What age do you let your children start brushing their own teeth?

[SoulCakes]

I did a few searches for this beforehand, but didn't quite find what I was looking for.

So my daughter's just about to turn five in a couple of days. Her dad has been insisting that she should be brushing her own teeth by now. I've always had great teeth and so has she, so far - and I wanted to keep them that way! So I've always brushed her teeth for her until now. Obviously, she does have to learn how to brush them properly eventually.

We took the leap, and she loves it! She feels much more grown-up now. But I'm having the hardest time watching her miss some of her teeth, or not brush for very long... I've been giving her tips, of course, and lots of encouragement.

So what age did you let your children start brushing their own teeth? And did you still go over them afterwards for a while, or just let them figure it out?

TIA!

[Bug-a-Boo's Mama]

I just read in a magazine that you should continue helping them until they are in first grade or so.

DS, 4.2yo, will sometimes brush by himself, but I always go back over. I am going to start letting him do it solo in the morning though, just help/do it at night when I floss his teeth.

[34me]

I read somewhere when my dd was very small (she's 16) that kiddos get the ability and the stick to ittiveness at about the same time as cursive hand writing. I probably couldn't find anything to back that up anymore but that's what I did with all 3. In about first grade they would brush and we would do a quick go over. At 16,14 and 11 there are no issues so I feel ok about it. They were capeable of doing so much independently when they were young that I really am okabout holding that back.

[omelette]

I haven't done any research into it but we let my 3.5yr old brush his teeth in the morning and dh or I do the bedtime brush. Our dentist thinks this is fine.
I figure it gives ds some independence and practice and we get to do a really good brushing before bed without a fuss.

[snoopy5386]

ask your dentist? I've heard you should brush and floss for them until 8 or 9. Let them brush first and then you check it over with another brush. As to getting her to brush longer or better, get a timer or one of those toothbrushes that play a song for 2 mins and make sure she is brushing all of her teeth.

[Alyantavid]

5ish? My now 7 year old does his all on his own. My 3.5 year old mostly does it on his own but I do a little scrubbing after him.

[MtBikeLover]

My kids have been brushing their own teeth since they were 4. I do not go back over it unless I can visibly see they missed something.

We go to the dentist every 6 months and the dentist said their teeth are fine. And neither of them have had any cavities yet (they are 5 & 7).

[SoulCakes]

Wow - I totally expected everyone to say that their kiddos had been brushing their own teeth since they were 2!

I feel better about going over her teeth now. She does a pretty good job on her own, but a little help never hurt. It was hard for me to judge from my own experience as a kid, because I have no memory of my mom helping me brush my teeth (and have only had one cavity ever - lucky me!).

Thanks for the help.

[Aubergine68]

My kids have always brushed their own teeth (ie. chewed on a toothbrush for a while when they were very little).

I follow up regularly, brushing after them, as needed. Did it always when they were 2, often, not every time with my 3 yr old, and sometimes, not often , with my 6 yr old.

[Mpenny1001]

DD has always brushed her own teeth first, and then we do a quick once over. Our dentist said to continue this way until she's 7 or 8.

[busymama77]

We still brush our 4yo's teeth. He knows how to, but in his first two check ups, he had cavities and his dentist (my FIL) suggested that we should start brushing for him to make sure that we get in the back (where the cavitites were found) real good. Had a check up two days ago and NO cavities!!

[One_Girl]

My dd's dentist told me I should brush my dd's teeth three times a week until she is nine. I call it touch up and dd is fine with it. My dd has been brushing her own teeth since she was one and I used to do daily touch up.

[Holiztic]

Originally Posted by omelette

I haven't done any research into it but we let my 3.5yr old brush his teeth in the morning and dh or I do the bedtime brush. Our dentist thinks this is fine.
I figure it gives ds some independence and practice and we get to do a really good brushing before bed without a fuss.

Same here (DS is almost 3). We also floss him every night.

[Pepper44]

My DD is 3.5. She brushes her own teeth first then she asks me to touch them up.

We have silly little games we play while brushing, like I'll pretend there's an elephant in her mouth and I have to brush it out of her molars. She loves it.

[artgoddess]

I have two very good friends that are dental hygienists and both of them as well as the two different dentists they work for say I should do it until they are 8. Before that they just sort of cheat, give their own teeth a once over, bu not really brush well on their own.

[marimara]

DD is 3 and she does it by herself, then we do it again after her "she says It's your turn Mommy!"

[velochic]

For about a year, around 5, we monitored how she did and helped her if she missed places, then we'd go over her teeth again. By 6 she was doing it completely on her own. She's never had a cavity and has weak enamel, even. My uncle is a dentist and this was his recommendation. We would show her how to brush and let her do it herself. It didn't take long for her to learn how to do it right. It takes her forever to brush her teeth, though. She's always been slow and meticulous about getting her teeth clean.

[lmk1]

I've heard 6 is a good age. We just got a Sonicare toothbrush for kids. It does a much more thorough job than a manual one, and it beeps when you've done enough time on one side and should switch to another. I think the right age is when you can see they're brushing their teeth correctly.

[ShadowMoon]

Our Ped told us 6 is a good age to begin allowing children to brush their own teeth. DS is 3 and I brush his twice a day. I let him brush his teeth after I do it, (he insists ).

[beanma]

My kids' pediatric dentist recommended parents brush at least one time a day until they were 8. They also mentioned the thing about cursive writing.

I let my 6 yr old do her own in the morning and then I let her start in the evening and I finish up.