Teeth brushing help!

[bubbles81]

DD is now 21 mnths old and I find it impossible to brush her teeth. All she does is suck or chew on the toothbrush but she won't let us brush it for her. Today we had to pin her down and brush her teeth whilst she was crying it was awful. Any other advice or ideas?

[Nettie]

My DS learnt better methods by watching me brush. I would exaggerate the movements too and keep my mouth opened wide so he could see what I was doing.

He often just sucks and chews too - I guess there's not too much you can do about it..

[UsPlus2]

have you given her the chance to pick out a toothbrush that she likes? There are also children books ( I saw one in Big W today but cant remember the name of it) that if she reads it and does the actions with you might help.

I sit my DS on the bathroom bench and we brush our teeth together. I put a little of his toothpaste on my brush too so when he decides mine is better he is still getting the right paste. HTH

[Mum2SweetCs]

DD somehow loves brushing her teeth
Maybe its because we sing "you brush your teeth" song since she was little?

Sorry no help here but maybe try to make brushing fun! DD loves looking at all the bubbles that the toothpaste makes now.

Goodluck!

[Olive]

dont pin her down!! let her chew that brush, pinning her down will only make things worse. she will do it eventually, otherwise try one of the cheap kids brushes that play music.

[studymum]

What about a brush for her and a brush for you to use on her? We found it worked with DD1 when she was refusing, now she is learning to brush her own really well. She will do it first, then she knows we have to finish it properly. I found changing her back to the 'my first' toothpaste helped as well, it was so strong tasting. As with a lot of things with toddlers forcing will only make the problem worse, much better approach is through encouragement and persuasion, or small bribery programs like sticker charts.

[Lenny]

Same as the other's said. Don't pin her down again - that'll make it worse. One day of missed brushing isn't going to be the end of the world.
DS1 still sucks and chews and he's nearly 3.
Try letting her brush your teeth, or use your brush, or DH's. Make it fun. Sing sings, poke tongues, brush teddies teeth, brush each other's teeth. Do it together if possible because we know they just love to copy mum and dad and make sure she knows it's going to be a ritual everyday. Eventually she'll be joining in.

[Moi]

My DD doesn't always do a good job of her teeth either and refuses to let me brush her teeth. I brush mine at the same time which often helps. I don't worry too much about her not brushing her teeth properly and assume she'll get it eventually.

[Nettie]

Let's face it - they get another set, hey?

[Fleur]

Let's face it - they get another set, hey?

:yeahthat: What everyone else said. If you make it into a fight, a fight you will get. Let her chew or play with it & she'll learn in time.

I'm actually surprised that Pie is, so far, allowing me to make a few brushes on her teeth... I don't expect that to last but she's getting the idea anyway, which is all I think you can ask for at this age.

[melsa31]

I had endless issues with my DS up until recently when he just decided that yes, he would let me brush his teeth! I have no idea why he suddenly allowed it but now he opens wide, puts his teeth together etc without me even asking! We just kept persisting and letting him see us brush our teeth, I used to try to do his then let him have a turn. I agree with the others, don't pin her down.

[butterfly_warrior]

I think that ultimately you do need to let them play with the toothbrush a bit. If they let you brush their teeth afterwards, then great. But if you can get that brush into their mouth without protest, then you've achieved something. It will improve in time.

We haven't yet started using toothpaste for Sam (probably should, but I still think he'd just eat it!), but he comes with us to brush our teeth when we do. Most of the time he just sucks the water of his toothbrush and asks for more. But if we keep wetting his brush while we do ours, when we are finished he will let us brush his teeth for him. But if we just take him to the bathroom and ask him to open his mouth so we can brush his teeth - not happening! Letting him have his go keeps him happy enough to let us follow up later. Doesn't always happen, but happens enough to keep us happy.

BW

[feeb]

DS1 still just chews on the brush and sucks on it turning tap on often to wet it again!! I still have not introduced toothpaste as he will just suck it off and ask for more!! Occasionally I can get to do about 5 or 6 brushes in his mouth then he cracks it, I don't see point in making it a scary affair for him, he brushes his with me.

[helle]

I've been wondering about this. The amount that I brush Ds teeth is pretty much just to get the fluride on them... After that he just chomps down and sucks!
I have also been worrying about how often I should brush them. ATM we just do in the morning as I was worried about the amount of paste he would consume might upset his stomach seeing as the packet says to spit?

[Swoop]

I've got to say I was very much in the don't pin em down camp but I think I've changed my mind.

DD was a serial brush chewer, we were getting to the stage where she really didn't allow any help and there wasn't a lot of toothbrush action happening. While we were away over Xmas our friends little boy happily tipped his head back while his teeth were given a good scrub.

When we got home DH gave it a go - after her bath he wrapped her baby doll in a towel, tipped her back and brushed her teeth. Then he did the same to DD. Hands were held in the towel and she was tipped back so she would open her mouth. She squealed like a trapped piglet and cried quite a bit, I hid downstairs because I'm doing my utmost to support sharing parenting decisions and I wouldn't have done that myself. All in all it took 4 days, with hugely reduced tears each day. Now she asks to have her teeth brushed, (as does baby Mat too, of course!) and hopefully she'll have all her milk teeth to show for it right up until she no longer requires them.

[Lenny]

helle - I'm not an expert but I just give DS2 a brush and he plays with it in his mouth (he watches me and his big brother) and then i rub it around a bit. He is still bf, and i usually try to wipe his teeth twice a day with a facecloth after his feed (someone told me to do that, I'm not sure who!)

[helle]

I'm thinking I might do that too. Or at least when he has a bath at night give them a wipe with a flannel and a teeny bit of paste and get the toothbrush onto them when I do mine in the morning. Hopefully he'll get the hang of it soon. I know they're little teeth but little teeth still need fillings if they go gross and I don't want to put him thru that.

ETA sorry to hijack!!