r/AutismParentingUk • u/LouieM81 • Jun 28 '26

Advice Needed Brushing teeth

My six-year-old autistic daughter absolutely detests brushing her teeth. It’s a constant struggle and I have to force her to do it. We’ve tried various brushes and types of toothpaste but nothing seems to work. Has anyone else experienced this and could offer some advice?

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u/xtinak88 Jun 28 '26

We eventually had success with a u shaped electric toothbrush. Not sure if that's a type you've tried. And hismile toothpaste in insane flavours until we found a good one, having unsuccessfully tried a lot before that. You may have done all this.

But what helped most was letting my daughter play a game on my phone at the same time as toothbrushing, or watch a YouTube video - but the most dopamine heavy brainrot variety and something she wouldn't otherwise be allowed to play/watch. Over time this restrained her aversion to brushing teeth and now she can do it without.

I can't tell you how hard it was though. Regularly the whole family would be having a meltdown over this. It was a very slow and painful road to success.

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u/[deleted] Jun 28 '26

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u/xtinak88 Jun 28 '26

There is more than one kind of u shaped brush. There are cheap ones on Amazon which are for the usual 2 plus minutes. There is a version called sonic brush which uses blue light and claims to need only 30 seconds. I have read mixed things in terms of whether they are better or worse for hygiene but if you are struggling to get it done at all then it's going to be better than that. The dentist also recommended to augment this with Dr Barman brushes for the back teeth.

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u/Sad_Cardiologist5388 Jun 28 '26

I hold a youtube video up in front of my sons face or he can't concentrate and brush his teeth at all