How do you mama's get your toddler to brush his teeth (or how do you get him to let you brush them)? My son thinks it's a game, and when I do manage to get the toothbrush in his mouth for 2 seconds, he chews on it, then pulls it out to play with. At least when he chews it, I feel like some of his teeth are being cleaned, but I don't really want to encourage that, either. I've noticed plaque on his teeth lately, but I can never really give his teeth a decent brush. Any suggestions??
well that is normal what he is doing. But, find books and/or videos on brushing teeth, get him excited about it. Get him involved with picking out a toothbrush and make it a daily part of the routine. And around 2 yrs old make him his first dentist apt and go every 6 months after that, get him use to it and keep those teeth healthy and clean.
I bought each of my munchkins a tooth brush that was decorated with things they like, and I make them stand there and say AAAH (so I can brush the insides of the teeth) then EEEEE (so I can brush the outsides). It's pretty quick and easy, and they dont usually fight about it. It probably helps that someone told them their teeth will fall out if they dont brush.
Hi,
I don't have any advise for you unfortunately, but I wanted to say I have the same problem with my 19 month old daughter and I will be following up to see what kind of responses you get. Lately, she has been putting the toothbrush under the faucet to wet it, then puts it in her mouth to suck the water from the toothbrush. When we first started trying to get her to brush her teeth (around 17 months), we would let her hold the toothbrush, and she would also mainly "chew" on it, and I thought, that's good enough, she's getting the main idea. But now, she won't let me take the toothbrush and go near her mouth. I've even tried two brushes- she holds one and I brush her teeth with one. That doesn't work because she wants to hold both, and of course, when I don't let her, she'll cry. I've even tried letting her watch me brush my teeth, but she'll either ignore me, or want my brush too. Our pediatrician told us that if she refuses to have her teeth brushed that we should "just hold her down and do it for her"... My husband and I have tried that a few times when she really puts up a fight with us, but I really worry that we're causing more harm than good. I have to hold her hands while my husband gets the toothbrush in her mouth for all of 4 seconds. My guess is that it would scare her and make her not want to brush her teeth at all. My husband thinks oh well, she'll get over it. So, I'm at a loss, and even questioning my pediatrician, so where do I go... mamasource :-)
Every child is different-- for my toddler, I pretty much sort of bribe him every night-- I say it's time to brush his teeth, he tries to avoid it, and I say, "Do you want to go to bed or brush your teeth"-- he choses brush his teeth-- then he pretty much still has to go to bed within the next 10 minutes, but he feels in control like he bought himself that extra time because he selected the brushing over going straight to bed. HOWEVER--- for my first born son, it was a nightmare. Oral hygene is something that is just NOT an option for our family, so my husband and I did it as a team. We would literally have one of us hold him down with his head on our lap while the other one brushed as best we could while he fought and screamed. We would let him know that this is the "hard way" and he is welcome to switch to the "easy way", which would be to sit on our lap or a stool and open his mouth while we brushed it. After several weeks of doing the hard way every day, he tried that easy way and of course liked it much better. We had to resort to the hard way every once in a while, but he did pretty much eventually figure it out that his teeth WOULD be brushed every single day whether he liked it or not, and it was his choice to do it the easy way, which involved much less trauma!
I count the brush strokes. 10 x per each section. He knows that it will only take to 10 to get to the end of the section and when I say "say eeeeeeee" he knows he only has until the count of 10 to be finished. I probably should do more, but right now Im just interested in getting him to allow me to do it, so anything I can get done I am happy with.
I have an 18 month old as well, and have that same issue as well, however I do manage to brush his teeth, and I actually prefer when he is screaming as that is when I get the most out of cleaning his teeth. I just sit on the toilet, put one of his hand around my back, and let him lay on my arm, and with that same arm, i hold his other hand, I tease and play with him at first then I brush the front, when he starts to scream I get his back teeth, then once satisfied, i will let him brush on his own for a little, while i brush my own, then i make it seems like the water is fun when it is time to wash the tooth brush, I even let him put the brush under the water. Then I will tell him all done, time to put away the tooth brush, and wash our face, once the tooth brush is out of his hands and put away,we are all set and teeth squeeky clean. hope that helps a bit.
I also struggle with this issue. My daughter is 28 months and it is almost a struggle every time. But I force her, she needs to do it. Some days are better than others. I've made up a song and it usually makes it not such a fight. This is something that has to be done, don't give up. Good luck.
Use two brushes, while he plays and chews with one, you use the other one to brush. Or you let him brush and then go in and brush again. Easy, right :)
We use an electric on all our kids, including our 3 year old (since he was about 18 months). He thinks it's fun and cooperates completely. The head is small, so it fits in their mouth nicely and the particular one we have doesn't spin as fast as some. When we were using regular child toothbrushes, we had the same problem with not really brushing and just playing.
We use an electric brush because I feel like it gets the teeth cleaner...quicker! I also brush my son's teeth in the bathtub. That way there is no struggle to stand at the sink and no way to make a huge mess. We also sing an "eee and aaa" song. When he says "eee" I get the front teeth, and "aaa" for the back teeth. Works wonders for us. Good luck.
I pretend there's a dirty monkey hiding inside his mouth who needs a bath. I chase the monkey around with the toothbrush, trying to scrub him, and he's naughty and jumps all over inside my son's mouth. It sounds crazy, but he thinks it's SO funny and lets me brush his teeth every time. He even looks forward to it!
18 months is a little young for you to expect him to brush his own teeth. With that said, you will need to do it for him. Are you using a toothbrush or one of those finger brushes? I would suggest using a regular toothbrush for him as the finger varieties are not "stiff" enough and I personally do not think they do a good job anyway. If you see plaque, then what I have done, is take the tiniest dot of regular toothpaste. I mean, the TINIEST dot, because he most likely will not be able to spit it out. Gently, but firmly get the brush into his mouth and scrub his teeth. When all done, I have used a wet wash cloth to "rinse" it away by gently rubbing his teeth and absorbing any foam that may have collected in his mouth. Have him stick out his tongue and gently clean his tongue with the toothbrush. Most babies this age will attempt to chew on the brush. Make the most of it and do your best and in no time, he'll get used it. Make a routine out of it...brush after breakfast and after his nightly bath. He will get used to it. My almost 3 year old insists that I brush his teeth every day.
First, I buy several toothbrushes with characters he likes. Then, I make it a game for him. I will let him brush his own teeth for the count of ten and then I get a turn to brush his teeth for a ten count. Or I let him 'brush' my teeth and then I can brush his, and we take turns till his are done. I also will sing the brushing teeth song from Bear in the Big Blue House, and he dances while I brush his teeth, and then we both pretend to spit in the sink (which is his favorite). Or I just give him a toothbrush to chew on while I use another one to brush his teeth.
You have noticed plaque...Have you taken him to the dentist? He/She will also prepare you for proper brushing/flossing techniques.
Kids play games with us, so nip this in the bud, get him to the dentist for a cleaning and YOU make the brushing, bath, dinner, nap, etc Game rules...Otherwise we get pushed around and exhausted by it all...
good luck!
My little guy loves to brush. I let him use a toothbrush as a teether when he was very little. He especially likes the electric tooth brushes. They have cute characters on them. I let him pick them out and I bought a toothpaste that was bubble gum flavored. My son is 4 so I use the flavored toothpaste with flouride made by aim. I also let him brush in the shower. Hope this helps. Lots of luck.
