You are not alone. So many parents are struggling to brush their little one’s teeth- it’s hard! Imagine someone coming at you with a large brush that you don’t like and getting all up in your mouth with it. You’d likely resist a bit, too. That’s why I called in the Occupational Therapist on our team to provide you with some helpful step-by-step tips to make toothbrushing more enjoyable for both you and your little one!

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When and How to Start Brushing

The AAP recommends starting to brush your baby’s teeth the minute that first tooth pops up- for most babies that is between 6-12 months. I know it might feel silly brushing that tiny little baby tooth, but starting early with teeth brushing is so important for helping your little one learn and adjust to this new daily routine. (If you’re reading this like “oh shoot, my toddler has 4 teeth and I’ve never brushed them” - it’s okay! Now is the time to start!)

If you’re reading this and haven’t started brushing yet, here is how to start:

Recline baby back like the picture above and sing a song while brushing in gentle circles all over baby’s teeth! Sing Twinkle, Twinkle or ABCs or any song your little one likes!
This position is optimal because it mimics the position baby will be in when going to the dentist AND it allows you to best see their entire mouth.
Start small with just 5-10 seconds of brushing and try to end on a happy note or when the verse to a song ends.
Do this morning and night. Start with just a wet toothbrush for acceptance, and then when your routine is established put a very small dot of toothpaste on the brush.

If you’re looking for our toothbrushing favorites, they are all here!

Now, I know this is all well and good if your little one allows a toothbrush in their mouth, and for some parents these steps might be all you need.

But what if you can’t even get NEAR your little one with a brush? Let’s dive in!

How to Get Them to Accept a Toothbrush

The First Step

Let. Them. Mouth. Things. (Safely, of course). That’s right! Take a look back to our Mouthing and Teether blogs for more on this! Establishing a good relationship with teeth brushing starts with your baby or toddler feeling safe and comfortable having things in their mouths, and playtime is the best time to do that. Letting their mouths explore different textures and densities is not only helpful for teething, but for teeth brushing as well. Just like mouthing objects allows baby’s oral sensory system to prepare for food in the mouth, it is also preparing for other items in the mouth like a toothbrush.

The Second Step

One of the easiest ways to help your little one warm up to teeth brushing is to fit it into your bedtime/evening routine. Routines are predictable and safe for our little ones and consistently brushing teeth every evening can really help your little one to adjust and feel comfortable with it. When you make it a part of your daily or evening routine, your little one will begin to expect it, which will help the newness to die down and it will eventually become less ‘scary’ and more ‘normal’.

You can even incorporate toothbrushing in the bath! Have your little one brush a bath toy’s teeth and when bathtime is over you brush their teeth! Find a time every night for toothbrushing and stick to it.

The Third Step

As always, start slow and build up! Maybe your little one can tolerate ~10 seconds of teeth brushing… perfect! Start there and aim for ~15 seconds tomorrow, then ~20 seconds a few days later, and so on. We have to remember to meet our little ones where they are if we want to see progress. The truth is that we cannot just expect our little one to dive in and accept new things right off the bat. Remember, you know and understand teeth brushing, they do not. You have to give them time to learn and adjust to this new routine. That means starting super small!

Once you get your routine and timeline down pat, here are some things you can do to actually get your little one to accept the brush in their mouth:

What to Do While You Brush

Talk about the “Why”

Understanding helps diminish fear! Do not underestimate your little one. Their hesitancy with teeth brushing could be linked to a lack of understanding of what in the world you are trying to do with them. Talk to them about WHY we want them to brush their teeth. Use simple terms like ‘dirty’ and ‘clean’. “At the end of the day, our teeth are ‘dirty’ from eating all day, so we have to brush them to ‘clean’ them”. “Just like we clean our hands, clean our hair, and clean our bodies, we also have to clean our teeth.” Toddlers are so curious and eager to learn. Talking to them about the ‘why’ might help them understand what the purpose of this now routine is.

Read Some Teeth Brushing Books

Grab some books and start reading! Reading books about teeth brushing can help familiarize your little one with the language, routine, and process of teeth brushing. Here are some of our favorites. Read these before and after teeth brushing to help get your little one comfortable! I linked some of our favorites below!

Change Your Positioning or Location

This can look like many different things. The bottom line is wherever you are currently trying to brush your little one’s teeth is likely not working, so change it up. While a reclined position is optimal, it might take a lot of little steps to get there! Head to the bathroom and look in the mirror together. Sit on the floor or couch together. Use a kitchen tower or stool and stand at the kitchen sink. Just switch things up! Or better yet, ask your little one where they would like to brush their teeth. Giving control can do wonders!

Use 3 Brushes

I know this might seem excessive, but putting a toothbrush in each of their hands and then one in yours can help prevent them from pushing the brush out of your hand! And then you can “take turns” by letting them brush for a few seconds before you go back in! If you don’t want to use 2 toothbrushes in their hands, give them something else to hold in each hand. A teether or spoon would work!

Brush Your Stuffed Animals

Let your little one be the ‘teeth brusher’ for a change and brush your baby dolls and stuffed animals teeth. This will help your little one to feel comfortable holding and having control of the toothbrush. Ask them whose teeth they want to brush tonight, then go and find that stuffed animal and talk your little one through brushing the stuffed animal's teeth. Try to use similar language as you use when brushing your toddler’s teeth. (i.e. “open wide”, “brush brush brush”, “almost done”, etc.)

Join Your Little One

Instead of coming right at them with a toothbrush, make it an activity that you do together. Load up your toothbrushes together, take turns wetting them under water, get down on your little one’s level, and model (show them) exactly what you're hoping they do. Ask your little one to help you brush your teeth by letting them have control of your tooth brush (I promise this is helpful for them, but brace yourself for some forceful brushing!), then tell them it’s your turn to brush their teeth. You can also try the phrasing “your turn” and “my turn” to help them know when you are going to join in to help them brush their teeth. They will love that this is an activity that you all do together.

Work Outside In

If your little one is very aversive to you getting into their mouth, start at their hands and work your way up! Tap the toothbrush on their fingers, hand, arm, elbow, shoulder, cheek, lips, etc. before going into their mouth! You can make it fun by singing a song as you work your way up, or you can tell them “Time to brush your ____” as you’re doing it! Then once you brush their teeth for a few seconds, you can bring the brush back to their hands and start over. This is a great way to calm down brushing and slowly work your way in their mouth!

Visual or Auditory Timers

A visual timer is something that allows your little one to visually see the amount of time left for an activity or until the next activity occurs. Think about an hour glass that lets you know roughly how much time is left based on the amount of sand left… that is a visual timer. An auditory timer is a familiar tune or song that would allow you little one to know how long the activity is going to last (i.e., singing a familiar nursery rhyme). Visual and auditory timers help to let your little one know how long they are expected to brush their teeth, which could help relieve some anxiety because they know there will be an end. Pick a favorite nursery rhyme and sing it really fast to start out, so that the teeth brushing experience is fairly short, then begin to sing the song a slower and slower as your little one starts to get the hang of it.

Tell Them What They Ate

This is a silly one but it works! When you get to brushing your little one’s teeth, tell them what they ate that day. “Wow, I see cheese and berries! Oh wow, did you have a mango?!” They find it funny and are intrigued that you can see what food they ate on their teeth!

Do You Need More Help?

If you have tried all of these strategies and more and your little one is still fighting teeth brushing, it is possible that your little one could have some oral sensitivities that might require the help of an Occupational Therapist. Contact your state’s early intervention for an OT evaluation and you can book a consultation with our Occupational Therapist if you want individualized help in a matter of days!