Pediatric opinions
Many of the Brookhaven and Tucker parents have asked me about tooth brushing for their children. How long should they brush? How much toothpaste? How to get them to brush at all? Is full body Velcro available at Walmart? This is simply advice from one professional based upon a beautiful blend of realism ( having four children myself) and some scientific evidence.
The first picture is the amount I have found to be totally satisfactory for my non-spitting toddler. It gives him a hint of the flavor of adult toothpaste and a small amount of fluoride. My opinion on the time of tooth brushing has much more to do with the technique. I strongly encourage every parent to reserve the first 30 seconds of toothbrush time at every session, then the hand-off can occur. If your toddler controls the toothbrush the entire time then little good is being done even in two minutes time.
For spitting children and adults
The second picture is for the spitting child of any age, even into adulthood. Many commercials show the long ribbon of toothpaste covering the entirety of the toothbrush and this is simply misleading you to buy more toothpaste than you actually need. Your toothbrush is doing most of the work, thus my minimalist thoughts shall ring out. The next time you brush your teeth try to use this much toothpaste and see if it is just as effective.
This final section is a video of a reasonable toothbrushing technique for a child. The important rules involve angling the toothbrush toward the gums and short massaging movements. The most important aspect is to remove the piled up bacteria at the gumline of all the teeth. Thanks to Annelise for being my little guinea!
