Helpful tips for teaching children proper teeth brushing habits

Ensure your little one develops healthy teeth brushing habits from an early age.

Teaching kids to brush their teeth and build good dental habits early is key to healthy smiles for life. With a little patience and creativity, parents can make brushing fun and part of the daily routine.

With World Oral Health Day coming up on March 20, 2025, it’s a great reminder for parents to focus on their children’s dental care.

The latest Oral Health Tracker (2024) shows some worrying stats:

• 1 in 3 Aussie kids have had tooth decay before school age.
• Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease in kids, more than asthma.
• The number of kids aged 5-9 hospitalised for dental disease is rising.

With these facts in mind, it’s clear that teaching kids how to brush properly is important. Dr. Bethany from Tooth Tales shares that making brushing fun can help kids develop good habits. Here are some simple tips to get started.

Tips for teaching kids good teeth brushing habits

The best brushing techniques to teach kids

• Brush 1 tooth at a time
• Brush round and round all the way from the gums to the edge of the tooth – this can be a tricky skill to master for little (and big humans), so using an electric toothbrush makes this easier to master
• Brush all surfaces (inside, outside and on top)
• Just like handwriting, the fine motor skills for toothbrushing take a long time to develop. Grown-ups should do most of the brushing for their child until age 6, with assistance until age 8-9.

How long should you be brushing for?

• 2 minutes twice a day is a great guide, which can be split between parent and child (because until age 6, parents should be doing most of the toothbrushing)
• Aiming for 5-10 seconds per surface per tooth is a good guide to make sure all plaque is removed before moving to the next tooth

How often should you brush your teeth?

• Twice a day brushing is what want to aim for
• The morning brush helps remove bacteria that has built up on our teeth overnight, and fluoride in our toothpaste helps restrengthen our enamel that has become weaker from our drier mouth overnight, which is why brushing before eating breakfast is best for our teeth
• The nighttime brush (and floss!!) often surprises parents as being more important than the morning brush. We want to remove any food before we sleep, because when our mouth is drier overnight, bacteria can cause havoc with leftover food.

Make brushing teeth fun and engaging for different age groups

1. Give them choice – have fun toothbrushes to choose from, like the Ordo Squishmallow range, and different toothpaste options
2. Mix up where you brush – it doesn’t have to be in the bathroom! Lying on the couch is my favourite spot
3. Brush along to a song like my “Two-Minute Toothbrushing Song” or my toothbrushing version of “Wheels on the Bus”
4. Make it a game – go hunting for animals in their mouth, have a teeth cleaning chart to complete, or attach the handle of their toothbrush to their favourite dinosaur

Top tips for choosing the best toothbrush and toothpaste

• I always recommend electric toothbrushes where a child is happy to use one, but the best toothbrush is one your child wants to use!
• Despite there being a huge amount of toothpastes available to choose from, there are only 2 main types in Australia. Based on the Australian Dental Association Guidelines:
  • Low fluoride toothpaste (children’s toothpaste) is recommended for low risk children 18 months to 6 years
  • Standard fluoride toothpaste (6+/adult toothpaste) for everyone else
  • Ages written on the box aren’t always the best indicator of the right toothpaste for your child. Instead, check the ingredients for the fluoride concentration (500-600ppm fluoride for children’s toothpaste; 1000-1450ppm fluoride for standard toothpaste)
  • Up to 18 months, no toothpaste and just water is recommended
• And remember – spit and don’t rinse after brushing!