advice for getting SPD child to brush teeth?

[kisskisskiddo]

in short... my son is almost 3 and has never liked getting his teeth brushed. he has an absolute meltdown and it takes both me and my husband restraining him to brush his teeth. because it is so traumatic we have only been brushing them 2 times a week. i am desperate for advice or help with this. i would love him to do it 2 times a day. but would even feel good about once a day brushing. i fear for his oral hygiene if we can't figure this out. i have tried a regular toothbrush, a vibrating one, letting him try doing it himself, the only thing that worked for about 2 days was the electric brush... but now he hates it. so what do i do???

[MomFromAway]

Ugh. My son was 4 before he would do it without a fight. We wrangled him once a day, and his teeth are awful. I'm looking forward to seeing them replaced with permanent teeth!

What finally worked for us was Spiderman toothpaste and toothbrush.

Good luck. I know how awful it feels to restrain your child to brush his teeth. I couldn't stomache it twice a day either.

[KimPM]

If he likes trucks or certain vehicles, you can try to make it a game by saying in a pleasant tone..."here comes the dump truck...open the garage door and let it in!" or you can try to point out various "animals" you see in his mouth...."wait...I see a panda in there, let me brush him out" Of course, you'd do this with no restraint and try to get him to buy into it.

[laurata]

What about wiping down with a velour or baby washcloth after each meal? It might not be as effective, but would remove some of the surface grime and might help to acclimate his mouth to different sensations?

My ds does not have diagnosed SPD, but wouldn't let us brush his teeth for a long time. He started tolerating it about a year ago, shortly before he turned 5.

[beachcomber]

We had a lot of the same problems with our 4 y.o. DD but got great tips from her behaviorist:

- sing a song to him while you brush
- use a timer so he can see how long he has to do this
- follow it with an activity he really enjoys

We have made a ritual out of finding a little mouse from one of her favorite shows. We find Tutter the mouse and the cheese he hides between her teeth. We also use a little 3 minute egg timer is the glass with sand that runs through. This gives her a visual for time. Then we follow with a story book session at night and some time on her swing if it's morning.