[sylviamama]

Anybody have any great ideas for brushing a toddler's teeth other than holding her down and getting a quick clean while her mouth is open screaming?

It seems that every new trick we come up with only works for one or two brushings, and then it's back to the flat out refusal to open her mouth. I try letting daddy or big sis have a turn. I try letting her have a turn brushing my teeth. I try singing silly songs. I try talking about what's coming after brushing. I have no more tricks up my sleeve.

I can't seem to let go of the need to get a turn myself after she's finished with her turn cause I can see the build up on the front of her teeth when I don't, but I know I'm flagging this as an issue for her and solidifying her resolve to resist.

Why can't brushing be fun?

 

[faythe]

In our house toothbrushing is one of those non-negotiable things (like not playing on the dining room table and no jumping off of the stairs). Resisting brushing was a stage and they went through it relatively quickly. I would much rather have my daughters upset at me because I'm brushing their teeth when they don't want it than have to watch a dental tech hold my child down because she needs a root canal.

I always brush first and then let them finish. I also brush right in front of the bathroom mirror so they can watch. That would help from time to time.

 

[Piglet68]

I've found that if I get my DD preoccupied with something, toothbrushing goes really well. I either give her a toy, a box of fun things to play with, or....yup...wait until her fave TV show comes on and she will let me brush away for ages!

 

[indiegirl]

You might do a search for this on the dental board--there are lots of tips.

 

[luckylady]

I brush DD's teeth first while singing the brush teeth song, and then she gets to brush her own teeth while I brush mine. The brush teeth song goes like this:

Brush your teeth, brush them good, brush them like a big girl should! Up and down and side to side so cavities can't run and hide.

I usually have her on my knees bouncing while I brush.

isn't it amazing what you can do with only 2 hands???

 

[JayGee]

We sing too. For a while, he'd let me brush his teeth to the ABC song, but he got tired of that. Now we do the "Brush, brush, brush your teeth as slowly as you can" (while slowly getting into all the crevices) and then, "Brush, brush, brush your teeth as quickly as you can" (just going crazy with the brush, which makes him laugh). He usually says, "More" when we're done, so we even get a second round in

.

 

[Potty Diva]

We've gone through the brushing woes to, and intially I would would just let it slide, and then she went through a stage of doing really well, and brushed her teeth whenever needed. Now she is back to not wanting to, but it brushing teeth is something I don't feel comfortable giving her a choicee about. Of course she has a choice about who/how they get brushed, but none of them are very pleasant.

The easiest way to get her teeth brushed is to remind her that we don't want owies on our teeth so we have to brush them. Since she can understand what an owie is she is usually pretty willing to let me get in there and get her teeth cleaned good.

I too choose to have her be upset with me then let her teeth get cavities. Although I really do not want to tramatize her...

 

[Kishor'sMami]

Wow, some great ideas here... I could definitely use the help with my little squirmer!

Something that I've just recently started is giving him a mirror to watch (and hold) while I brush his teeth. And then turning it into a game to see if he can see where I'm brushing.

hope that helps

 

[sylviamama]

I had a class tonight, so daddy brushed teeth - he found the toothbrush as airplane did the trick. He thinks he's really onto something.... I'll have him do the brushing tomorrow night too, so he can see that new tricks don't work for long.

:

I'll definitely try the mirror, and we have an electric toothbrush she can play with too.

More????

 

[Wendi]

Fortunately Max LOVES brushing teeth!!! Sometimes I have a hard time getting him to stop! I usually brush his teeth first, then let him have the toothbrush and brush on his own. I have heard a lot of people say that the new "spin brushes" or other electric toothbrushes do wonders for toddlers who don't like having their teeth brushed... they seem to love the electric brushes. I used to make it part of his bath ritual, but now he brushes his teeth while I brush mine, he likes to imitate everything so it works well.

 

[Mere]

I hear you...for a long time (months maybe? now I can't remember) we had dd upside down and brush her teeth while she was screaming. We kept at it though, and at some point, persistance paid off. While she doesn't love it, she willingly opens her mouth for me. We use an electric toothbrush, so we can brush pretty quickly.

After months of not using flouride drops, we restarted using them as a reward for brushing. That might have made the biggest difference - they are peach flavored, and dd really likes them. We give her half the recommended amount, but that's enough of a reward for her!