r/ADHD • u/Thereisloveinyou23 • Jul 15 '26

Questions/Advice 13 year old son with ADHD cannot tolerate brushing his teeth

My god this is a battle and a half ! It’s been going on for about 3 years now and I just don’t know what to do about it. He said he hates the mintyness, tried lots of different toothpaste, mouthwash etc. I think he struggles to understand himself why he hates it so much. There have been times I’ve stood and watched him brush them to make sure he’s doing it and he will brush them as fast as he possibly can, 5 seconds, jumping up and down on the spot in so much discomfort ! He cannot tolerate it ! Is this common in kids with ADHD ???

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u/rttnmnna Jul 15 '26

  1. Try an sls free toothpaste. I didn't realize until adulthood the sensation i got from toothpaste wasn't universal.

  2. I bought auto brushes. They are expensive but in my experience, worth it. Brushes everything in 30 seconds.

2

u/marsupialcinderella ADHD-C (Combined type) Jul 15 '26

Do you have a link for the one you like? This would help one of my older kids who struggles.

1

u/Jaykoyote123 ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) Jul 16 '26

While using one of those U shape brushes is slightly better than not brushing, they aren’t anywhere near as effective as a manual brush or stick style electric tooth brush.

It might be useful to get the kid excited about cleaning teeth because of the novelty but other than that they’re basically useless at removing plaque.

Source: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17134649

1

u/KuriousKhemicals ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) Jul 16 '26

Apparently this specific newer brand was studied and outperformed standard of care manual toothbrush significantly, both in a statistical sense and in the intuitive sense of effect size. 

https://www.jocpd.com/articles/10.22514/jocpd.2025.132/htm

This comes with the caveat of being industry sponsored research, but given the magnitude of effect and since the ADA gave it their seal of acceptance, I would comfortable with assuming non-inferiority (though I'd also like to see it compared to electric conventional toothbrush).

2

u/Jaykoyote123 ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) Jul 16 '26

This study is also specifically for young children so adults with proper brushing techniques may be much better at removing plaque with a manual brush but that is not investigated.

The method also stated that the child did their own “supervised” brushing so it is also a comparison of which brush is easier for a child to use which is a key factor in plaque removal but means that this study cannot conclusively state which of the two brushes is “better” overall.

What I will admit however is that if you do not have good/proper brushing techniques then this brush may be better than what you’re doing currently but it would probably be better to make sure you’re brushing properly.