While it may never be a blast for kids to brush their teeth, it doesn't have to be eat-your-brussels-sprouts awful, either. When they're infants, of course, you're steering the cavity-prevention ship, and "fun" isn't necessarily on the itinerary. As they get a little older and you want them to start learning good dental habits, things get trickier. But if you equip yourself with the latest gadgets, some yummy tooth goo, and a few classic motivational tricks, you can keep your children intrigued just long enough for them to shift into autopilot.

All those bells and whistles may seem like overkill for a bunch of teeth that are going to fall out anyway. But getting kids to brush up on their oral hygiene doesn't just get them into the routine—it may help prevent future problems. "People who have cavities as children are far more likely to have them as adults," says Puneet Nanda, M.D., founder of Dr. Fresh, a company that makes pediatric dental products. "They are also more likely to develop gum disease." And since, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, 41 percent of children between the ages of 2 and 11 have decayed baby teeth, it's worth exploring ways to beat the odds.

Although you might think the ideal toothbrush for tykes would be just a scaled-down version of your own, that's not the case, says Paul Warren, vice president of clinical research for Oral-B. A former pediatric dentist, Warren helped develop the company's Stages collection ($3 each, theessentials.com), a series of brushes spanning four different age groups. "We looked at the three Ds: development (where children are emotionally and how they respond to motivational cues), dexterity (their level of hand coordination), and dentition (the type and amount of teeth in their mouths)," he says. The end result? Seemingly minor design tweaks—a smaller head here, a fatter handle there—that can boost the efficacy of the brushing process.

Warren's pro tips for brushing young kids' teeth include working from behind, as dentists do, rather than tackling them from the front. "Cradle your child's head and rest him back against you," he says. "You'll get more control and be able to brush better—with less of a battle."

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