The Tooth Monsters Who Fear the Brush

That night Baby Mo was already wearing his star pyjamas. He'd had his milk. He was hugging his teddy bear.

"Time to brush your teeth, Mo," Abi called from the bathroom.

"No!" Baby Mo hid his mouth behind his pillow. "The toothbrush tickles. The toothpaste is spicy."

Abi came and sat on the edge of the bed. "Hmm. Then the tooth monsters must be very happy tonight."

Baby Mo peeked out from behind the pillow. "Tooth… monsters?"

"Very tiny monsters," Abi whispered. "Smaller than ants. They love the bits of biscuit and milk stuck on your teeth. If we don't brush, they party until morning."

Baby Mo imagined tiny monsters dancing on his teeth, carrying biscuit crumbs like pillows.

"Do they have trumpets?" he asked.

"Maybe," said Abi seriously. "And balloons."

Baby Mo jumped straight off the bed. "I'm going to chase them away!"

In the bathroom, Abi gave him a blue toothbrush with a pea-sized dot of toothpaste. Baby Mo stood on his little stool and looked in the mirror.

"Get ready, monsters," he told his reflection.

Then he started brushing. Top, bottom. Front, back. Abi taught him a song:

"Brush the left and brush the right, tooth monsters run away in fright! Brush up high and brush down low, clean teeth make my whole heart glow!"

White foam filled Baby Mo's mouth. Tiny bubbles floated into the air. Baby Mo laughed so hard the foam nearly spilled.

"Brush the left and brush the right, tooth monsters run away in fright!" Baby Mo sang again, even louder.

After he rinsed, Abi switched on a little torch and checked Baby Mo's mouth. "Let's see… left side clean. Right side clean. At the back… hmm, one monster is hiding!"

Baby Mo quickly brushed the back once more. "Done, Abi?"

"Done. Every monster has run away."

Baby Mo grinned wide at the mirror. His teeth sparkled. "Abi, did the Prophet brush his teeth too?"

"The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ loved using the siwak — a toothbrush from long ago, made from a twig. He even said this," said Abi.

"Were it not that it would be hard on my ummah, I would have commanded them to use the siwak before every prayer." (Bukhari 887, Muslim 252)

"Wow, so brushing teeth is something the Prophet loved," said Baby Mo proudly.

That night Baby Mo fell asleep with a fresh mouth. And just before his eyes closed, he whispered to his teddy bear, "Tomorrow morning we chase the monsters again, okay?"

Talk it over with your little one: which song makes brushing the most fun? Let's make up your very own toothbrushing song! 🪥