Any advice on how to get my 2 year old to brush his teeth. He will put the toothbrush in his mouth, or hold it in his hand, but he doesn't like when I actually move it to clean his teeth. And then how do I get him to spit out the toothpaste without encouraging spitting??
Thanks for all the great advice! I shared all of it with my husband and we are managing to get our son's teeth brushed everyday and without complaints! We'll work on spitting out the toothpaste when he's a little bigger.
My daughter was the same way, and still is some times. It helps me to brush my teeth at the same time that she does.....she likes watching me do it and copying me. Good luck.
My husband is a dentist and we also have an almost 2 year old. We have the same problem - my daughter hates to have her teeth brushed (even with a professional as her dad). We have had to brush her teeth some nights with her crying (although, sadly, when she is crying it is easier to get in her mouth to quickly brush). I typed some tips below that my husband just recited to me after I read your note:
1. No kids likes to brush their teeth and usually you have to do it for them (even if against their will). Sometimes you can make it a game - we sing a song with the word open your mouth 'aaahhhh' and on occasion our daughter will open her mouth for a few seconds so we can brush.
2. Use the toothpaste with no floride so you don't care if they swallow or not ... it is called toddler toothpaste and I buy it at Target / Walmart. Add floride toothpaste at age 4, but you will still find yourself brushing their teeth until age 6.
3. If you lay them down on their back, it is easier to brush (even if they are crying, you can quickly go in and brush).
4. If only brushing once a day (that's what we do), brush before bed.
Good luck!!
i have to brush isabella's teeth everyday w/her laying down. its a struggle to do it so i have to do it. i use the non flouride. hopefully she will do it herself soon.
HI R., same thing here with my 22 mth old. She actually has placque build up in one of her teeth, gross. She's already been to the Dentist. I bought her a Dora battery operated one, she's had it all summer and is just beginning to like it ok. She'll do it herself, but not all of the time, so I've had to hold her on my lap and do it for her, she ususally is fighting me the whole time but it gets done, I kmow, barbaric, but it needs to be done. You're not alone, do you brush your teeth at the same time as him? Sometimes leading by example is a better way with a toddler. You got to trick them. Good luck.
Hello. Some things I do to get my 14 month old to brush is I brush my teeth at the same time or I give her my brush to "brush" mine while I brush hers. I also try to do this after every meal (or at least after breakfast and dinner) to set up a routine. I can't give any advice on spitting other than I think with time, your little one will learn with time and your guidance when to spit and when not to spit.
I had the same problem with my 2 year old. I found an electric toothbrush at Target(although I'm sure they have them everywhere)that has Elmo and Cookie on it. She actually asks to brush her teeth now.
I know it doesn't truly teach her the brushing method but for now it's keeping her teeth clean.
Hope this helps.
make sure you get him the training toothpaste that can be swallowed, he doesnt need floride toothpaste right now. Brush his teeth a few times a day so he gets used to it. My kids like the battery operated ones. Good luck
If you aren't already using it, I would get the non-flouride training toothpaste- your pediatrician can give you flouride drops to give to your son if you don't have flouride in your tap water. This is a great tool to help learn how to spit and not have to worry about your child swallowing too much flouride (which can lead to staining on adult teeth).
I wouldn't worry too much about him not being able to brush his teeth by himself. My son is 5 and I still do a "brushing" after he brushes. I don't think it is realisitc for them to be able to get all of their teeth by themselves for a while.
With my 3 year old, what helped her let me help was I told her I was looking for animals in her mouth. The giraffe is so tall, it hides in the back, so I need to scrub really hard.... also the koala likes to hide up top and the frog likes to sit right on the tongue... Be creative!
Good luck!
2 is probably too young to start spitting; it's okay to just use water at that age. What's imprortant is getting the brush over all surfaces of the teeth. I let my son do it himself first, the I do the "once over" to make sure all surfaces are clean. I found it helpful to get the cookie monster toothbrush, and then told him that cookie monster is looking for cookies in his mouth - can do cookie monsters voice and actions to make it fun. Good luck!
I play a game with my daughter and pretent that there are things hiding on her teeth that I have to clean off. For example, she'll say that there are ladybugs on her teeth and we try to scrub them away, or there are dinosaurs in her mouth that we have to clean. Every night she comes up with something funny that's in her mouth that we clean. Once I'm done scrubbing the animals away, she gets to try to find more animals. Good luck!
