16 Month Old Brushing Her Teeth

We use two toothbrushes, one for my daughter and one for the parent. That way she still has something to hold onto and usually already has her mouth open using her own brush. We also practice opening our mouths when not brushing teeth, sometimes using a flashlight to look at our teeth. We all take turns with the flashlight and say ahh, say eee, sticking out our tongues (we brush their tongues every day too). She doesn't cooperate every time, but she does pretty good most days. The also try to give her lots of choices so she still feels like she is in control. Which toothbrush for mommy, which for you? Stand on the stool or sit on the toilet? Mommy brush first or you? Anything to give her more choices to elicit more cooperation. Sometimes despite all our efforts she is in a rotten mood and we just have to get through it. Our dr said a screaming child has their mouth open, so at least you will get a good brushing in. When she is like this we stand behind her and wrap one are around her arms and hold them to her body while we brush with the other hand. Not the best experience for any of us, but at least we know her teeth have been cleaned.

Hi Abby,
Check out my profile to see my experience in this area. At your daughter's age she is unable to correctly or thoroughly brush her teeth herself. My daughter wasn't cooperative at this age either so I ended up laying her face up in my lap and holding her down while I brushed. I would tell her while I was brushing that if she would hold still and open her mouth I wouldn't need to hold her, and that she didn't have a choice about brushing. It is a power struggle and one that I was NOT going to let her win. You can try giving her a toothbrush and taking turns or letting her brush first then you brushing. I use the baby toothpaste with xylitol and a small infant toothbrush from Oral-B. Do whatever it takes to get her teeth clean, early childhood caries is on the rise in the U.S. and getting dental work done on a small child is traumatic and expensive. If you have any questions, email me.
Sincerely,
L.

I have a 16 month old and it is usually a battle to brush her teeth. The main reason is that she wants to do it herself. My husband or I usually brush her teeth in four stages. We brush one side of the bottom and then let her pretend she is brushing and then take the toothbrush back and do the other side until we have brushed all of her teeth. She sometimes has a tantrum and cries, but we just do it anyway and hopefully grow out of it.

I have an eleven month old and i bought her a battery powered toothbrush that looks alot like mine. When I brush my teeth, we brush hers. She never cries and sits very continently while I brush her teeth for her. I then let her play with it a little afterwards. Now granted she does not have a whole lot of teeth but the experience has been very positive for her.