brushing teeth - Page 2

[dawncayden]

Originally Posted by YayJennie

My son is 16 months old and got teeth pretty late, so he's only got 6 right now and 4 aren't even all the way through. We just started brushing teeth, but he won't let me do it. So I just give it to him and model how to brush. When I brush my teeth in front of him, he gets a better idea of what to do, and will brush a bit. I'm sure it's not actually getting his teeth *really* clean, but we do this twice a day, and I think it's great for his age.

Once he has more teeth and is older and eating more sweets (right now the only sugar in his diet is the occasional Popsicle) I might push the brushing a little more, but for now, I'm completely satisfied with letting him enjoy tooth brushing and doing it himself. I really feel like if I forced the issue, it would end up a battle that would make him hate brushing his teeth, and I'd rather have it be fun right now.

I totally understand what you are saying and this is the approach we took with ds1. Just make sure you keep a look out for brown spots near the gums. He had zero sugar until 2 years old, and still at 13 months he had slight brown near the gum line at the front. At two he had surgery because he was in so much pain.
If your able to keep it fun and still keep them really clean, then that is great, just keep an eye on things in there

[lkmiscnet]

I use a washcloth to scrub my 14 mo old's 6 teeth. I'm sure it's not as good as brushing because the bristles do a better job of getting in the gumline, but it's better than nothing. I do it at least once a day, typically after a meal in his high chair. My challenge is just when he bites down HARD on my finger.

I also try to remember to do it before bed, but that one typically falls by the way side. He still nurses to sleep anyway and at least twice more during the night.

I do rub a gel called Spry made for babies on his teeth (bought at my local health food store), which is a xylitol syrup because studies have shown that it can ward off cavities. See links below.

http://dentistry.about.com/b/2009/07...ood-caries.htm

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jul.../sci-xylitol11

[Friday13th]

Toothbrushing is non-negotiable here too. We started when he was little and once he was old enough to get grumpy about it, he got to pick out his own electric toothbrush and what flavor toothpaste he wanted. And we do the first run, a good thorough clean and then he gets to finish himself.

[Megan73]

Toothbrushing is non-negotiable after my not-yet-four nephew underwent thousands of dollars of dental work under general anaesthesia including ROOT CANALS.
But I just wanted to add that having to force the issue - and there have been periods where it's been for weeks at a time - does not seem to have given DS a "complex" about it. At 2, he's now perfectly fine with it 90% of the time and complains mightily the rest.
Thanks for reminding me I need to investigation how to floss a toddler!

[LadyCatherine185]

Originally Posted by YayJennie

My son is 16 months old and got teeth pretty late, so he's only got 6 right now and 4 aren't even all the way through. We just started brushing teeth, but he won't let me do it. So I just give it to him and model how to brush. When I brush my teeth in front of him, he gets a better idea of what to do, and will brush a bit. I'm sure it's not actually getting his teeth *really* clean, but we do this twice a day, and I think it's great for his age.

Once he has more teeth and is older and eating more sweets (right now the only sugar in his diet is the occasional Popsicle) I might push the brushing a little more, but for now, I'm completely satisfied with letting him enjoy tooth brushing and doing it himself. I really feel like if I forced the issue, it would end up a battle that would make him hate brushing his teeth, and I'd rather have it be fun right now.

Hi Jennie!
I agree with what the other poster said, just make sure you watch out, Liam had NO sweets, NONE, and didn't even start eating solids until 15 months old.. AND we brushed his teeth every single night (starting at 12 months old) at 17 months he had 6+ cavities that had to be filled under general anesthesia. I agree wiping them is good, maybe get a little toddler toothpaste (without flouride) or some xylitol spray to put on the washcloth and jsut wipe as good as you can. With only 6 teeth it should be pretty easy, Liam had 16 teeth by that time so it was pretty hard for us to wipe them all. A lot of it is definitely genetic, Liam got "lucky" with weak enamel, but I would still be extra careful because you don't know whether Wyatt has strong teeth or not yet.

[pantrygirl]

Tooth-brushing is a non-negotiable in our house as well.
She used to really love it.
We had two toothbrushes. She would hold one and get to brush first. Then I would brush next.
Then she turned two and she refused to let anyone help her.
I stick to my guns though and tell her that she can brush her teeth but I need to brush them too.
She fights but she doesn't freak out. Eventually she's calm and let's me do it with an occasional pushing my hand away. I'm steadfast though and tell her that it's almost done.
I also sing a song so she knows when it's almost done. She knows that the song has to be sung in it's fullest for the top set and then again for the bottom set.

[grace2008]

My son likes brushing himself, but never do it right. So I will let him do it first and finish up myself, sometime I have to force it. I have heard so much about the teeth problems at young age, and I don't want my son to have them.

[apple o' my eye]

Originally Posted by Anna's Lovey

For some reason, "there are monsters in your teeth. Let me get the monsters out. Out monsters! Out!" works like a charm. (A little trick I read somewhere).

That's the funniest thing I've heard in a while!! We'll have to try it!

We got one of those bite guard looking toothbrushes from One Step Ahead. Expensive, but at least it is designed to be chewed on. Sometimes I see little pieces of food in it so I think it is helping

Also we do xylitol on the nite nite binky so it can work all night.

We have had staining issues where her front teeth were stained and I thought we'd have to go to the dentist. Both times a good brushing took it off. She does fight me brushing though and I just do it occasionally.

[earthworm]

My son brushes his own teeth first and then I "double-check" his work.
We made it into a big game when he first resisted (he never really cared if we wiped/brushed his teeth until 2). He was really into pretending to be different animals or a monster so we'd get really excited about needing to clean our big monster/bear/tiger teeth (whoa yeah! we better do it so we can have strong, healthy monster teeth to eat ____!! etc etc). Eventually he just did it without all the excitement.
He started resisting again at 3 and we made it about seeing the cool bubbles (though, really, his toothpaste doesn't bubble that much--I think he had just seen mine). He would stand on his stool, looking in the mirror, while I told him to keep brushing so we could see how many bubbles he could make. Again, lots of excitement, haha. This didn't require quite as much effort as the first time he resisted. Now he just does it most days. I always brush my teeth at the same time and sometimes we will "talk" to each other while doing it which just sounds like grrfflgeblllrg (haha, if you know what I mean) and that helps to get him in a better mood if he just has the toothbrush hanging there or whatever.
Obviously every child/family is different, so who knows! I hope you do find something that works though!

[AKA_PI]

I'm battling this same issue with my soon-to-be 2 year old as well. LAtely I've let him stand on the stool and brush his as I brush mine. If he doesn't cooperate, I just hold him down and wipe his teeth with a washcloth. Some cleaning is better than none IMO.

[mamasee]

Originally Posted by nukuspot

We already hold her down to cut her nails and that is a huge trauma...But otherwise she scratches her face up terribly in her sleep. I don't want to have yet another thing we need to restrain her for, and every day!

We used to cut my dd's fingernails after she fell asleep. Just put on a headlamp so you can shine light just on her fingers and clip away! So much easier!

[mamasee]

Forgot to add an amazing book on reversing tooth decay.

Cure Tooth Decay by Ramiel Nagel

[Pookietooth]

Make sounds, let your baby hold one toothbrush while you use another. Sing a silly song. Silliness really helps. Also, choices such as which toothbrush, etc.

[melon]

i think it hurts my teething 15 mo when we brush his teeth, but he always wants to do what we're doing, so he tolerates it for a few seconds.
We don't use toothpaste.
We have this:
http://www.amazon.com/American-Cross...ef=pd_sbs_ba_1
So i give him the nubby one to chew on (the handles look the same) and then i swoop in with the actual brush for a few seconds.

[Shuli]

Tooth brushing here is also not optional. We are early teeth people (I had four at four months) and our boys had four at 5 months. We started brushing with a soft brush as soon as the first teeth were through. In fact, one of the boys' first words was "teeth" as he pointed to the toothbrush after bath. Our little one is now 8 months and got here first two at 6 months. We also started brushing right away. We start early and they don't know anything else.

[Valentine99]

Yes and No. It all depends on her mood. There are days she opens her mouth and days that she puts up a fight. I have found that if I brush my teeth first and she gets to watch, she is more receptive to having her teeth brushed. GL