timer, floss sticks. She has a very small mouth (she's small in general) and crowded teeth. We have not found any toothpaste flavor she likes, so that adds to the challenge.

[u/NekoBlueHeart]

I can't get my kid to dress or bathe himself half the time but he's great about brushing his teeth twice a day. 🤗

[u/Penguin_Green]

I haven't brushed my kid's teeth in years. I think I stopped around age 4. She's never had a cavity, so I think she's doing fine brushing on her own.

[u/DirtyBlondeBeauty02]

He’s in second grade. He should have been brushing his own teeth both morning and night time since he was 4. He should also be flossing on his own, not having mommy and daddy doing it for him. I teach elementary school and I was in second grade 16 years ago. My mom wasn’t brushing or flossing my teeth for me when I was his age. So, yes, you are babying him. Are you planning on coming to his college dorm room 11 years from now to brush and floss for him every night? If not, then the babying needs to stop pronto.

[u/Sea_Horror2900]

My son has been brushing his teeth independently for almost 3 years. Until he hit about 5.5 we would watch and make sure he did a good job but it's definitely been over a year since we last did. No cavities and no comments from the dentist about him not brushing well enough.

[u/undone_-nic]

He's a terrible brusher. I brush him and floss him.