Brush Your Kid’s Teeth Without a Fight

Brushing your child’s teeth is so important and yet so HARD! It was especially hard for both of my kids around ages 1-4 to effectively get their teeth brushed. My kids always fought me every time I tried to brush and I was lucky to get a tiny swipe on their teeth before bed. 

Before I get started, I want to note that you should always allow your child to brush their teeth before you step in to finish. It is important to give your kid the power to do something as important and brushing their teeth!

I came up with some tricks along the way to make brushing your toddler’s teeth a breeze. I hope some of these tips can help you brush your kid’s teeth without a fight and maybe even add it some fun to your routine!

Let them pick out a special toothbrush and toothpaste at the store

This one is easy. Let your child pick out his/her own toothbrush. There are TONS of kid toothbrushes to pick from at the store. Yes, you save money by buying the boring and plain toothbrushes. In my mind, I’m saving money in the long run at the dentist. When they get their fun toothbrush, they are more willing to brush teeth, therefore, fewer (or no) cavities. 

There are also tons of themed toothpaste tubes to choose from. My daughter was obsessed with the rainbow unicorn toothpaste tube. Better yet, when we went to use it, the toothpaste itself was sparkly and tasted great!

Dinosaur/Princess teeth

Okay, I know this is going to sound ridiculous…but I am telling you this worked for quite a while with both of my kids. I told them I needed to look in their mouth and see if they had any dinosaur teeth. I would keep the charade going and “look” for dinosaur teeth while brushing their teeth. Once I was finished, I would tell them I didn’t see any dinosaur teeth but I’d check back the next time! 

At one point, my daughter asked me if I could look to see if she had any princess teeth. My answer was obviously “YES!” And I found “princess teeth” in her mouth every time! 

Play dentist

Make brushing teeth into a game. Get a few doctor toys and the toothbrushes ready. Pretend to be the dentist and poke around on their teeth with the toys. Brush their teeth in the middle of playing dentist and they won’t mind at all! They will love letting you brush their teeth while you play dentist together!

This one was hard for me at first because sometimes I feel like I have to get through each bedtime task quickly. Once I chilled myself out and took my time, I felt like it actually took less time when we played dentist than when I was fighting them to open their mouth and let me brush their teeth.

Sing a brush your teeth song

Make up a silly song about brushing teeth while you are brushing your child’s teeth. Enjoy yourself and allow yourself to be goofy! Your silliness will rub off on your kid and they will love your silly song and want to let you brush!

If making up a song isn’t your thing, this song is my daughter’s favorite!

Let them look in the mirror while brushing

Get a stool and let them watch themselves (and you) brushing their teeth. Let them dance in the mirror, let them be silly, let them enjoy brushing. 

Our bathroom mirror is too high up for our kids to see even on a stool. We allowed our oldest to stand on top of the counter to brush her teeth. This quickly turned into her favorite way to brush her teeth! Of course, we are always standing right there if she were to lose her balance and fall. 

First we brush, then we get to…

First/then statements are always helpful with little ones. They need to know something good will come after they do something they may not exactly love. 

Example: First, we will brush our teeth. Then, we will snuggle and read a book before bedtime.

I hope this list will help you easily brush your kid’s teeth! I’d love to hear which strategy worked for you! Comment below!