How Long Did You Brush Your Kid’s Teeth?

[TipsyTraveler]

My kids had a dentist appointment yesterday. We still brush the 3 year old’s teeth for him and they looked fine. The hygienist advised that we needed to resume brushing my 6 (nearly 7) year old’s teeth for him because he had some plaque along the gum line. When the dentist came in, we had the following conversation:

Me: At what age can he brush his teeth on his own?
Dentist: You’re not going to like the answer.
Me: What, 12?
Dentist: Well, kinda. Studies show they don’t have the manual dexterity to do it properly until they’re 10/11/12. So yeah, you really need to be doing it for them until they reach the double digits, at least.

I can’t even imagine brushing a middle schooler’s teeth for them. Honestly, I might not have had three kids if I knew I was committing myself to decades of teeth brushing. Maybe I’m just out of touch but this seems a bit crazy to me. At what age did you stop brushing your kid’s teeth for them?

 

[Southernmiss]

Just know this too shall pass

My kids are adults with beautiful teeth, few cavities and good dental hygiene.

They did have some cavities as children, but their permanent teeth are fine.

I have come to think that dentists overkill care on baby teeth. And some are in it for $.

I beat myself up way too much over baby teeth of my 4 kids.

 

[BlueStarKRK]

We just happened to catch the start of a cavity on our DS (7) baby molar after I had started letting him brush his own teeth. We went back to the drawing board and I'm brushing his teeth again.

 

[sam_gordon]

I occasionally end up with cavities. What makes the dentist think I'm going to do a better job brushing my kids than I do mine?

To give an honest answer, I don't remember. The youngest will be 18 next month.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

To give an honest answer, I don't remember.

Ditto.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We watched them floss nightly (with floss sticks) and they brushed themselves with an electric toothbrush probably from four or so? I’m guessing because I don’t remember exactly, but it definitely wasn’t 12! Lol. The dentist’s had advised their using the electric toothbrushes. We just got the cheap ones from WalMart (and DD still uses one!).

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Just know this too shall pass

My kids are adults with beautiful teeth, few cavities and good dental hygiene.

They did have some cavities as children, but their permanent teeth are fine.

I have come to think that dentists overkill care on baby teeth. And some are in it for $.

I beat myself up way too much over baby teeth of my 4 kids.

I feel that way about dentistry in general, if I’m being honest. Someone please explain to me why teeth need twice yearly professional attention but the entire rest of the body only needs to be checked by a doctor annually. It seems as though the consequences of something going wrong with one’s heart/kidneys/liver/take-your-pick would be much worse than the consequences of something going wrong with a tooth, so for the life of me I can’t figure out why teeth get twice the attention. I’m fully admitting to being a bit skeptical about the whole dental industry, so that’s why I’m trying to figure out if my thoughts on this latest recommendation are steeped in my own personal bias or if it really is as ridiculous as I think it sounds.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

I don’t recall for our son. It’s been a while, he’s 41. I do have 3 granddaughters though and I know for a fact that the 8 year old doesn’t brush very well. The oldest is 12 and she just got her braces off and she’s a pretty lazy brusher too. I’d say our 10 year old probably does the best.

 

[Southernmiss]

The best thing we ever did was stop taking them to pediatric dentists and just used our own simple family dentist.

 

[kyton]

Our kids are now 18, 16 and 14 - I’m sure I stopped at like 4-5, definitely by the time they started kindergarten. Only the eldest has had any fillings - 2 but she also had the sweet tooth among them. They all have (had for 18 & 16) (current for the 14) braces. They all get the “could brush better” from both the orthodontist and normal dentist but that is now on them to do better.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

The best thing we ever did was stop taking them to pediatric dentists and just used our own simple family dentist.

Yes, but does your family dentist have a tunnel into the building and a slide in the waiting room, and video games, and a prize wall…? My kids looove going there and will riot if I ever try to leave, so I’m going to need a darn good reason to change dentists. We’re in too deep!

 

[Southernmiss]

Yes, but does your family dentist have a tunnel into the building and a slide in the waiting room, and video games, and a prize wall…? My kids looove going there and will riot if I ever try to leave, so I’m going to need a darn good reason to change dentists. We’re in too deep!

Lol the pediatric dentists were like that and that's probably why they got so much of our $.

A change in dental insurance 'forced' us into switching dentists. The family dentist actually had been a neighbor when he was a young dentist with a young family-his daughter was a friend of my sister's.

His office is a 1980s era office with little updates and frills. But he is honest and did have a treasure box, so the kids didn't complain too much lol. And he did not find the nit pickiest things to have them return for.

 

[ronandannette]

My kids had a dentist appointment yesterday. We still brush the 3 year old’s teeth for him and they looked fine. The hygienist advised that we needed to resume brushing my 6 (nearly 7) year old’s teeth for him because he had some plaque along the gum line. When the dentist came in, we had the following conversation:

Me: At what age can he brush his teeth on his own?
Dentist: You’re not going to like the answer.
Me: What, 12?
Dentist: Well, kinda. Studies show they don’t have the manual dexterity to do it properly until they’re 10/11/12. So yeah, you really need to be doing it for them until they reach the double digits, at least.

I can’t even imagine brushing a middle schooler’s teeth for them. Honestly, I might not have had three kids if I knew I was committing myself to decades of teeth brushing. Maybe I’m just out of touch but this seems a bit crazy to me. At what age did you stop brushing your kid’s teeth for them?

I'm no parenting expert or a dentist, for that matter, but I got DS a power toothbrush when he was about 5 and had sealants applied to his molars (both baby teeth and his permanent ones, when they came in). To date (he's 26 now) he's had two cavities in his life. Maybe think about trying one or both of those?

 

[china mom]

We were supposed to brush our kids' teeth?!?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We were supposed to brush our kids' teeth?!?

Only the ones you wanted to keep!

 

[china mom]

I think it is all a crapshoot anyway. DS inherited my strong enamel. He was really, really bad at dental hygiene when younger and probably pretty casual about it today and never has any issues.

DD, on the other hand, is a rule follower, brushes and flosses constantly but suffered from malnutrition up until age 3 and who knows who's genes she has. Poor kid has very soft teeth and forming cavities comes easy to her.

 

[amylevan]

Definitely not double digits. Probably 3? One child has had no cavities, one has had several.

The one who has had more, I encourage her to use a fluoride rinse to add some assistance. She hasn’t had cavities in a while, but I’m not sure if that’s from the fluoride rinse, from getting older and brushing better, or just the way things have gone.

She is 11 now and I’m trying to envision any of my her peers letting their parents brush their teeth….i can’t see it.

 

[sam_gordon]

Only the ones you wanted to keep!

The teeth or the kids?

 

[sam_gordon]

Get some of these... https://www.amazon.com/Red-Cote-Dis...aque+disclosing+tablets&qid=1705671513&sr=8-7

I remember having to use these at the dentist when I was a kid. After brushing, chew a tablet, swish around your mouth, rinse, spit, and presto! You get to see places they missed while brushing. Although, as a kid with poor brushing habits, I think I ended up swallowing or something so missed places weren't as noticeable.

 

[Kitty 34]

The teeth or the kids?

I was just getting ready to say that!!