How do I clean the teeth of a biting 10 mo old?

[lkmiscnet]

My DS has three of his upper teeth in and his bottom two middle teeth.

I tried the finger silicone sleeve with the brush on it and he is not very cooperative so it's not working well. I also tried the brush that came with the finger sleever that has silicone nubs on one side and finer silicone nubs on the other, but have not had luck with that either.

So, I resorted to using a cotton cloth and have been trying to rub both sides of his teeth. He starts crying and I have a hard time doing it and then he just moves his head from side to side making it difficult to clean his teeth.

Now, he has resorted to biting my finger--HARD--while I'm wiping his teeth.

I tried to wipe them while he was asleep, but he stirred and the last thing I need is to wake him up at night when he's up every 2-3 hours as it is.

Any tips?

[Alisse]

What about having him watch you brush your teeth after every meal? That way he might want to do what mommy is doing?

ETA: You may not brush after every meal normally, but i suggested it as a way of letting him see you do it more times in a day...you know, to make him more jealous.

[MamaPhD]

I brush DD's teeth after breakfast and dinner while she is still in high chair. That way she is alreay strapped. She is OK with it most times, hates it sometimes, especially if she is teething (in which case I just brush places farther away from teething area). I recline the high chair all the way back (similar to being at the dentist!) with DD's head leaned back. I then have DD bite down on my left index finger with her gum where she doesn't have teeth yet (where molars would be). So then even when she bites, 1)it doesn't hurt me, and 2)I still have good access to her 8 teeth. I gently hold her head with rest of my left hand to limit range of motion (not immobilized, tho). Then brush really fast but not hard.

I would say use a regular brush (not cloth or silicon nubbies). The reaon you brush with a "brush" is the bristles have fine point ends and they can get at where tooth meets gum, which is the most important part you have to clean. Smooth surface is secondary. My sister is a pediatric dentist so I get so many lectures all the time, lol. She also said most baby/toddler brush bristles are too hard. You can dip the brush in piping hot water for1-2 minutes and the bristles really soften. Of course, then you have to cool it down by shaking it a few times before you use it on your baby.

My DD really likes the toothpaste and mostly sucks on the brush (or tries to) while I brush her teeth. I think ours is from Gerber, so maybe you can "bribe" your baby with a yummy toothpaste?