Teeth brushing stike (2 yrs old)

[denaverbena]

We were doing so great with teeth brushing, DD would do her thing, then let me brush afterwards.  Then she stopped letting me brush,but was actually doing a decent job on her own.  Recently though she wants noting to do with it;(  I've read so many other moms commenting they hold their child down, which would not feel ok for me.  So Im looking for ideas to help make it fun again.  Sometimes brushing a stuffed animals teeth first will do the trick, but not always.  Also we do eat a Traditional foods diet with almost no sugar and no juice.  I do notice some yellow build up on her front teeth.  Thanks for your help!

[tinyflame]

My son is 2.5 and he periodically has times where he doesn't want me to brush his teeth but singing a silly song or letting him floss his teeth with those little handheld floss things (I don't know what they're called - we call them flossers) while I brush usually does the trick. At this age I figure (hope!) everything is a stage and won't last too long.

[kmamma]

Regular brushing causes plaque to be pushed down into the gum line and below. The yellow buildup you're noticing may be just that. Many brushes can also be quite abrasive to the gums and perhaps she's feeling adverse to brushing because of that. I'm reading Ramiel Nagel's book right now about tooth decay and apparently, regular brushing should always be accompanied by blotting (using a specially designed brush to remove the resulting plaque impaction, or an oral irrigator) to prevent the plaque from gathering at the gum line.  

[Koalamom]

My ds is 21 months and we use a wash cloth to wipe his teeth. He has beautifully strong spaced teeth but with some yellow on the top teeth. My dd had the yellow when she was little and her teeth are now white and beautiful, she is 4 yrs old. I have held my ds down to brush so I find the cloth is better for us now. I tell him he cannot nurse unless we wipe his teeth. He complains but it gets done.