When (at what age) did your toddler start spitting toothpaste out and brushing by themselves?

Question

My 2 year old is always sucking the toothpaste off the brush.

He does not brush by himself, I'm only asking so that I can have an idea!

He has only started toilet training.

Answer 1

Hi there,
my 2 year old sucks the toothpaste off the brush too!
I got her a new tooth brush with a flashy red light and a cat with water in it - she loves it and is starting to brush her teeth and spit out the toothpaste and water now - she copies me as i brush my teeth at the same time.
Try a flashy toothbrush, try to make it fun,

Sophia

Answer 2

My son started spitting his toothpaste out at 2 1/2 . I still have to help him brush his teeth though. I brush his teeth and my 15 month old daughters teeth. Your son will get the hang of it soon. My son did the same thing so I started rubbing his toothpaste into the brush.

Answer 3

Both of my kids started spitting it out around the age of 3. I still help my youngest though. I brush them then she brushes them, but she has the spitting thing down. My 19 month old won't spit it out though. SO I buy him training toothpaste and only use a small drop on the brush.

Answer 4

Your child is probably old enough to hold the toothbrush himself and imitate you while you brush. With my own kids, I played a game with sounds while teaching them to brush. They had to hold the "aaahhh" sound while brushing inside, the "eeee" sound while brushing the outside of the teeth and the aaaa" sound while brushing their tongues. Of course, I would often have to go behind them to do a more thorough job, but the point is to establish the habit. They initially swallow a little toothpaste, but they eventually stop that so that they'll be able to imitate the popular spitting into the sink.

Answer 5

Hi Swish,

my son was between 2 and 3 when he received a "light up" toothbrush from his grandmother. The end is soft and when you press it a little light flashes for exactly 1 minute.

I would ask him to brush until the light stopped flashing. Then I would add a tiny dollop of kid's toothpaste (very little harmful fluoride) and ask him to brush for a minute.

He did exactly what you describe, the first few times. It was quite a process. My memory is, by age 3 he did a decent job of brushing on his own.

Good luck ~

Answer 6

Hi

My daughter is 2.5yrs, she brushes but still sucks the toothpaste off, try just a tiny tiny bit of toothpaste, then let him suck, then tell him to brush, then add a little and repete, he's brushing some onto his teeth, to be honest, she dosent spit it out as there's not much liquid to spit, most gets used on the teeth, get a beaker and make her drink some but say "spit it out" this will get the excess toothpaste taste out of her mouth, but I wouldnt worry.
At least he/she is trying and understanding toothcleaning is important.

I find using an adult toothpaste makes her less likely to suck as its stronger, and yes before anyone asks I got it recommended off my doctor!!

Answer 7

Actually, I do not have an answer to your question. I only have a warning, so I know you probably won't vote me best answer. But, I'll save your child teeth in the future.

I recently took my 20 year-old to the dentist and was told that the white spots on his teeth was cause by a fluoride build up cause by him sucking the tooth paste off the toothbrush and eating as a snack (as kids do).

For you child's oral health, ween him from sucking the toothpaste from the toothbrush as soon a possible, as you do not want the fluoride to just sit there and cause future damage such a fluoride build-up.

Answer 8

My son is 4 and a half years old and he just started spitting out toothpaste properly about 1 month ago. I buy the kid toothpastes that have less fluoride or say on the package "safe to swallow" so I don't have to worry to much.

Answer 9

My four and half year old has been brushing his own teeth since he was able to hold a brush , i just give them a sparkle after.Since he was three ish ,he's been able to spit it out.(we do forget sometimes.) His sister who is one is now blowing raspberry , attempt to spit like us. All 3 of us in the morning clean our teeth together. This is usually fun for them and me, and they can see how to do it properly. Night time daddy joins in.
Kids toothpaste , song and give then a mummy or daddy sparkle after.

Answer 10

well, 2 is good age, or early as possible
you get them wanting to brush teeth, have em see how good they can do it, let em know itll make their teeth shiny and stuff if they do it the right way
most kids start out just sucking the toothpaste off or even chewing the toothbrush