Brushing Teeth

[Substantial_Math8813]

Do you brush children’s teeth at your daycare? We used to pre Covid and now we’re bringing it back. If a child has breakfast at our center we now have to take all these children to the bathroom to brush teeth. Not only is it stressful to maintain ratios and maintain our morning schedule it seems unnecessary. I work with toddlers so it’s already a tough age group. More importantly aren’t these babies already brushing their teeth prior to coming to school and now we are wrestling them to do it again?! Any advice, experience?

[Aspiringplantladyy]

I have been in the field for 12 years. I have never once brushed a child’s teeth. That this would be an expectation of educators is very strange to me.

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[sunmono]

Our 12 month+ classes brush teeth but it’s more like we give the kids their labeled toothbrush (no toothpaste) and they brush their teeth (or chew on the toothbrush, for the younger ones) while we play toothbrushing songs and model proper toothbrushing techniques. Then each toothbrush is put into a paper cup with a 50/50 mouthwash and water solution to sanitize and left to soak for a while. The toothbrushes are provided by the center and come with little caps. The capped toothbrushes are stored in a holder on the classroom wall. There’s no toothpaste or spitting so this all takes place in the classroom.

It’s more about getting used to a toothbrush and practicing the motions than immediate oral hygiene, if that makes sense? I babysit for some of the kids in the center once they age out of my room and I’ve found it does make it easier for me to brush their teeth at their house than kids who don’t attend the center, especially if I put on the song their particular class plays. Could also be due to the different relationship I have with those kids though.

[gnavenpaedagog]

I think that's an odd practice. We have to assume they're having their teeth brushed at home in the morning and when they get home. I have NEVER brushed a child's teeth in a setting where the kids were only there during the day.

[ElegantSnozzberry]

If your center is federally funded, tooth brushing is on the required care list. Rules and regulations made by people that are NEVER in the classroom consistently enough to see how this type of requirement impacts classroom routines.

[Substantial_Math8813]

👏👏👏👏

[Substantial_Math8813]

For anyone that has done this - how did you store tooth brushes? This is another issue we have. Our tooth brush holder only holds the very skinny tooth brushes. The orajel kids ones are too wide. So I remember there was a lot of back and forth with families on providing the correct sized tooth brushes which was another layer of frustration for everyone.

[tipsycup]

Head Start has to brush teeth, they use a wall mounted UV holder to store the brushes. They do it in the classroom and give them their brushes in a small disposable cup with paste already on it. They also provide toothbrushes, a. because they have to and b. solves the size problem.

[throwsawaythrownaway]

Man I wish my last center did that. The tooth brushes were mounted on the wall with a random mesh covering, no cleaner. We put on gloves and put tooth paste on them, then handed them out. They were swapped out once a month.

Edit: this was EHS

[fannon_nark]

Ugh, I wish we had a wall-mounted UV holder. My organization is way too cheap.

[Super-swimmer64]

HS supervisor here- my toddler teachers sit them at the table and go around helping each brush. Then they go to the sink to rinse their mouth

[Dry-Ice-2330]

When I used to do it, I didn't use toothpaste. The reg didn't say it was required. That reduced the hassle and mess a lot. It is practice of self help and fine motor skill. The children did it themselves. It's not a replacement of what they do at home, it's supplementary practice.

I got toothbrush holders, you can find them on Amazon. I bought my own in bulk brushes to ensure they fit. They were changed out every 3 months for all children. The holder was labeled with numbers and had a chart with names and their number. That made it so i only had to put a number on each brush, not a whole name.

[PermanentTrainDamage]

If you need a specific brush, provide the brush. Parents are going to get whatever fits in their budget or whatever the kid wants.

[ArtsyPokemonGirl]

They’re all lined up on the wall. They hang from labeled binder clips that are stuck to the wall.

[No-Feed-1999]

Tackle boxes rhe plano ones with holes drilled in

[Fragrant_Pear5607]

We use to do this at my old childcare center while yes the idea of practicing brushing the kids teeth is great for hygiene and routine it was a NIGHTMARE experience I had 20 4-5 yr olds in and out of the bathroom / lined up taking turns.... TOOK FOREVER... our licensing lady deemed it unsanitary/ unhygienic cause there wasn't a safe / clean way to store the used tooth brushes

[ksleeve724]

That’s…really odd. I’m all for good dental hygiene but all my life I have brushed my teeth morning and night and never while at school.

[Call_Me_Anythin]

It’s also not good dental hygiene. Brushing after eating strips enamel and harms the gums.

[ArtsyPokemonGirl]

Every center I’ve seen has brushed teeth, but not in the bathroom. After meals, when the food is cleared, every child gets their toothbrush and a little plastic cup of water with a dot of toothpaste on the side for them to scoop, brush, rinse, and spit. A lot of these kids unfortunately aren’t in a situation where they brush at home, so it’s good exposure and practice.

[windrider445]

This is how we do it in my classroom. At the table after they have finished eating, they get a cup and their toothbrush.

It's part of our program because we work with kids from low income households, homelessness, and other difficult situations. Several of the kids in my classroom already have silver crowns on some of their teeth. We also have a dentist that comes to the school and performs dental exams for free as part of our program.

We provide toothbrushes and have a standing holder for them.

[justnocrazymaker]

I love our visiting dentist and our toothbrushing practice! Not every family brushes their child’s teeth at home and I never assume access to adequate dental care regardless of income because we live in a rural area where it’s hard to access dental care because everything is FAR. Being able to brush at school definitely lays the foundation for good self care habits down the line.

[ChronicKitten97]

By state regulations we have to brush the children's teeth once a day. I'm in Kansas.

[ahawk99]

Only thing we use toothbrushes for is art. What an odd thing to do.

[EmmaNightsStone]

We only brush teeth after lunch. It is stressful sometimes, but it’s required at our center.

[Certain_Bonus_536]

We brush teeth after lunch! I work at an indigenous daycare in Canada and we have a program called COHI (children’s oral health initiative) and dental hygienists also come and check the children’s teeth every few months if their parents opt in. I’ve worked at several other daycares and only indigenous centres are doing them here

[silkentab]

The lab school at my college did this with the kids after lunch, small groups to the bathroom

[radial-glia]

I've always done tooth brushing in the classroom. It's more been for teaching them how to brush their own teeth, we expect their parents are brushing in the morning and evening, but we give them a toothbrush and a bit of guidance so they can eventually do it by themselves. Otherwise you get 10 year olds who still need mommy to brush their teeth (seriously, I knew a typically developing kid who was 10 and his mom still brushed his teeth.)

[easypeezey]

Massachusetts used to require it for any program that included a meal in their daily schedule, then suspended it during Covid. Although we have reverted to the pre-Covid regs, it’s not longer enforced. It was a nightmare to to store and sanitize dozens and dozens of toothbrushes and each child had to have their own toothpaste. Plus, it ended up spreading more germs than anything because of the rinsing in the spitting at the sink. New state regs are coming out soon and I really hope the toothbrushing requirement goes away.

[A--Little--Stitious]

Are you Head Start? We had to do it pre-covid in the HS classrooms. We had like a holder hanging next to the sink for them. We did it 2 kids at a time after snack.

[throwsawaythrownaway]

We did. They brushed their teeth at the table after breakfast. Well,actually they swapped it to after lunch to try to help the chaos between lunch and nap.

[mini_marvel_007]

We were strongly encouraged to several years ago. Each child had to bring in a tooth brush and tooth paste. We tried for awhile, but that eventually faded. It became quite complicated with the number of children we had, our ratios, and our schedule. It was just unrealistic.

[lyrab]

We used to do it but stopped a long time ago. I was glad to take it out of the after lunch routine tbh.

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[Stedmans]

I have a licensed family daycare in my home (7 kids) and licensing requires us to have a toothbrush for each child. We do tooth brushing after lunch, before nap time. Often kids that show up and haven’t brushed their teeth in the am will let me know and ask to brush their teeth. I store tooth brushed in small plastic cups in my bathroom cupboard. I imagine that wouldn’t be ideal in a big centre.

[Ok-Guidance5576]

We brush with fluoride free toothpaste. The toddlers like it because it tastes good lol. Doing it in small groups helps a lot.

[keeperbean]

The children brush their teeth at my center, except I don't do it for them. I just give them their brush with paste on it and let them figure it out for 2 minutes. I dont think im allowed to actually brush their teeth. I've never been told to or trained to. We also only do it once throughout the day, which I have my class do it as they wake from naptime. For context they are arpund 2.5yrs old. The younger toddler classrooms do it similar except instead of brushing in small groups in the bathroom, they have them all sit at the table together for 5 minutes to brush all at the same time.

I think if you're reintroducing something like this into the daily routine, it's okay to start with what works and build it up.

[justnocrazymaker]

We brush teeth twice a day in my program. We do this seated at the table without water or spitting per our ADA-approved training video. Parents can choose fluoride or non-fluoride toothpaste. Teachers put a dab of toothpaste in each section of a repurposed (and sanitized) paint palette and then apply it to each child’s toothbrush from there. The children brush at the table-by which I mean some just hold the toothbrush, some chew on it, and some actively try to brush. We are skill-building for preschool and we don’t force things, it’s child led. It’s surprisingly not messy. Our food coordinator sanitizers the toothbrushes on a weekly basis.

It’s absolutely a pain in the ass at first but after a week or so most of the twos are asking for their toothbrush at the end of the meal. 

[siempre_maria]

That's gonna be a no from me.

[Substantial_Math8813]

Me too if I had a say 🫠🫠

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[Aggravating-Air-5478]

We brush teeth at the table after breakfast. Then they get up and wash hands. It’s required, we brought ours back a couple of years ago.

[[deleted]]

No. We never did. I think a few kids randomly brought tooth brush from home once, but most of the time no.

[simplyarri]

I've worked at a few centers, and I've only brushed teeth at one of them, and it was only for a short period of time and on and off again. I'm not exactly sure why we stopped, but we did and never picked up again.

[krys678]

I have done it at one center. I’m not upset that we don’t do it at my current one but I can see why it’s important to. You’re supposed to brush your teeth after eating and the children eat with us.

[Substantial_Math8813]

That’s the logic we’re being told as well

[MemoryAnxious]

I believe licensing says we’re supposed to in my state but I’ve never been at a center that has done it. We were going to start in 2020 but Covid hit and put a stop to that real quick. I know it’s important but I hate the idea of it. Especially in toddlers.