How to Brush Your Teeth for Preschoolers

Preschool children soak up quickly what you teach them. That's why it is so important to teach a preschooler to brush his teeth daily. Maintaining consistent dental hygiene is paramount because poor dental health can lead to other ailments. Besides, yellow or rotting teeth simply aren't attractive. If you take care of preschoolers, you can make brushing teeth fun. By doing so, your preschooler will actually be excited about keeping his teeth clean.

Things You'll Need

• Boiled eggs
• Tea bag
• Stickers

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Instructions

• 1

  Introduce the concept of oral hygiene and the importance of brushing your teeth daily. Do an experiment with eggs to show the preschoolers how brushing helps their teeth. Boil eggs in water with a tea bag. The eggs will be stained brown after this. Then once the eggs have cooled off, give each child a toothbrush and have them brush the egg shell. The tea stain will disappear. Tell them that, in the same way, brushing your teeth keeps them clean from food and germs.

• 2

  Sing a song about brushing. For example, using the melody of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," you could sing, "Brush, brush, brush your teeth, brush them all around, up and down and front and back, until the germs are gone." Songs often get preschoolers excited and make them want to participate.

• 3

  Prepare her toothbrush and your toothbrush. As she stands beside you, show her how you gently squeeze the tube to apply toothpaste to your brush. Allow her to squeeze the toothpaste onto her own toothbrush. Show her how you brush your teeth, placing your toothbrush in your mouth and slowly brushing side to side, up and down and all around. Then tell her it's her turn to do the same. Guide your preschooler's hand as he holds his toothbrush. Show her how to push the toothbrush back to reach all her teeth. This interaction makes it a copycat game, which preschoolers enjoy.

• 4

  Name the teeth. Give them silly names, such as Mr. Back In The Cave Tooth and Ms. Big Front Tooth.

• 5

  Praise your preschooler for brushing and reward him with simple things, such as stickers. Continue this process daily until your preschooler is able to brush his own teeth without being prompted to.