How do I get my 7 year old to brush his teeth properly?

Hi Humbug25, I remember when my youngest was about 6-7ish, she is now 18 and after $4,000 in braces, she has beautiful teeth! Try this: How is your little one about money? I started her with a piggy bank at around the same age and a nickle here and a dime there...it all adds up... I had to bribe her, I'd say, "if you brush your teeth in the morning on your own, without my telling you to you will get a dime...if I must remind you but you do it without protest you get a nickle...the same for lunch time and bedtime...It worked...to this day she has that very same piggy bank and has never touched the $ in it...it sits on her dresser! You never know, it may work for you! Happy brushing time!! ~G~

I also experience this to my daughter which is a year and three months old from now and that every time I would give her a toothbrush with the toothpaste on it is she will eat all the toothpaste not only licked it but eat and for that I will always be there with her and avoid not to give much of the sweets and candies that she would like to eat and then I will brush it with cotton to removed the dirt as well then do the normal brushing with my guide...

I would go get some pictures of some rotting teeth and show them to him then I would stand over him and make sure he brushed an flossed. I would make him do it in the kitchen sink so I could keep an eye on him. I have had 3 kids and my youngest right now has braces so he brushes 3 or more times a day and has to get really detailed about it. Another thing that a dentist showed me was he took some gunk between the kids' teeth and put it under a microscope and told me what was what and there was this worm looking thing an he said the worm was bacteria that forms when the kids don't floss and the more they don't floss the bigger the worm gets and it eats away at their teeth. That was enough for mee to get grossed out on! LOL. Tell him that story and he might start doing a better job brushing lol.

I have this problem with my 20 month old too. At this moment, I can't reason out with her like you tried with your son. She just wants to play with the toothpaste and toothbrush which I use, not hers either. I have to use a rubber toothbrush for babies and force to clean her teeth. Sigh! And yes, she bites, real hard. A system of rewards may eventually work with your son, as mntioned above. Is there a book you could read to him about taking care of teeth? Maybe he will understand better if there is something he could relate to.

Hey, maybe you can try to show him pictures of tooth decay. I've seen some in the dentist's office and it really scared me! Even at a young age, kids want to look pretty and not ugly. Black and decaying teeth is not really something that kids want to have. I hope this helps.. Or maybe a more exciting toothbrush would do the trick. I sometimes use an electric toothbrush because it's more fun and techy...

Most kids don't like to brush their teeth. When my kids were little (boy and girl), I brushed their teeth until they were about 9 & 7, until I thought I could trust them to brush. When they first went to the dentist, he wanted to know how I got them to keep their teeth so clean. And I told him I had always brushed them. I wanted them to have good teeth. And, at 40 and 37, they both have great teeth. My daughter has 4 children and 2 will brush their teeth religiously, and the other two whenever. My son has 2 (1 is almost 10 and a baby). I think they have to remind him to brush, too. I know I have to remind him when he is here. In fact, once,he told me he deliberately left his toothbrush at home. So I'd recommend brushing them for him until you felt he could be trusted to brush them correctly himself. Kids don't realize how easily it is to get decay. Also, another thought is to get the little tablets they chew after brushing to show them what they have missed. My kids dentist gave them to my children. It really lets them know if they brush correctly or not. They turn the teeth red where they aren't brushed correctly and as they brush them over and over, it is removed. Then they know they are really clean.

I would brush his teeth for him and continue to do so until he learnt that good dental hygiene is important! Either that or how about a chart make the time to stand and watch him do it properly (tbh id do that anyway) and when he has brushed them morning and night he places a sticker a full week of stickers and he can get a small reward maybe a afternoon out just the two of you or a little toy or magazine anything that will encourage him to be healthy with his teeth. Good Luck!