How often does your child brush his/her teeth?

[loraxc]

DH took DD to the dentist today, and apparently the dentist chewed him out because DD only brushes once a day. (She does have a cavity in a back molar on the side.) I sure as heck didn't brush twice a day as a kid.

So--be honest! How often do yours brush?

(ETA: Given the cavity, we are going to brush twice now. But the dentist really made DH feel like a rotten, neglectful parent, and I told him I was sure we weren't the only ones only brushing once a day....looks like I'm right!

The dentist seemed to kind of be a jerk anyway--he also gave DH grief about the little wart on DD's chin, which does not bother her and which she does not want removed. WTH, dude? Are you a dermatologist?)

[snoopy5386]

it is supposed to be 2x a day (she does it alone in the morning and we do it together at night) but in reality she only brushes in the morning 1-2 days a week when she happens to be in the bathroom when I am brushing too. Usually we are running late for wherever we need to be and teethbrushing gets skipped. Horrible I know!

[Mommy2anangel]

Twice a day.. morning and night.

[ann_of_loxley]

Once a day at least. Sometimes more than once.
I only brush once a day too.

[GoBecGo]

Twice a day, she does am, i do pm. DD didn't always brush in the morning, but we do, as a family use flouride toothpaste (controversial around here i know). She has no cavities so far.

[carfreemama]

We have gone through misery with dd's teeth, poor little girl! She's seen the dentist regularly since age 2, because we knew she had really deep "pits" and were watching her closely. Even so, even with regular x-rays, at barely 6 she has had 2 teeth pulled, 2 baby root canals and 3 metal caps; along with a nasty-looking spacer that covers the arch of her mouth. It's heartbreaking, I never wanted her to have trouble with her teeth.

So yeah, twice a day; 3 times usually (so I almost answered obligatory other).

And we don't drink much juice, eat sticky fruit leather, etc...

Now flossing, that's a challenge!!

Poor, poor baby.

[GoBecGo]

Originally Posted by carfreemama

We have gone through misery with dd's teeth, poor little girl! She's seen the dentist regularly since age 2, because we knew she had really deep "pits" and were watching her closely. Even so, even with regular x-rays, at barely 6 she has had 2 teeth pulled, 2 baby root canals and 3 metal caps; along with a nasty-looking spacer that covers the arch of her mouth. It's heartbreaking, I never wanted her to have trouble with her teeth.

So yeah, twice a day; 3 times usually (so I almost answered obligatory other).

And we don't drink much juice, eat sticky fruit leather, etc...

Now flossing, that's a challenge!!

Poor, poor baby.

I had a friend at school like this and her adult teeth were really good and strong. Sometimes milk teeth just aren't so hot, but 2nd teeth can be a whole different story. I hope that's the case for your DD too!

[Pavlovs]

He brushes twice a day, but it's been a fight for that to happen since we've been regularly brushing teeth. He hates it, for some reason, and always has. But we stick to our routine and so he has to brush in the morning and at night.

[Alyantavid]

Twice a day every day.

[laohaire]

I know it's supposed to be twice a day, but I've been remiss. She brushes once a day under the supervision of her father (or rather... he DOES it for her). Two weeks ago I started to have her brush herself in the morning, but then I slacked off.

Thanks for the reminder.

[Grace and Granola]

I'm so glad you polled this! I've always wanted to. Teethbrushing is something I always feel guilty about not doing enough. Honestly, there have been days skipped entirely, but I am really trying to get in the habit of letting them brush in the morning and me brush them at night. My boys have always hated brushing their teeth, from day1, so it's been a battle I'm not always up for. But now, they don't mind so much, so I can get in a batter habit with them. I'm happy to know that I'm not the only one on the 1-a-day plan though. Less mama guilt!

[Daffodil]

Twice a day is the norm, though we occasionally miss the morning brushing. We used to do it just at night, but when DD was 4, the dentist suddenly found she had at least 9 cavities, despite regular brushing and flossing. So we started making sure to brush and floss in the morning, too. (My brother's kids just brush at night, and don't usually floss, and I don't think either of them has ever had a cavity.)

[lonegirl]

Well my son, 3y4m, loves brushing his teeth. He gets a good brushing before bed every night because I help and then he brushes first thing in the morning and often other times when he is in the bathroom having a pee.

[mamadelbosque]

Idealy... 2x a day. In practice? 1x a day, same as me & DH. And there are days that get skipped entirely, as there are days when *I* don't get around to brushing...

[Ceinwen]

Twice! After breakfast and before bed.

My seven year old brushes herself, then I check and 'tune-up' any areas that need help; my two year old, I pretty much do the whole job.

[One_Girl]

My dd does twice a day and at night I put a flouride gel on her six year molars because she has weak enamel on just those teeth (something that happens to 1 in 100 kids). I also do a touch up brush about 4 times a week on a good week.

[St. Margaret]

AM-- she gets to brush, practicing, sucking on the toothpaste
PM-- we brush her really well. This was the brushing we started with, b/c I wanted DD going to bed with clean teeth, since we nursed all night. But she wanted to brush in the AM when we did, too.

[Jessy1019]

One a day, at night before bed, regularly, though some days we miss . . . and some days they brush in the morning, too. It all balances out.

[candipooh]

My youngest has really bad teeth. She just had 4 caps and one spacer put in. (we went a over a year without insurance and didn't take her in) I am so glad that the dentist didn't try making me feel like a bad mom for all her teeth problems.
I was good about having her brush her teeth but not so good about making her floss. She now brushes at least once a day and more if she has any sugar or juice. I now make sure I have plenty of those little floss sticks around. She loves using them. She is almost 7
My other two daughters who do get cavities, are nowhere near as unlucky with their teeth.

[ShadowMoon]

I brush DS's teeth once or twice a day. He'll brush after I do it as well, (but I do a thorough job compared to him )

We use a flouride-free toothpaste at the moment.