Yet another HOW-CAN-I-BRUSH-MY-TODDLER'S TEETH thread?

[Bearsmama]

DS is 21 months. When we first started brushing DH and I were not too serious about actually getting the job done. Then, when we started realizing the importance of brushing at this age, we sort of just forced him to do it. He would cry and we would just comfort him as best we could but still get the brush in there and do it.

Lately, the pendulum has swung back and we are lucky if we get one swipe in followed by a sip of water (for some reason I feel better if he washes his mouth out at the end of the day).

So, what to do? He absolutely hates brushing. HATES IT! Right up there with Dr. visits. Any suggestions would be great. I don't want his teeth to fall out!!!!:confused: :confused: :confused:

[melamama]

I'm sorry to say that I don't have any good suggestions about technique, just sympathy and support to do it anyway. We have a 31/2 year old who now is very compliant and enthusiastic about brushing---but when she was younger she would scream and we would do a terrible job-if we'd do it at all some days. Now we're just hoping her teeth last until the normal time for them to fall out. We're on our third dentist who is great, and we've been almost a year without a cavity, but holding her down to brush is nothing compared to having to hold her for the dentist.

Don't let there be an option about brushing their teeth--it's just something that must be done twice a day-period-. We found that once she realized that this was just the way that it was she cooperated more. We also have like 10 different toothbrushes.

[PumpkinSeeds]

I make my 2.5 year old ds lie down on the bed, and I sit facing him and put his legs over my legs. Then I lean over him and ask him what he would like me to sing. Of course he chooses the most inane songs (from thomas the tank engine, bleh!) and I sing while he opens his mouth. If he closes his mouth I stop singing. He doesn't spit, but loves to swallow the toothpaste (we use flouride free). He even lets me floss all his teeth. The point is, he gets to choose the songs, and for some reason it works and he likes it.

I always made my ds lie down to do things I didn't think he would accept. LIke, he lies down to get his fish oil, and lies down if I have to give him tylenol (rarely) or whatever. Brushing his teeth was the same. Somehow it got much easier when I just made him lie down while I did it.


Toby, oh Toby, what will become of you?
The world's much nicer
whenever we see you -ooooo


BLeh!!! I HATE those Thomas the tank engine songs, so I guess my ds knows about payback, eh?

[simonee]

For my dd, the only thing that worked was counting from 1 to 10, she will not be distracted by games. After months of hating it, including whole days spent under the kitchen table because she didn't want to brush before going out, she got used to it. And has beautiful pearly whites :toothy

The funnest way I remember reading about here was a mom who played Crocodile Man or something and the kid was the Croc who was trying to snap up the toothbrush. Lemme dig up the thread

Here it is (http://mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3697) It's long, but worth your while

hth