Brushing 8mos teeth is a nightmare :(

I was brushing her teeth at night time after her bath (i know your ment to do it twice a day but its so upsetting i thought once was ok for now) she has 6 teeth so i figured i SHOULD be doing it. plus i have horrible teeth and my mum NEVER made me brush mine and i want her to have healthy teeth.
Aaanyway..
she screams her head off, tears and everything when i do it and then coz she is so worked up the rest of the night is hell :( last night i didnt brush her teeth :( and it went as smoothly as it used to. she's has teeth since she was 3mo and i have always brushed her teeth at nigth it probably only been the last maybe month where she HATES it :(
should i just do it in the morning? and coz she wont be so tired she might not get so worked up over it?
any help would be awesome :) thanks ladies xx

Yeah I'd just try in the morning.

FWIW, I never forced it on my kids (ie so didn't do it very often). I figure its their baby teeth, they're going to fall out eventually and be replaced with adult teeth, so I'm not going to make them upset over it, and if I miss a day or two here or there - no big deal.

My kids let me brush their teeth now, and then I give them the brush to do it themselves afterwards. Except for DD2 cos she doesnt' have any teeth yet.. LOL

i know i shouldnt really worry about it too much, i guess im just trying to get her used to it, but i spose once she's old enough to understand then it will prob be easier!

My husband and i do it when he's in the bath and we have a t/brush for him and one for us and we make it fun. Sing the "This is the way we brush our teeth" song and lots of "Show Mummy/Daddy how you brush your teeth. Now he's 16months old but we started this very early on. I guess you don't want to make it a chore otherwise they'll never want to do it and associate it with something bad. Goodluck :)

My DS is over two and we still only doing it when it's ok with him. What can you do? If yiou force it then she'll just hate it even more and it'll become more of a long-term struggle. That's my reasoning anyway.
Mostly he swishes the brush around his mouth and makes brushing sounds. Sometimes he lets me actually brush his teeth.

Just to scare you all:

The other day I was sitting next to a little boy with a mouthful of horrid, rotten teeth. Like you'd see in a medieval movie or something - I mean really really rotten. Sure they are just baby teeth but they fall out one at a time over many many years but you can get them all rotten at once.

He was 4. He was sipping on coke the entire time.

Brush those teeth!

Eeww Rumpled! Thats what I am scared of! DD2 has been a nightmare ever since she cut her canines. Before that we were brushing everyday without an issue. So for the past 2 months its been a struggle, she closes her mouth tightly and moves her head away. I give her the brush, brush with her, sing songs, tell her to watch how her sister does it... make it fun, but that really doesnt do much most of the time!!! Dh and I will lay her down and quickly give a scrub. She hates it but we do this maybe 3 times a week just to get the yellow off them. I know its probably traumatising her but I am scared she will get rotten teeth and I know that even though they are baby teeth they can affect adult teeth when they come through. Hoping its just a phase!

Oh... thankfully I dont give my girls coke.... or loads of junk food!

My beastie only started getting teeth at 14 months and just got her full set at 2.3 years old. She copies us and her big sister brush, so we kind of get something resembling brushing maybe once a day, sometimes less often. Sometimes she lets me do it, mostly not. She always has a sippy cup of water with her so I'm not that fussed. At least she's not scared of the toothbrush the same way she's scared of the hairbrush - it is virtually impossible to brush (or cut) her hair and her hair is almost waist length when it is wet!

Am lucky with the hair brush! DD2 has all but her 2 year old molars at 17 months.... so they came around fast! It was definately the painful cutting of the canines that got her. Maybe I should just let her go and see how she goes over time without forcing the issue. She even used to let me pick bits out of her teeth if they were stuck...like apple skin or meat... but not any more. She drinks lots of water too so I think I just need to breath!

Is she eating any sugary foods?

Seriously, I wouldn't be brushing an 8 mo teeth. Sure you can introduce her to a toothbrush and sing songs and give her the idea that before bed we brush our teeth, but she is unlikely to need serious brushing.

Dd loves brushing her teeth, and I only bought a toothbrush at 10ish months.

Relax. Brushing and flossing are important but it's more important to set up the idea IMO so they are diligent later.

And fwiw, coke rots anyones teeth. Brushing or not.

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And fwiw, coke rots anyones teeth. Brushing or not.

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Someone should have told that to the mother of that poor little boy :(

DS1 didnt get teeth till 11 months and we started trying to brush them at same time. Wasn't hard when he only had 2, but as he got more it got harder!!!

Now at nearly 2 he wants his toothbrush in morning when I am doing my teeth and he will suck on brush and move it around a little bit but not much, I then brush his teeth but its only a small window of opportunity until he clamps down on brush or runs off.

dental hygiene is really important even for baby teeth, they have some baby teeth until around 12-13 so they need looking after, having said that, i wouldnt push it as it will create bigger problems later, give her the brush to chew on in the bath, at this age its as good as a brush, but pleaaaaaaaaaase remember they need these teeth, loosing baby teeth due to decay at an early age can create huge space and cost issues later on, ive seen stuff in kids that would horrify most of you.
for older kids who wont brush a cheap electric brush that plays music often works wonders!

at big W there is this cool brush that is a brush one end and a teething ball the other I use it on Luke when he has a bath if he cracks a poo I just let him have it he chews both ends

but yeah as soon as them teeth come thru you need to brush....

have you thought about doing it other times of day not just when its her bathtime, maybe when she is in her highchair or something

Stevie, a thought occured to me when I was reading your post. You said it was only the last month or so that she had started screaming. Could she possibly be teething? I know when my DS (9 months) is teething there is no way he wants anyone touching his gums. It could just be your little one has a sore mouth at the moment. With both my kids at that age I just gave them the toothbrush to chew on in the bath. You could also try a flannel and rub the teeth (or let her chew on it) to clean them.

Stevie hun I wouold just let her chew on the ttohbrush for a few weeks then gently start to brush....do you use toothpaste? I havent used paste on FLoo yet but i do just give his 2 little teeth a brush!
Good luck hun xxx

Yeah. I console myself with the knowledge that DS doesn't eat much sugary stuff. I've seen little kids with rotten teeth - it's scary stuff.

Thanks for all the replies ladies,
Nos he didnt eat much junk, arrowroot bikkies are prob the worst thing she eats. and Only milk and water is all sghe drinks.
i actually do think she's teething and thats why its become difficult o brush them but i migth just do what some of you ladies suggested and give her the toothbrush in the bath to play with so she still sees it regularly, and il just use a cloth toclean them as best i can of a morning and night.
I am so terrified she'll end up with horrible teeth like me, thats why ive started brushing so younge. I got picked on alot coz of mine when i was growing up :( i dont want that to happen to her :(
thans again for your help girls xx

Hi Stevie

My daughter is nearly 8 months. We have just been rubbing her teeth (she has 6) with a cloth, as its gentle and doesnt scare her. She not liking the cloth anymore so we have just started giving her a toothbrush to play with in the bath. She puts it in her mouth and bites down on it. I figure this is a better way to introduce it, as I don't want to force her into it and scare her, that way teethbrushing will become a fear for her and a chore for us. I also think that I would rather she got used to the brush gently now, and as she gets older we may have more chance of doing it correctly then, than her fearing it and not being able to do it at all. I know how you feel, My teeth arent good (lots of fillings for me), so I definately want my daughter brushing her teeth. I think the damage to my teeth came more when I was eating lollies as a child and not brushing my teeth correctly.

Goodluck :)