 Hello, everybody. Andrew Myeski here with dental L. I want to talk to you guys about what to do if your child doesn't like to brush their teeth. This doesn't matter about the age. Well, within reason. If they're two year olds, if they're five years old, if they're 10 years old, my puppies are playing, working from home. My videos are not edited. Perfect example. I'm going to listen to this video afterwards. If it's too loud, I just might not publish it. So sorry guys, bear with me. Can you guys go play in the hall? Sorry guys. Anyways, where was I talking about kids and brushing their teeth. So if your child is age two, they're not going to want to brush their teeth. Some do, but they're not going to want anything being shoved in their mouth brushing their teeth. So when you're brushing their teeth, it is what it is. But how to make things easier is make it a very exciting thing. So when you're brushing your teeth, get excited about it. Say things like, Oh, you know what, we just had dinner. I'm going to go brush my teeth, or I'm getting ready for bed. I'm going to brush my teeth. I don't think they're paying attention, but they are. So make it exciting, and they will eventually get excited. If they really don't want to brush their teeth, just do whatever you can to make it exciting. But also try to determine why. Do they like their toothpaste? Do they not like their toothpaste? Maybe try a different toothpaste. And then let them pick which toothpaste they want to use at the store, you know, like show them the different toothpaste, and then maybe they'll want to brush their teeth more. Do they have an electric toothbrush for kids, or do they just have a manual one? Maybe if you give them an electric toothbrush with the light on it, they might get more excited to use it. So all of these steps help. So try those before you get too concerned. But let's say you've tried all of that, and they still don't like brushing their teeth. What I'm going to tell you is, you know, keep it up, get excited about brushing the teeth, but you're going to have to brush their teeth for them. You're going to have to, I don't want to say hold them down, but it might be a fight, but keep up with it and be consistent. The consistency is key, just like animals. I have dogs. If I gave up right away when my dogs didn't want to listen to me, or if they didn't want to sit or lay down or whatever, you know, they're not going to listen to you right away. You have to be consistent with it, but keep up with it for sure. And eventually they won't fight you on it. It might take a couple days, a couple months. Heck, it might take a couple years. I know, I'm sorry. But if you have to be consistent with it, especially for kids that are under the age of five, five or six or seven actually even, you should help to brush their teeth as well. So if they want to brush their teeth, fantastic, but you as the parents should be going back to check to make sure they're doing a good job. You should get into the habit of brushing their teeth for them as well. So you should brush and they should brush. Your child is age 10, so they're old enough now, and they still don't like brushing their teeth. You can ask them, say, why don't you like brushing your teeth? You have to because we have to protect the teeth against cavities. They might tell you they don't like their toothpaste, or maybe they just don't feel like brushing their teeth because they're lazy. Well, you have to get on them. Same thing as with the lip kit. Let them pick a toothpaste. Maybe pick out a new toothbrush for them. Get excited about brushing your teeth. Maybe don't get excited because they might look at you at that age and be like, Mom, Dad, you're weird. Like, why are you guys getting excited to brush your teeth when you never have before? But make it a family thing. After dinner, you all brush your teeth. Before bed, you all brush your teeth. They're going to do things they're not going to want to do, but if you don't be consistent, if you don't make them brush their teeth at that age, they're going to get cavities. They're going to get stained. Plak is going to stick on their teeth and start eating away at the enamel causing a cavity. So what's better or worse? Forcing the child to brush their teeth, doing it for them, or having them have to go to the dentist to get 10 cavities filled because they didn't brush properly. So I know it's a hassle. I know it's annoying, but keep trying because it's so important. There are toothpaste out there that do work better. So definitely talk to your dental hygienist if your child doesn't like brushing their teeth. They might suggest a different toothpaste for you that just has more protective coating ingredients, either with the sodium fluoride and the xylitol. That can help even more because that helps to limit the bacteria in the mouth that doesn't cause cavities that way. Whereas a regular toothpaste is helping and the mechanical means of the toothbrush, but it might not be helping to limit the bacteria as much as the other toothpaste do. So definitely talk to your dental hygienist. At the very least, if your child is old enough and doesn't love to brush their teeth, they might like using mouthwash. Mouthwash, by any means, does not change the toothbrushing, you know, they still have to brush, but let's say they're too rushed in the morning, get them to use the mouthwash at least. That will help to limit the bacteria. It doesn't really take the plaque off, but it helps the plaque not stick as well. They should be brushing though. I still prefer that. And what about the flossing? I feel like that's another whole video in on itself, but yes, kids need to floss. I love those floss picks. There's so much easier. Kids can use them while they're watching TV, while they're watching a movie. If their teeth are close together, you need to floss because the toothbrush can't get in between the teeth like the floss can. Especially if they're not brushing well, they really need to floss. But you're probably saying, Andrea, if they don't brush well, they're not going to want to floss too. If I had to pick one, I would say brushing is more important. I said it. With the flossing though, if your child is old enough, have them use the water pick. Have you guys heard of the water pick? I have a whole video just about the water pick. I love them. The water pick can be just as good as flossing if you're using it every day and it's so much easier. For kids, it's a lot of water spray, so kids might be kind of overwhelmed by it. I find the water pick is more for adults, but if your kid wants to use it, all the power to them, just as long as they know to lean their head over the sink and let the water kind of run in the sink that way. So I hope that helps, you guys. Let me know if any questions. The rule of thumb is be consistent. If your child doesn't like to brush, too bad. Be consistent, they have to brush. Because if they don't, they're going to get cavities. They're going to get stain, plaque and tartar. It's going to be a big mess. Children can get periodontal disease. Children can get gum disease, meaning the gums can get puffy, swollen, sore, painful. Children can get it too, so they need to brush. Okay, hang in there. You can do it and get them into a mouthwash too, and that can help as well. If they do forget the brushing, they're at least using the mouthwash. So good luck. Hang in there. Kids don't always like everything, but make them do it. You are the parent. Okay. Thank you guys. Let me know if any questions and I'll talk to you in the next video.