# What age did your kids brush their own teeth?



## superfrizbee

Just curious really as I'm sure my 5 year old would still not do a good enough job to brush her teeth solo.


----------



## ClairAye

Just before turning 5? He brushed his teeth at nursery too so learned quite quickly how to brush properly, however I still supervise and go over if needed.


----------



## kirstybumx3

Rio brushes his own teeth. But occasionally Ill brush them before or after him on an evening. He seems to do a good job to be honest, hes always brushed alone though since he was a toddler then Ive finished them off after x


----------



## CaptainMummy

My eldest is almost 7 and I still give hers a quick going over when she is done. It looks like she does a decent job but I'd rather be sure. Says on the toothpaste 'Help your child with brushing until they are at least 7 years old' so when she moans (which she has never really done tbf) I just show her that. My 4yr old does a good job too but I still brush hers afterwards too and will continue to do so for a while yet!


----------



## becsboo

4 :) sometimes with help


----------



## lau86

My ds1 is 6 and I still brush his. He doesn't mind at all


----------



## _Meep_

Not sure about my sister as she is older and I don't remember, but my mum certainly brushed my brother's and mine until we were about 10! Not because we were incapable in any way (sleepovers at other kids' houses weren't a problem or anything), but merely because she was always going to do a better job until we were old enough to really care about hygiene, cleanliness and keeping our teeth in good shape.

I'll be 30 in 3 days and I've never had a filling or any sort of work done on my teeth, other than getting braces in my 20s purely because one tooth was slightly out of line and I was incredibly vain. My brother is 3 years younger and is the same.

Brush them as long as she will let you!


----------



## sevenofnine

4, but I watch her and coach her occasionally. She usually does pretty good!


----------



## Babybump87

Both my girls have been doing theirs for a while by themselves . DD1 is nearly 5 and DD2 is nearly 2 but very wise and strong willed ! . I do go over their teeth after them mainly because I want to make sure they are defiantly clean although they both do a pretty good job !


----------



## blake12336

My son is nearly five and I let him brush his teeth in the morning and I brush his teeth before bed. We do have a good app though which shows them which section of teeth to brush and how long for etc.


----------



## AngelUK

I still brush my boys' teeth cause when I was little my brother and I brushed our own teeth and did a bad job and had to have fillings. I hope this won't happen to mine!


----------



## Zephram

My DS1 is five in two days and he brushes his own teeth. He has done for about the past year as it became a massive battle of wills where he wanted to do it himself and would pack a massive tantrum if I insisted on doing it. Most of the time he does a really good job. I supervise him doing it as I usually brush his 2 year old brothers teeth at the same time, so if I see him slacking or skipping an area I tell him to do it again. I probably brush his teeth once a week at this point when he says hes too tired to do it. He has regular dental check ups and his teeth are perfect.


----------



## Natasha2605

My kids have brushed independently since about age 4. They have dental appointments every six month and both sets of teeth are great so far!


----------



## Bevziibubble

At around 4 years old :)


----------



## pompeyvix

I tend to encourage her to do her own in the morning and in the evening either I will do it or she will start and I will finish off.


----------



## Rags

When DS was first getting his teeth my dentist advised that I brush them until he is 8 and then supervise him. He's 7 now and although they brushed them at nursery and in P1 & 2 I continue to do them at home.


----------



## MindUtopia

Probably about 3.5, but I still went back and did it again after just to be sure. Now at nearly 5, she does it most times, but sometimes I do give it a once over just to make sure it's done well.


----------



## JessyG

I always brush her teeth. She is 4. She can do it quite well but i either always start it off and she finishes it or i just do it. I didnt realise it was common to let them do it on their own at this age. I reckon ill do/help until she is in school next year for sure if not for another couple of years.


----------



## sequeena

I brush my son's teeth then he goes over it himself. He brushes by himself at school. Our dentist recommends that a parent helps to brush until the child is 8.


----------



## Vickie

We let our DD try brushing herself at 8. She wasn't doing the best job at it and our dentist told us that the dexterity to do a good job at brushing teeth is 10 (we had thought 8 previously as well) and that he still brushes/checks his kids teeth. So we have gone back to brushing/giving her teeth a once over after she brushes. (she did fine with the electric toothbrush but when that went and she went back to manual brushing she wasn't being thorough enough)


----------



## sequeena

AngelUK said:


> I still brush my boys' teeth cause when I was little my brother and I brushed our own teeth and did a bad job and had to have fillings. I hope this won't happen to mine!

Fingers crossed!! Thomas having bad teeth is a worry of mine as mine aren't great. He just had a dentist appointment and his teeth are perfect I'm so relieved.


----------



## AngelUK

Mine had their teeth checked at their school when a dental nurse came to visit and they were ok too. I should make a proper appointment though cause like you my teeth are not great. Though I have not had any fillings in the last 10 or so years.


----------



## loeylo

Gracie brushes her own teeth and has done since she was about 6 months old. We go over them when she is done. She's actually really good at it. She's getting an electric tooth brush for Christmas.


----------



## twobecome3

she is nearly 5 and we still do a once over. she's had a lot of dental work done already and has a spacer where things get stuck so its essential


----------



## _jellybean_

4 but we go over them to make sure they are done properly


----------



## SarahBear

Violet just turned 5. Fine motor skills are not a strength of hers and from the reading I've done, a good guideline is that when they have the coordination to tie their shoes, they have the coordination to brush their teeth. She's just now getting the hang of wiping after she poops and even still, she often makes a big mess of it by wiping before she's done pooping. So... if she's just getting the hang of that, I suspect teeth brushing is down the line a bit. I do feel, however, that she needs to start learning to do it which I've mentioned to her.

As for those who say they let their kid do it and then go back over them, I tried that method, but it was confusing for her (why are you brushing my teeth if I just did it?) and she got upset about it, so we just stick to me or my husband brushing them. Over the course of this year, I'll be trying to get her more involved in it.


----------



## Mannie89

My kids are 8, 5, and 3... and I still brush all of their teeth for them! :haha: I do let the older two kids brush first and I finish it up for them. I start the 3 year old and then he always asks to brush by himself when I am done.


----------



## SarahBear

Mannie89 said:


> My kids are 8, 5, and 3... and I still brush all of their teeth for them! :haha: I do let the older two kids brush first and I finish it up for them. I start the 3 year old and then he always asks to brush by himself when I am done.

Teeth are important. No need to rush them to independence with it.


----------

