Hacks For Brushing Your Toddler’s Teeth

We all know that brushing your teeth is pretty important. It’s also something that isn’t always fun to do but necessary. However, our rambunctious little ones don’t quite understand how important this routine is. It can be hard to get your toddler to stand still let alone try to get the toothbrush even in their mouth. Which can lead to stressed out toddlers and parents.

I found a few tips that has significantly made the process of brushing my toddlers teeth easier. He actually looks forward to brushing his teeth and is one of his favorite parts of his nightly bedtime routine. I hope these tips can make your toddler and your nights a little smoother.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you would like to know more please read full disclosure here.

1) We sit him on the counter and have the water running.

This makes it fun for him and makes it easier for us to brush his teeth since he is eye level.

2) Training toothpaste that has a great taste helps.

We use Nuby training toothpaste and toothbrush . Our toddler loves the taste which excites him and helps him look forward to it. We still make sure he knows how to spit it out but it is perfectly safe if he swallows.

3) We make it fun and tell him to go “ahhhhh” while brushing which he finds funny.

I do my best to keep brushing his teeth a fun and light activity. Don’t force it or make it seem like something your toddler “has” to do. Have fun with it too so your toddler knows it’s something to enjoy and not something they dislike.

4) I let him do it however he wants to do it after I brush his teeth. (This way I feel confident that his teeth actually get brushed)

We made it a habit to allow us to brush my son’s teeth first then he gets to brush them after. I want to make sure his teeth are actually getting brushed but it doesn’t completely take away his independence. Toddlers love being able to have the power and control the situation. So letting your toddler brush their teeth gives them that sense of independence they naturally crave. It’s something he looks forward to after we do the brushing.

5) Then we close it out with washing his hands which he loves to do too!

Washing hands is another activity my son loves to do. We have foam soap which makes it more fun. I spray some in his hand and he washes it all himself. It doesn’t have to be this activity but closing out the brushing with something fun they enjoy doing will keep the whole process light and fun.

These are things that have worked great for us and I hope it can work for you too! If you have a fun hack to add that has worked for you, I would love to hear about it. If you try any of these tips, I would also love to hear if it worked for you. Thank you for reading!