1yo won't let me brush her teeth

DD is 13 months and has 12 teeth (all 4 1st year molars + 4 front top + 4 front bottom)..
I bought her a toothbrush when she got her first few teeth and just started off letting her play with it in the bath. She would let me brush her top teeth at the time but now she clenches her mouth shut and won't let me do it. I've tried letting her watch me brushing and trying to get her to let me do it but she just clenches her mouth closed and won't let me near her.

Beacuse she has so many teeth now i'm worried that they aren't getting brushed much. She drinks mainly water and diluted juice (the heinz ones plus i dilute them down further) as I cannot get her to drink plain water.

Can anyone suggest how I might be able to get it so that she will let me brush them??? I've read about letting the kids choose their toothbrush and making a game of it but DD is really too young yet for this approach as she doesn't understand.

Help help help

Sorry no tips from me, I've got a 2yo who is pretty much the same. I'm probably contributing to the problem, because I've not been consistent with it, some days I just forget :doh:. I'm trying to improve, and basically get in there, even for it's only for a few seconds, and I'm telling him what I'm going to do, - ie mum's going to brush the top teeth, mum's going to brush the bottom teeth. Sometimes he's okay with it, other times it's a real battle.

DS still thinks it is a game and want to just chew the brush, or flail it about and poke me in the eye, and I am not very consistent either... It is a hard one... Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can come and give us some advice...

Even just letting bubs chew on the toothbrush is all the cleaning they really need for now :) Also when washing their face with a washer you can try and slip in and give their teeth a little wash as well.

With Aiden he 'brushes' his own teeth while I brush my teeth and then I brush his teeth for him. We pull silly faces (think EEEE and AAAAHHHH noises to get him to open his mouth properly) and I do it then so its fun.
HTH

The only way I've managed to 'sort' of brush Miss 15month's teeth is to use a wet face washer. Even with a face washer you're getting the fluoride from the water on it and you're rubbing with your fingers so it's probably a bit better than brushing??

I used to use the toothbrush but she just chewed on it really...didn't really brush and then because she chewed it the bristles started coming off in her mouth!! :rolleyes: So now I just brush mine and let her watch then either stand holding her in front of the mirror so she can see or if she's being stubborn sit on the edge of the batch with her on my knee. Took a bit of wrestling at first but she's slowly been letting me get in more, can now do the top, bottom and both front and back yay :clap: She did bite me a bit in the beginning though so look out for that!! Good luck, keep persisting I think they just have to get used to it....I do forget as well sometimes but have found the more you do it the easier it gets, good luck :)

Fun isn't it!!! Both my girls were tough with toothing brushing. I found making funny faces and opening up your mouth helped, my DDs would mimic what I was doing. When DD used to open her mouth I'd quickly brush one side (whilst saying brushy, brush).

I also have used the 2 toothbrush method. One for DD and one for me. Give your daughter a toothbrush and tell her to brush her teeth. When she does this clap your hands and say mummy's turn!! Some times she'd let me take a turn.

I also let DD put run the brush under the tap water and drink the water off the brush. This creates a good distraction for you to slip in a brush.

Goodluck - I hope my instructions weren't too confusing

My DD who is almost 19 months doesn't brush her teeth often. I'm another one guilty of forgetting to get her to. She will take the toothbrush out of my hand and try to brush her hair with it. Not good now coz I've stared putting a tiny amount of kid's toothpaste on it...I don't want that in her hair. I think I might start brushing mine when I'm trying to get her to brush hers (I get her to do hers in the bath when I remember).

hmm it is a tough one and I'm another mummy who tends to 'forget' to brush his teeth.. :( Ummm we sing songs about brushing teeth (just what ever you want to make up. We sing part of the brush, brush song that used to be on playhouse disney. "do the brush, brush, brush, whooaaa, do the brush, brush, brush, whoooaaa. If you want to smile like a crocodile, if you want to laugh like a tall giraffe, to the left and to the right every morning, every night.. etc etc), and also we get him to have a go at brushing our teeth, then we have a go with brushing his teeth (separate toothbrushes of course). He is very independent though and doesn't really like help, so it is sometimes a struggle to get them brushed.

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad so many of you wrote the words "forget to brush their teeth"! I really felt like I was the only one.:redface::redface:

My 17 mth grits his teeth shut and shakes his head - NOTHING works. Funny faces and noises, brushing as a family, singing, bath time brushes nor wrestling him. Yet, everytime we go near the bathroom sink he runs in saying 'teeth, teeth'...give him a tooth brush, he chews on it for a few mins and thats it! If I try brushing them whilst he has the brush.....instant failure!

I wish there was a magic *something* to help us *normal* Mummies!!!

xxxx

"This is the way we brush our teeth, brush our teeth, brush our teeth, this is the way we brush our teeth on a cold and frosty morning"
I sing this song every morning to MJ when we are brushing teeth. Sometimes she will, other times she wont.
I have talked to her about it and explained that Mummy does her teeth. we always brush teeth together, she sits on the toilet and watches me and plays with her brush - sometimes thats it, just plays with it.

I would suggest, dont worry!!!
Its a learning thing, both to brush and to clamp her mouth shut and refuse.. she is learning that she has control over her own body.
dont psuh the issue, just try again tomorrow.

I give Mj her brush in the bath every night so she does it then and in the morning i help her, if she lefts me.
we rarely forget as i rarely forget to clean my teeth lol!

As long as they are not eating loads of sugary things it probably isnt that much of an issue. - well and if it is, really what are we all going to do aboout it??? there is no magic, it is something taht they will learn it time...
the more stressed you are the more stressed she will be.

BTW that little song i use in the bath too - this is the way we wash our... hand/face/tummy, great learning the body bits and even better for them to start washing themselves... takes a while, but its a fun way to learn :)

we had the same problem with DD1, we let her play with the brush in the bath and would try each night but what really worked for us was watching In the night garden, she loves the tomblioboos and there is an episode where they clean their teeth so we tell her to copy the boos and now we can finally get her teeth clean.

I am a bit mean. Lately I have been worried about DD's teeth as they seem to have a slight yellow look to them. I have been wrapping her in a towel after the bath (arms by her side restricted by the towel) and doing it for her, I then make a big deal about how lovely and clean her teeth look and we look in the mirror. She seems ok with this and I can clean them well. Previously It was quite hit and miss and a real stuggle to get it done. It is not easy convincing little ones to brush their teeth!

I started "brushing" DS's teeth from the moment I spotted the first two coming up (much to my mother's amusement) using a special toothbrush designed for that stage as well as a washer. However, I have a friend who is a children's dentist and over the years she has shared horror stories of milk teeth rotting before they'd had the chance to come through the gum and of infants sucking on bottles filled with chocolate milk, etc, all day long and the damage that had done. Now DS is 12 months old and has four top teeth and four bottom teeth and I use an infants bristle brush to do his teeth. He was starting to do the clamp mouth thing and the local MCHN suggested I try brushing his teeth from behind him. So now I sit behind him, with him in my lap and lift his top lip and brush away at his top teeth and then do his bottom teeth. All done quite quickly. HTH :D

When my son was 13 months he was a struggle too. I would let him brush my teeth and then at the same time I would do his. It was the only thing that worked. I would just do a really quick brush and I slowly worked up to a longer one. When that stopped working we got him and electric spiderman toothbrush and the novelty of it made him so excited to brush his teeth. He's now 22 months old and is really good about it. It goes much better if he's distracted by something interesting though.