toothbrushing and a 1 year old

[janebug]

can anybody offer some guidance on dental care of a 1 year old? i try to brush his teeth at night before bed but it's not real easy, mostly he sucks the toothpast off and he only sometimes lets me brush. he's not got a whole lot of teeth, well, actually maybe 12 now. It's starting to get to the point that i am worried about not brushing.

what do you all do? recommend? i hate to hold him down and make him brush but do i need to be finding a way to make sure it happens? And is just a quick swipe good?

thank you , thank you.

[Boobs]

Well, we're dealing with fairly severe decay in our 13 month old and brushing his teeth 4 times a day while waiting for treatment. I have found that the fingertip brush is easier than the type with a handle. It is necessary for me to hold him down to get the job done effectively. I lay him down with his head in between my legs and hold his arms down with my leg. It's not fun and it's not easy, but it absolutely has to be done.

I also recommend an all natural toothpaste with xylitol called Squigle. It's pricey, but I think it's worth it.

Best of luck!

[nonconformnmom]

We have a small toothbrush that we just give my 16 mo dd and let her poke it around her teeth for a few minutes. We don't use toothpaste, only water. After she has had time to play with it a bit, I'll usually try to do some real brushing, but if she resists I don't worry too much about it.

My 3 yo uses toothpaste and brushes very well on her own, and I am more intent somewhere between ages 2 and 3 yo to make sure that every tooth is thoroughly brushed.

[malamamama]

In retrospect...dd is now 5 1/2.......and we had a terrible time of brushing at 1 year...decay beginning at 15 months....etc......
I would just get in there with a soft cloth and rub. Also allow him to "brush" your teeth first with your brush then make it his turn with his "very own" brush. Maybe try at other times of the day when he is more receptive, before he gets too tired. HTH

[TracyandAdam]

Brushing teeth

My 20 month old loves to brush his teeth..its a pattern for him 3 times a day..i got him to do this by saying brush your teeth like a shark open up like a shark like Bruce...Nemo helped with the shark thing...also u could try using the kids Act fluoride rinse..i just pour a little over his tooth brush...and it is recommened to take your baby at 12 months to the dentist for his first check up...some dentists wont see them til 3 yrs. So find a Ped. Dentist. Dep. on the age they will clean them as well..but it is a good ideal to take your baby to your dentist appt.. with u first so the child knows that everything will be fine...

[bluets]

we started letting ds wander around the bedroom during the bedtime routine with a toothbrush - he was teething, so it made for a good teething toy. after a while, he wanted to hold the toothbrush while we were getting dressed after bath. then he saw me brushing my teeth and wanted to use his toothbrush. now he just expects that we'll brush our teeth.

my mom bought my niece a spinbrush and she loves it. my ds likes my spinny toothbrush, but doesn't always want to have me brush his teeth with my brush.

i also sing a song for him getting him in the mood to brush his teeth. Raffi did it (i remember it from an OLD album), something like:

when i wake up in the morning, and
it's a quarter to one,
i'm looking for
a little fun

i brush my teeth
sh sh sh shhhhh sh sh sh sh shhhhh

when i wake up in the morning
it's a quarter to two
i'm looking for
something to do

i brush my teeth
sh sh sh shhhhh sh sh sh sh shhhhh

you get the picture

[blessed]

Originally Posted by bluets

i also sing a song for him getting him in the mood to brush his teeth.

I did this with baby also. I used a song from the movie Grease. Remember when the girls are all at a slumber party? One sees a commercial on TV and sings along:

Brusha brusha brusha
it's a brand new flavor
brusha brusha brusha
flavor for your teeth!

Totally corny and stupid, and always made baby laugh.

We focused mostly on making the experience fun and interesting so that when brushing starts to really matter later on, she'd be more receptive to it. I didn't want to be in some toothbrush battle every day for eternity. So we didn't worry much about how thorough she was at first. We used a cute kid's toothbrush and a berry flavored kids toothpaste.

It's really paid off. She loves to brush, does a surprisingly good job by herself at 25 months, and will faithfully remind us if we forget. She hasn't had any decay, but I don't know if that's related to her brushing or just good luck.