My Son Doesn’t Want To Brush His Teeth, What Do I Do?

Oral hygiene education is essential during the growth and development of our children. Teaching should start from the beginning of the solids feeding process to avoid the consequences that food residues generate in the mouth. Let’s see how to teach them to brush their teeth.

A good alternative to stimulate and reinforce learning for our child to brush their teeth voluntarily and as often as necessary is to attract attention through games, demonstrations or music.

“Have you brushed your teeth?
Now I’m going to teach you
How to brush your teeth
Top teeth brush down Bottom
teeth brush up
And molars you must brush in a circular motion
And don’t forget to brush three times a day ah ah…”

Maruca Galindo – Music Brushing teeth

There are factors that can influence the initial rejection such as the taste of toothpaste. That’s why it’s very important that you look for alternatives until you find the most pleasing taste that causes the least amount of rejection possible.

At first glance it may seem that whatever we do doesn’t bring us closer to the goal and that it will be a real mission impossible, but we shouldn’t give up until we do. We often make the mistake of not teaching and constantly repeating, which is really important to encourage them.

We should not forget that young children form habits and learn more from repetition. The example of mom and dad is also essential and very helpful in teaching the importance of brushing your little teeth.

As the child grows, oral hygiene becomes more and more important. The more teeth come in and the more food children consume, the more likely they are to get tooth decay if they don’t have the proper habit.

Poor oral hygiene will result in the appearance of cavities. They cause bad odor and sensitivity to temperature and texture of some foods.

Brushing teeth, a fun activity

What if your child doesn’t want to brush their teeth? In this case, it is important to use attractive tools and methods so that he feels motivated. Below we will mention some of them:

• Change the toothbrush to one with your favorite character or lights. Let your child choose, perhaps one that vibrates or has a massager might be an irresistible idea for him. The idea is to please them and gradually develop the habit of brushing their teeth when they get up, after every meal, after eating sweets and finally at bedtime.

• Make a group brushing schedule with the family.  Often your child will look for a way to imitate the behavior of their parents, grandparents and siblings.
• Making habits constant on a daily basis is guaranteeing success! Brushing your teeth regularly will create the habit for a lifetime.
• Ask them to help brush Mom and Dad’s teeth. This will motivate them and make them feel big and smart. That way they can do the same when they have little brothers.
• Visit the dentist periodically. It is important to go for an appointment with a pediatric dentist who will also support and guide you in this process. Having in your calendar future appointments to go to the dentist regularly is essential for good control.

Every child is different. We can have several children of the same age, but the strategies to be used will be different with each one. It is necessary to learn to know them.

be constant

You may think that they are still small and will not pay enough attention because they are still children. However, as they grow, dental problems get worse.

Sometimes it can happen that we are not constant in this type of issue because of the routine that our house requires. For this reason, we must always be clear about the consequences that inadequate oral hygiene can bring, giving due priority and importance to this habit in the overall health of our child.

We agree that this job requires a lot of perseverance and patience. However, they will learn to the extent possible. The sooner we start creating this habit, the easier it will be to teach them, as the sooner they will start imitating what we do with our own dental hygiene.

They won’t brush their teeth to perfection until they’ve grown a little bigger. But with our monitoring, he will be able to avoid unwanted cavities and their consequences.