At what age can children start flossing on their own? our five year old son fights us whenever we try to brush his teeth, and tries to grab the toothbrush to do it on is own. i don't think he does a very good job. is five too early to let him do this?

Every : Every child is different and I do not think you can put a specific age on this. Since he wants to do it on his own, watch him and see how he does. You can by disclosing tablets at your pharmacy that stain the bacteria. In this way you can see if he missed anything. Sounds like he's on the right track.

Flossing : Flossing requires a special dexterity especially if you want to do it correctly. It is a difficult skill (and habit to develop) for an adult let alone a 5 year child. I think a realistic goal for your son is to assist him with brushing and praise him when he does it correctly. Children sometimes do better with electric or battery operated brushes that have built in gimmicks to keep them brushing for a long enough duration. If you can run floss between all of the teeth twice weekly you are significantly exceeding the national flossing average for 5 year olds. Best of luck!

The : The ability to develop the manual dexterity to floss teeth is achieved when children are around the age of six, but even then many six year olds still might quite be there, but they will get there with encourage from the parents. Keep persevering and supervise their oral home care. Eventually they are going to get it. Now about the brushing. I strongly recommend the use of power brushes for children. The oral b braun is the one we used on ours with much success. Hold the child's mouth open and brush well explaining what you are doing and why, and even though they shout just keep on for three weeks. After that time they will just acquiesce. Dr neil mcleod dds dentistry that lasts - quality that counts.

Yes: At 5 children usually do not have the dexterity to do a great job brushing or flossing on their own. If your son wants to do it himself i would encourage this but then make sure you "get a turn" to ensure that his teeth are properly cleaned. At 5 a brushing chart is usually an effective tool to help ensure twice daily brushing.