How To Teach A Toddler How To Brush Teeth

Dental care starts earlier than you think. Most people think that it should start at the age of one year, others think it should be two or three years when their toddler is old enough to handle a brush. Unfortunately, all of these people are mistaken. Taking care of your child’s teeth should start when the first tooth appears inside his\her mouth. That usually happens between 6 and 8 months of age. In the beginning, you should brush your child’s teeth yourself. As they age, you should try to imprint the idea of oral hygiene in their minds as early as you possibly can. The first step is teaching them how to use a toothbrush, and that is why we’re here. Here, we attempt to explain how to teach a toddler how to brush teeth, and how he\she can take care of their teeth for their entire lives.

Why is it important to take care of baby teeth?

Baby teeth are not just placeholders for adult teeth. True they will be shed and replaced between the ages of 6 and 13 years of age, but they serve a far greater purpose than you could imagine. Not only do they help your child eat, chew and speak, but they are also integral in shaping the bone and guide the growth of your child’s jaws. Early loss of baby teeth can lead to many complications. The remaining teeth drift into the empty space – meaning your child would probably need braces when they grow up – and the bone follows the teeth where they go, leading to uncontrolled growth, and the need for braces increases.

Not only that, but baby teeth are biologically related to adult teeth. This means that when a problem happens to the baby teeth, it could easily find its way to the adult teeth still growing in its socket. In that case, not only will your child suffer from his baby teeth, but from the adult teeth when they appear as well.

When do baby teeth appear, and when are they replaced?

The first baby tooth usually erupts at 6 months of age. One by one, they continue appearing inside the mouth until the last appears at about 2 years.

The baby teeth stay with the child until the age of 6 years when the first adult tooth starts to replace them. This replacement process continues until 12 or 13 years of age. By which time, the entire set of baby teeth has been replaced by adult teeth (except for the wisdom teeth which appears at about 20 years of age).

How to teach a toddler how to brush teeth

As you can see, the baby teeth will remain with your child for over 4 years. This is why taking care of these is of the utmost importance. Children’s dental care is no different from ours, but the instruments may be a little different. Select a small toothbrush suitable for their hands, and it also needs to be soft to avoid injury to the gums. Start by teaching them to grab the brush, using your own hands in the beginning, until it becomes a habit. Use a small amount of toothpaste – about the size of a pea – and watch over them carefully so they don’t swallow it.

Our parents imprint most life experiences upon us in childhood, and dental care is no different. When you teach your toddler early the proper ways of oral hygiene, you’d expect him to keep these habits throughout his\her life, just like riding a bike.