Guide to Brushing Your Children's Teeth

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Amy_Kronstedt]Amy Kronstedt
Some parents are just lucky and have children who love having their teeth brushed. Others (myself included), are not so lucky. As a Dental Hygienist and a mommy of two precious boys; I too, struggle to keep my kids teeth healthy! I'm going to share with you some tips to get your children to have healthy teeth.
Before having children; I often thought about how horrible it is that any child would have decay and that their parents just aren't doing enough to save their childrens teeth! I'd have parents come in and tell me that their children hate having their teeth brushed; and I would often just give them the textbook answer, something along the lines of not making it a priority and your kids will just have to suck it up and you're just going to have to help them to like it.
I chuckle at this statement now.
So what is my current answer when a parent tells me that their children hates to have their teeth brushed?? I tell them.. DO YOUR BEST, but DO IT. Obviously this isn't to say without an explanation following these guidelines.
Parents should encourage children to brush their teeth and enjoy it at least once per day. This can be frustrating to say the least; but when you or they brush their teeth - try to make a game out of either counting their teeth or singing a song while brushing. Sometimes I let my son brush my teeth a little with my toothbrush, and then say 'my turn!' and I brush his teeth with his toothbrush. This should be done on a daily basis. Like I said, every single day - the toothbrush should hit their teeth - whether its them or you doing it - whether its for 10 seconds or 2 minutes. This daily brushing for us is best done while he sits on the counter in our bathroom. Its the only reason he's allowed to sit on our bathroom counter:)
Then at LEAST 2-3 times per week a responsible adult should be going in for the 'torture' brushing. It may look different in your house than it does mine: but i'll paint you a picture of what mine looks like. Think War. I lay him on the floor and explain that I need to be sure that he got all the little bugs off of his teeth.
I sit cross legged to start; and lay his head in my lap - as if I'm working. He starts out cooperating; but about 3 seconds later he starts fighting. Then I move him a little to the side, and wrap one of my legs over his arms and chest to keep them from pulling - and one arm around his face to keep his head as still as possible; and the other hand with the toothbrush. Sometimes I get lucky and he's just crying with his head in one place; and I can use my free hand to then pull his cheeks and lip out so I can get the toothbrush right along the gumline and get all the plaque off the teeth. This sounds much more child abusive-ish than it really is. I dont hit; I don't hurt him - I just make sure he's not able to win in the fight.
If you are really concerned about child abuse; think about it this way: you can literally have child abuse and neglect charges on you if you let your kids' teeth rot out. If you're NOT brushing their teeth; you're neglecting their basic needs - and can be in BIG trouble.
Back to the brushing: this thorough brushing should last at least one full minute. It's a full minute of torture. but afterwords I usually praise the heck out of him and through my frustration smile and say 'see! its all clean! no more bugs!!'. He usually cry's until I give him a hug and let him spit into the sink (because spitting is fun for boys)
For more tips on brushing your children's teeth and the importance of fluoride you can see my blog at [http://www.grinningcheektocheek.com]http://www.grinningcheektocheek.com. This is my personal blog with mostly family friendly product reviews - definitely not all dental related; but I do have a few articles on oral care and would be more than happy to answer any dental related questions you might have (child or adult!)
Amy is a Dental Hygienist and the author of a blog called Grinning Cheek to Cheek. She writes several product reviews and runs giveaways of these awesome products. There is a lot to be told about the drama 'in-the-life-of' this wife and mother of two boys. She is patiently learning the balancing act of life - and learning that it is not as easy as it looks..
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Guide-to-Brushing-Your-Childrens-Teeth&id=6202704] Guide to Brushing Your Children's Teeth