Teeth cleaning

[Plocket]

My 5 1/2 year old daughter can't be bothered to clean her teeth so it's got to the stage where I clean them for her.

I've tried warning her about bacteria, fillings and teeth falling out but she just says that they are baby teeth so it doesn't matter. She's got a proper toothbrush for the mornings, and an electric toothbrush for the evenings as we were trying to make it different for her.

Can anyone suggest how I can get her to understand the importance of teeth cleaning?

[annie0000]

I can't understand why you are allowing her to decide whether to brush them or not. At 5 and a half, you decide, this is a health issue that will affect her new teeth that are developing as well as her general health. If she needed antibiotics but decided she didn't need them, would you let her choose?

My kids are almost 7 and almost 6 and are allowed to brush their teeth themselves with an electric toothbrush in the morning with supervision, and I set a timer to ensure that they give them a proper clean.

In the evening, it is part of the the routine they have followed since babies to have their teeth cleaned by me or my husband before bed.

I may sound strong on this, but my husband and I both grew up without a strong emphasis on toothbrushing and we suffered the consequences of extractions, gaps etc.

My advise is to tell her to do it properly herself or you will do it for her - full stop - no argument. Then follow through with an appropriate punishment if she doesn't e.g loss of something she values e.g. toy removed or loss of tv time. There are other times when gentle persuasion and encouragement is is appropiate - e.g reward if she does it correctly, but you need to get of the fence and take this in hand.

Personally I think that 5 and a half is too young to expect her to brush them properly every time - at least if you do it at the end of the day, she will go to sleep with a clean mouth.

You could also try getting the dentist to have a talk to her.

[annie0000]

Also, you could refuse any sweet treats as she can't have these if she is not going to brush her teeth can she?

Good Luck!

[Plocket]

I am NOT allowing her to decide whether to brush them or not. She has to brush them twice a day whether she likes it or not and I'm after ideas about how I can get her to understand the importance.

I try to encourage her to do them herself but she doesn't like it which is why I have to do them for her.

[annie0000]

I don't think you should be concerned about whether she want's to do it herself - she is not likely to need to do so for quite some time - just wait until she does.

[bonbon28]

Why not try using a 'brush your teeth' chart:

http://dentistry.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite. htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=dentistry&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww. colgate.com%2Fapp%2FKids-World%2FUS%2FHomePage .cvsp

[Plocket]

Thanks Annie, and thanks too Bonbon - that looks like a cool site so we'll have a play later on.

[spanner7853]

I know this was put on a while ago but have yu tried buying the pink tablets from the dentist (cant remember their name) and getting her to chew one. This shows the plaque on her teeth and she might be shocked into brushing them to get rid of the pink. My son is 10 and I still have a problem getting him to brush his teeth now.

[Plocket]

Thanks for the idea Spanner but we've tried that. She's enthusiastic when she uses the tablets but I don't think she's old enough yet to understand about tartar etc. We are working on it still though.

[babybop6379]

do persist my daughter was exactly the same we were having regular trips to the dentist and there were no problems or so I thought, then we decided to change dentists and was told she needed 8 fillings! i was absolutely mortified that it was that bad she had to be knocked out for the whole thing and from the age of 5 upwards until present she has a mouth full of fillings she is 9 now and she still has 3 left and i cant wait for them to go! lucky it was her milk teeth but it did shock her into looking after her teeth more. and she is counting the days when the others fall out so she has a nice white smile again like her friends. read her this and maybe she will change her mind.

[Plocket]

Thanks Babybop! She looked a bit shocked so hopefully that will stick in her mind for a while.