At 5 years old, your child is at an age where he can start taking care of simple personal care tasks, such as brushing his teeth. But he'll be less enthusiastic if the task feels like a chore, and he will need your supervision to ensure he does the job thoroughly. Set the stage for a lifetime of good oral hygiene by teaching your child the proper brushing technique while making brushing seem like a fun activity.
Importance
Don't underestimate the importance of brushing children's teeth. Even though baby teeth are temporary, they are still susceptible to decay and cavities. Starting good oral hygiene at an early age helps establish habits that last into adulthood, but children younger than 5 typically lack the fine motor skills needed to handle a toothbrush effectively. By age 5, your child can learn to use a toothbrush, but you will need to guide him.
Technique
Teach your child the proper brushing technique. Brush at least twice a day using a pea-sized dab of fluoridated toothpaste on a child-size, soft-bristle toothbrush. Too much toothpaste foams up and makes brushing difficult. Help your child hold the brush at a 45-degree angle to her gum line and gently move the brush in small circles. Make sure your child brushes each tooth one at a time without skipping any. Hold the brush flat to clean chewing surfaces. The optimal brushing time is two to three minutes, according to the Colgate Oral and Dental Health Research Center, although most children brush for an average of one minute. Until your child has enough skill to handle the brush properly and becomes familiar with brushing, go over her teeth yourself to ensure all surfaces have been cleaned. Finish with rinsing and spitting.
Have Fun
Make brushing fun. Let your child brush his own teeth as much as possible while making sure he does a thorough job. Laugh, make noise and be enthusiastic about brushing. Children want to mimic their parents, so demonstrate good oral hygiene yourself. If your child resists brushing, try involving older siblings to make brushing a family activity. Sing a song while your child brushes to help him to brush for a full three minutes or use a kitchen timer. Don't limit oral hygiene to twice a day. Give your child healthy, sugar-free snacks. Play games or use educational coloring pages to reinforce the importance of brushing.
Tips
Choose toothpaste wisely. Pastes with strong flavorings may be tasty for adults, but they may be too harsh for children and sting their mouth. More fluoride is not necessarily better for children, notes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most children get sufficient amounts of fluoride from fluoridated drinking water and small amounts of fluoridated toothpaste. Do not use fluoride rinses for children younger than 6 unless your dentist or physician specifically recommends it. Make sure your child learns to spit out the toothpaste. Consistently swallowing toothpaste can cause white spots to develop on your child's teeth, a condition called fluorosis.
