What to do if your child doesn't want to brush his teeth? What to do if a child does not want to brush his teeth Does not want to brush his teeth

I thought I was fine. I started teaching my son quite early on the need to brush his teeth, and he happily ran to the bathroom every time I suggested that he do it. But then suddenly I bought him a new toothpaste and, without trying it, gave him a brush.

The paste had a slight menthol taste. My son’s face grimaced and he began making gestures to ask me to wash the paste out of his mouth. We did it right away. But since then he has not wanted to brush his teeth. I tried different pastes and brushes, but it didn't help. I tried to do it myself “because it’s necessary,” but I was very afraid that it would ruin my son’s relationship with the process itself.

I ended up finding a few tips and tricks that help us and hopefully can help other parents.

Make brushing your teeth a daily ritual. Children, especially young children, very quickly get used to repetitive actions. They like predictability. If you do something yourself for a certain number of days in a row in a certain order, don't be surprised if they keep telling you to do it if you forget yourself. So make sure your child gets used to the fact that brushing their teeth after breakfast and before bed is a natural and integral part of your daily routine. Go brush your teeth yourself, and prepare a brush for your child. Children love to copy their parents. He may want to repeat after you.

Let you have several options for cute and bright brushes and pastes with different flavors. And instead of asking your child if he will brush his teeth, you can ask him what brush he will use or what toothpaste he wants to use today.

Get a separate brush for his favorite toys and brush his teeth with them too. At the same time, explain during the process the necessity and importance of what you are doing. Tell us about how you clean off pieces of food stuck between teeth, germs, plaque from the fact that, for example, Bunny also ate candy. Children love to do things together with their favorite toys. First for them, then for him, then for mom.

Come up with some small rewards after brushing your teeth - stickers, a special rare game that you don't always allow (like kinetic sand if you limit playing with it), a favorite book to read, or even a walk . “Let’s brush our teeth and immediately go outside to get dressed.”

If none of these methods help, you can take a piece of gauze (or bandage), wrap it around your finger and brush your baby's teeth this way. You can even use a little toothpaste on the gauze this way.

Let him choose his own brush and toothpaste. Children love independence. Perhaps the fact that he bought his own brush and toothpaste will inspire him to use them.

For older children, you can use a “schedule” for brushing their teeth. On one side there is a column of days of the week, on the other side there are columns with day/night marks. There may be, for example, four such weeks. For every week that teeth are brushed, the child receives one star. When a child collects four stars, he can be awarded a pre-agreed reward.

Brushing teeth is not always a quick and easy process with young children. Sometimes they simply resist, since for them this is also a kind of manifestation of independence and independence. It is their choice whether to clean or not. They won't be able to resist forever. It is necessary to brush your teeth. This is not just something that popped into your head, it is part of personal hygiene integral to a healthy person. Therefore, even if your child is not enthusiastic about brushing his teeth, if he does not give in to your attempts to brighten up and cheer up the process, he will have to get used to the fact that it is still a necessity. With small children, everything takes longer - dressing, eating, traveling, brushing teeth. You just need to be patient. By the age of 5-6, children can usually brush their teeth themselves, although, of course, this process should not be allowed to get out of their own control.

Be sure to take your child to the pediatric dentist for regular checkups, and your doctor may have ideas on how to help get your child accustomed to brushing. Perhaps his authority will help the baby be more attentive to this.

What to do if your child doesn't want to brush his teeth? was last modified: March 28th, 2018 by Olga Borovskikh

For any mother, children's tears are extremely unpleasant. What should those mothers do who see them every day because the child refuses to brush his teeth?

Getting your child to brush their teeth can be very difficult. Unlike adults, children do not understand that some things have to be done simply because “they have to.” If a child does not yet know what dental problems are, then it is difficult for him to imagine them and sincerely want to prevent them. And if the teeth have already been treated, this could traumatize the child and turn him away from any, even painless, procedures related to this area. Plus, no one can cancel age-related “crises”, character traits and other nuances. However, the health and beauty of your child depends on proper brushing of teeth, which means you need to deal with the problem as early as possible.

A child does not want to brush his teeth: a doctor’s opinion

“The procedure itself will not cause negative emotions in a child if he has not had an early negative experience when visiting a dentist. If during a visit to the dentist a child experienced fear, pain and other unpleasant emotions, then they are extrapolated to all subsequent manipulations in the oral cavity, whether at the dentist or during home hygiene procedures.

If a child is taught from a very early age, even before teething, to clean the mouth using a terry cloth moistened with boiled water at room temperature, then there will be no problems in the future. And if they start teaching them to brush their teeth at 2-3 years old, stuffing the brush in with tears and screams, then this fear, pain, hysterical reaction to any procedure in the oral cavity will last a lifetime.

The time for brushing your teeth depends on the number of teeth in your mouth. If only the first four baby teeth have erupted, then 30 seconds is enough. More teeth erupt - more time will be required to carry out the hygiene procedure. You can add factors that diversify teeth brushing - this will facilitate the process of getting used to it,” comments dentist Sergei Borisovich Ulitkovsky.

What can you do to make your child want to brush their teeth?

If the process of getting used to a toothbrush is not going very smoothly, try using a few simple tips to help improve the situation:

First of all, you need to understand what causes your reluctance to brush your teeth. Each child has individual reasons, and they can depend on many factors: from painful sensations to the fact that he is uncomfortable when he is forced to do something. Understanding the reason for refusal is the most difficult thing, but it will help you choose the most effective strategy.

Do not force your child to brush their teeth - this will most likely discourage you from practicing oral hygiene completely. We also do not recommend scolding or intimidating your child. Everything that causes negative reactions in parents is associated with an unpleasant experience in the baby. It’s better to show how it is to properly care for your teeth in a playful way. A favorite hare can take care of another toy and help its plush “brother” brush his teeth.

Show how you brush your teeth yourself. Children love to copy adults, especially mom and dad. Try brushing your teeth with your child - it's always more fun together! You can have a competition to see who can brush their teeth the best. Get creative with the “duel”, for example, compete to see who can make the most foam out of toothpaste. The secret of success is a good mood and a non-standard approach!

Make your daily ritual an exciting adventure! There are a lot of possibilities for this. For example, you could read a fairy tale or counting rhyme to your child. Modern technologies can also help you with this. For example, you can use the Sonicare for Kids interactive sonic brush (suitable for children aged three years and older). The brush has a special application for a tablet or phone - your baby will have a cartoon friend - the hero Sparkly. He will tell him how to brush his teeth properly to defeat harmful germs. There is no need to worry that your child will quickly get tired of the brush: your child will receive points for well-brushed teeth and will be able to “spend” them on outfits for his assistant. And the application will monitor that the child brushes his teeth for the prescribed two minutes.

More dental stories! Various fairy tales about teeth, stories about the tooth fairy, stories about heroes who did not forget to brush their teeth will help your child understand that brushing your teeth on time and correctly is very important. For inspiration, let us remind you of one case that has been written about a lot on the Internet: a father of three children, after many unsuccessful attempts to teach his son to brush his teeth, decided to approach the problem creatively. When a boy lost a tooth, he wrote him a letter on behalf of the tooth fairy, in which he said that he would not receive the traditional reward because the condition of the tooth that the fairy received was very bad. The baby became upset and began to take oral hygiene more seriously.

We wish you and your child a speedy victory over the teeth brushing procedure! Let it bring only joy and pleasure, and let your baby’s teeth be strong and healthy!

Any adult is well aware of the purpose for which we brush our teeth and why we do it every day. Children do not understand our arguments; to them the whole process seems like a heavy duty that adults impose on them out of harm. How to convince a child of the need to brush their teeth? This task is perhaps the most difficult, but experienced mothers have found a way out of this situation. Today we will share the basic recommendations for teaching your baby oral hygiene.

First skills

Many mothers, when trying to force their child to brush their teeth, are faced with protest and an angry look from the latter. Be more tolerant of this, because the baby does not yet fully understand the importance of this process, and your stories are perceived by him as tedious notations. At best, he will simply pretend to be diligently brushing his teeth, but in fact he will only brush them a couple of times.

In order to teach a child the basic principles of oral care, the educational process must begin at a very early age. As soon as the first tooth appears, start wiping it with damp gauze or special wipes. If several teeth have already “settled” in the baby’s mouth, then we pay attention to the spaces between the teeth. Thus, oral hygiene will become a familiar daily activity for the baby, which is still carried out by the mother.

Attention! Article on the topic: at what age should a child start brushing his teeth and how to brush them correctly —

By the age of two, teach your child to rinse his mouth with water, especially after eating. Explain that this procedure is also hygienic, but he can do it on his own, without the help of elders.

Any kid wants to have “grown-up” things, so at the same age you can solemnly give the child his first toothbrush (without toothpaste for now). You need to choose a brush meticulously. Make sure that the handle is thick, otherwise it will be uncomfortable for the child to hold it in his little hand. Choose soft bristles so that your baby doesn’t hurt his tender gums. Of course, at this age the baby will not yet be able to fully brush his teeth, but will begin to get used to his instrument.

But not everything is as easy as we would like. Children begin to be capricious, resist and express their dissatisfaction. And in this case, parents should be smart and unobtrusively instill in their child the basic rules of dental care.

No pressure

As a character familiar to everyone said, "Calm, just calm". Stock up on it, as well as patience and valerian :). This does not mean at all that you need to silently and patiently allow the little one to bully you and not fulfill the demands of your elders. On the contrary, you need to be persistent, but within reasonable limits.

The sequence of actions is also important. You cannot allow today what was prohibited yesterday and vice versa. For some reason, allowing a child not to brush his teeth is considered normal. Reward him for his merits with something else, and the issue of hygiene should be a constant companion in life.

At the same time, you should not force your child to brush his teeth while standing next to the belt. This method will only work at a younger age. Once a child reaches adolescence, he may completely stop caring for himself solely out of a sense of protest.

There is no need to rush or scold a child if something doesn’t work out.

Cleaning together

Personal example is more effective than any explanation or persuasion. Take your baby with you to the bathroom for morning routines. Give him the brush too, and let him try to imitate your movements.

Gradually, the game will develop into a habit, and then the child will catch up with you on the way to the bathroom.

"Fantastic" toothbrush

Buy your child a bright/nice toothbrush and fruit-flavored toothpaste. It is advisable to purchase a brush together, let the baby choose the one he likes best. Nowadays there is such a variety of them: with cartoon characters, different colors, and even “delicious” smells. But when buying, study other characteristics of the brush. For example, bristles should be synthetic, because natural bristles dry worse and are more attractive to microbes.

Toothpaste should also attract attention. In addition to the obvious benefits for adults, you need to pay attention to its taste. This factor attracts or repels children in the first place.

It is better to make all purchases at the pharmacy and after visiting the pediatric dentist. A specialist will tell you what the height of the toothbrush bristles should be, what components are mandatory for children's toothpaste, and what is not advisable to purchase.

Visiting the dentist

Indeed, you need to go to the doctor. And not only for the next portion of moralizing, but also for real help.

Dental clinics are now equipped with many different training tools. Children are shown cartoons on the desired topic. After educational videos, children are shown the rules of brushing their teeth using models. Such lessons with visual demonstrations cannot “evaporate” from memory.

Watch the cartoon “The Good Doctor Dentist”

Note to moms!

Hello girls) I didn’t think that the problem of stretch marks would affect me too, and I’ll also write about it))) But there’s nowhere to go, so I’m writing here: How did I get rid of stretch marks after childbirth? I will be very glad if my method helps you too...

You can repeat the same at home. Nowadays it’s not difficult to buy a toy with big teeth and ask your child to show him how to brush his teeth correctly ().

Recording successes

Success, if it has been noticed and noted, is always an additional incentive for new achievements. Previously, in schools, first-graders hung a large poster on the wall and for each good answer the student put a star next to it.

Feel free to use this method. It doesn’t have to be stars, let it be any figures or stickers that your child likes. But you also need to come up with a reward in advance. A certain number of stickers should bring a certain reward to the baby.

Motivation

Where would we be without her? By forcing, you cause protest in the child. The child should not feel that elders are imposing their point of view on him. With good motivation, the child will not even notice how he begins to follow your recommendations. Engage him through a game or come up with a scary fairy tale with a good ending, in which all the caries escaped from the toothbrush.

The right to choose

Even here you need to give the child the opportunity to choose. But this is not a choice of a “to brush or not to brush your teeth” plan. Let him choose his own toothbrush and toothpaste. And now we don’t mean the moment of purchase. Make sure your bathroom shelf has 2-3 different brushes for your little one and the same number of types of toothpaste. Variety every day - you can hardly get tired of this.

Cartoons

Not all adults know that several cartoons and films for children have already been released on the topic of dental care. Various stories about unwilling children who refused to brush their teeth will have a certain effect.

Here are a few videos on this topic:

Competitive spirit

This is also a kind of motivation. Well, what kid doesn't want to be a leader? Or win by competing with mom? Come up with, for example, a competition to see who will have whiter teeth after brushing. Be sure to prepare a small prize for the winner. Let it be just an apple, but won by him on his own.

Let's play

Any process will become much more exciting if it takes place in a playful way. In this case, the child performs all actions easily and naturally and does not perceive them as a heavy burden.

Use your imagination and analyze what your little one likes to play the most. It is this game that should become the basis for your fiction. Does he like to play Spider-Man? Then we can say that bad breath will declassify the hero or will not allow him to cope with another criminal. Everything is up to your imagination...

Buy an hourglass

What are they needed for? To calm the baby. Some cute creatures feel like their parents make them brush their teeth for too long. Agree with your child in advance that the whole process will take exactly as long as the sand is poured. As a result, the baby will stop whining and will focus on the clock.

Just buy a watch that lasts 2 minutes. This is not too long a period of time for a child, and the paste will have time to “work.”

Taking care of toys

Children love to imitate adults, so give your child such a chance. Let him teach his toys how to brush their teeth by his own positive example. After showing the whole process to his toy friends, the child can brush their teeth too.

It is advisable to use toys made of plastic or other hard materials for this purpose. It’s a shame to get your plush friends wet, and they’ll take a long time to dry.

By the age of eight, a child who has been properly accustomed to oral hygiene can already brush his or her teeth independently and fully. Giving him his first skills is not at all difficult, you just need to show a little patience and use your imagination.

How do you teach your children to brush their teeth? Share your experience in the comments...

Be sure to read the article

Parents want to motivate their child to brush their teeth in one of two situations.

The Montessori way in the first case, when you need to teach a hygienic technique to a two-year-old who does not yet know it:

Be a model of the behavior you want to teach. Adults do not hide from their children that they brush their teeth themselves.
Create conditions for your child to repeat your behavior. It is necessary to organize convenient independent access to a sink, personal toothbrush and toothpaste for all family members, taking into account growth and capabilities.
An action algorithm that is feasible to implement. You need to think in advance about how to show your baby the whole procedure so that he understands what you are doing, how, and can repeat it. Then show, slowly, clearly, clearly performing every action and movement.
Allow to exercise. In most cases, having become interested in a new activity, the child wants to try it out, perform the procedure for its own sake, for the sake of creating an understanding of the process and consolidating the skill. If initiative is not impeded, then such immersion in the process makes it possible to fully develop both motivation and the necessary skills. You are not obliged to encourage the inappropriate use of expensive children's toothpaste, but the amount that will be spent on brushing your teeth for the sake of teaching yourself about it will not be wasted. Don't suppress desired behavior to save supplies. Once the novelty wears off, on the other hand, it will sometimes be necessary to help brush your teeth regularly according to a routine as well as washing your hands on time. If the process is well integrated into your daily routine, you will rarely need reminders.

There is a set of ideas, friendly to the Montessori method, for the second case, when you need to teach a two-year-old child to regularly brush his teeth, who has already become familiar with the procedure, but for some reason does not like it.

If such a problem arises, it is advisable to first take a short break. Explain that for a specific time it will be possible not to engage in a repulsive activity, and visually show this period in any way understandable to the child: by crossing off days in a special calendar or using a series of removable chips, a beautiful diagram, a list with checkboxes...

If you can already talk to your child, choose a moment when he is in a good mood and discuss what exactly is unpleasant for him about cleaning, what he would like. Whether such a conversation is possible or not, it’s worth going to the store together and letting your child choose from several options that are acceptable to you: a toothbrush, toothpaste, and additional accessories like a cute hourglass. Ceremoniously place the new tools in a convenient place. Set a day for you to try out the new items and try to create an atmosphere of positive anticipation for that day.

Be a good example yourself and have a personal hygiene routine that shows that brushing your teeth regularly applies to everyone. Explain at a level the baby can understand why it is important to keep our biting and chewing apparatus clean. Do not intimidate doctors under any circumstances, but tell them clearly that dirt threatens the health of your teeth.

After the agreed period, solemnly begin to implement the new tradition in the morning and evening.

If the rebranding does not attract the child with its novelty enough to overcome the previous hostility, then it will still give rise to the reintroduction of the rule “every teeth are brushed twice a day.” For this, all the techniques that are described for establishing any new rule are valid, up to the choice: “you clean it yourself, or I will help you.” It is important that if the child chooses your help due to his procrastination, then the main result should be help, and not high-quality teeth cleaning. Any forced entry into the body of a small person is undesirable and is just as gross an intrusion into the holy of holies for him as for an adult. That is, any enemas, forced feeding of pills or brushing of teeth is an extreme measure, which is important to be surrounded by delicacy, explanations and understandable conditions, and used when you have done enough to avoid it, but the threat to health outweighs the harm from humiliation. Fortunately, the choice between “on your own and not on your own” is far from the only one: no one forbids you to choose from your two brushes, to brush yourself with mom or dad, to your favorite music or not, to spit in the sink or in the bathroom, with your eyes open or closed . It's helpful to shift your focus to something interesting you'll do immediately after you're done with that item in your daily routine.

As with everything, this pedagogical task is an occasion for creativity.

It would seem that daily brushing of teeth is a simple matter, is it worth devoting an entire article to it? Dentists say that most of us brush our teeth incorrectly, and this leads to a number of oral problems. Improper oral hygiene can cause diseases of the teeth and gums, lead to bad breath, and darkening of tooth enamel.

Why brush your teeth?

The oral cavity is one of the places in the body most in contact with the environment. Billions of bacteria live in the mouth. We are given teeth for mechanical processing of food, i.e. chewing food, the remains of which may get stuck between the teeth. This creates a breeding ground for microorganisms. If a person has not brushed his teeth for a long time, bacteria multiply very quickly and a soft plaque forms.

This plaque is very destructive for teeth, because... produces acid that destroys tooth enamel. If you do not clean it off, the tooth will soon be susceptible to carious lesions. In addition, plaque contributes to the disruption of the natural barrier to infections in the mouth. It can also cause halitosis - bad breath and the formation of tartar.

If we regularly clean our teeth of soft plaque, we will not give microorganisms a single chance to cause caries and other problems.

How often should you brush your teeth?

It is necessary to brush your teeth at least 2 times a day - in the morning after breakfast and in the evening before bed. Dentists recommend a three-minute duration of brushing with a toothbrush (i.e., at least 3 minutes).

In addition to cleansing the external and internal surfaces of the tooth, special attention must be paid to the interdental spaces every day. because food debris gets stuck in them, on which plaque—microorganisms—grows very quickly. The interdental spaces are cleaned with special dental flosses without damaging the gums. The floss is carefully inserted between the teeth, bypasses the gums, and removes plaque and food debris from the teeth in the interdental spaces.

Every day you need to finish brushing your teeth with a special rinse, preferably herbal (you can make an infusion yourself). It is important that your daily mouthwash does not contain alcohol or chlorhexidine. The contact time of the rinse with the oral cavity is 30 seconds.

It is also necessary to brush your teeth after every meal. For this, people with healthy teeth can use chewing gum, which can be used to clean the mouth only after eating for no more than 5-7 minutes. In some cases, chewing gum can be harmful for patients with problem teeth, so mouth rinses can be used after meals. Talk to your dentist about how to properly brush your teeth after each meal in your case.

How to choose a toothbrush

Your dentist's advice will be of great help in choosing a toothbrush. A soft brush may not clean your teeth as effectively, and hard bristles can damage your enamel and gums. Most often, a medium-hard brush is used. Many people are interested in what is better - an electric brush or an ordinary one. Dentists recommend brushing your teeth with an electric brush no more than 2-3 times a week, because... otherwise the enamel may be damaged.

Good reviews about ultrasonic brushes. They allow you to remove plaque in hard-to-reach places due to ultrasonic vibrations that lift plaque from the surface. Recommended for sensitive teeth, braces, periodontal diseases, and other situations where mechanical cleaning is difficult. However, the peculiarities of such brushes are their rather high cost, as well as the presence of contraindications - for cancer patients, people with cardiovascular diseases, mental illnesses, pacemakers and children under 9 years old.

Choosing a toothpaste

The paste should also be used taking into account the oral condition of each person. One has sensitive teeth - a special toothpaste is needed to reduce sensitivity. Another has such microflora in his mouth that plaque builds up very quickly - he needs an antibacterial one. In the third case, there may be bleeding gums - a paste is needed for gum health. Very often all this can be combined, then a combined action paste is needed.

When choosing a paste manufacturer, you must also focus on your feelings. After all, it is very important that brushing your teeth is comfortable, and if the taste of the toothpaste causes nausea, a person is unlikely to benefit from it. It happens that, apparently due to the individual characteristics of the oral microflora, after brushing your teeth with certain pastes, after some time a film forms on the oral mucosa, which creates discomfort. In this case, it is better to replace the paste.

Many people want to make their teeth lighter and for this they constantly use whitening toothpastes. Here you need to know that modern whitening pastes most often contain enzymes that facilitate easier removal of plaque. Although these pastes do not harm the enamel, they can only be used daily for 1-2 months. Highly abrasive whitening toothpastes (used mainly for smokers) are more effective, but also dangerous to the enamel. They can only be used 1-2 times a week.

How much toothpaste do you need?

Many people mindlessly squeeze toothpaste along their toothbrush because advertising taught them to do so: back in the 40s, a guy on an advertising poster carefully squeezed toothpaste along the brush. The fact is that the task of marketers is to teach us to buy more than necessary and thus sell us as many products as possible.

The main task of toothpaste is to provide mechanical cleaning of the surface of the teeth with a brush. The paste is designed to soften the hardness of the brush, reduce its trauma and soften plaque. Too much toothpaste will reduce the effectiveness of your toothbrush.

So how much toothpaste should you squeeze onto your brush for effective brushing? Every dentist will tell you that there should be a “pea-sized amount” of toothpaste on your brush.

How to brush your teeth correctly

It must be said that germs need to be removed not only from the teeth, but also from the tongue and cheeks. This will protect your mouth even better. And yet, oral hygiene begins with brushing your teeth.

It is very important not only what we brush our teeth with, but also how. How well we remove plaque from our teeth depends on the movements we make with a toothbrush.

Movements with a toothbrush should be vertical, as if sweeping bacteria from the gums to the cutting edge of the tooth (that’s what dentists call “sweeping” movements). Why not horizontal or circular? Horizontal and circular movements contribute to the fact that plaque accumulates even more in the interdental recesses. In addition, as a result of horizontal movements, we can get a so-called wedge-shaped defect.

It not only makes the smile less attractive, but also greatly increases the sensitivity of the teeth, and in later stages leads to periodontal disease and tooth loss.

So, let's start brushing our teeth.

1. Taking the brush in your hands and rinsing it well with water, apply pea-sized paste. You can apply more paste, but then it will create a lot of foam, which will interfere with cleaning.

2. Upper teeth: bring the brush to the upper edge at an angle of 45 degrees.

3. We begin to produce vertical movements(in this case from top to bottom). There are 3-4 movements around each tooth. We start with the back teeth and move to the front.

4. We do the same on the inside of the upper teeth: brush at an angle of 45 degrees, sweeping movements. As soon as we reach the front teeth, starting with the fangs, we change the position of the brush and make the same movements, only in the position of the brush, as shown in the figure:

5. We clean the chewing surfaces of the teeth with horizontal movements, back and forth movements are allowed, but it is better to “sweep out” the plaque again from the back teeth to the front.

8. At the end we clean the tongue, because a lot of microorganisms accumulate on it. Movements from the root of the tongue to the tip.

10. We tear off the dental floss and clean the interdental spaces, starting from the back teeth to the front. You cannot clean different interdental spaces with the same piece of floss, because... in this way we will transfer bacteria from the previous area to the next one. It is convenient to tear off about 30 cm of thread, place it between 2 index fingers, leaving a few centimeters for cleaning. As you clean, wrap the used thread around one of your fingers. Be careful not to injure your gums.

11. Rinse your mouth with mouthwash for 30 seconds.

After brushing your teeth, make sure that the toothbrush does not “pick up” excess germs before the next use. To do this, it is recommended to soap it and leave it in this state until next time. Be sure to rinse it well before use. Brush your teeth only with your own toothbrush, and do not forget to change it for a new one at least once every 2-3 months.