My daughter is now 14 months old, I have been brushing her teeth since they first appeared at 6 months (she now has 9 teeth). At first she didn't mind too much, but for months now she cries during the brushing and wriggles so much I can't clean them properly. She opens her mouth for the toothbrush but as soon as I get it in she cries and tries to wriggle away. My husband and I would take the opportunity of an an open crying mouth to get a good cleaning done, however, now she has learnt to cry with her mouth closed! We have tried different toothbrushes (fingertip-types & washcloths she bites us too hard), and different toothpastes which do not make any difference at all, it's all the same reaction. As soon as the brushing stops she will stop crying. My friend is a dental hygenist and looked at her teeth/gums, all is healthy. She will most often take the toothbrush if I give it to her, and suck/chew on it, but it is not enough to clean them properly. My husband experiences the same crying routine as I do. Has anyone else gone through this? Healthy teeth are really important to me so I go through this twice a day.
I used to hum Bugs Bunny songs and brushed her teeth at the beat of the song while I brushed my daughter's teeth when she was little. She thought it was the funniest thing and would keep her mouth open. She's now 17 and I asked her recently if she remembered those sessions, she said she did and started laughing when I hummed the songs and approached her with a toothbrush in hand.
My Son has sensory issues and this is a battle we also had. We switched to the battery operated ones with a character on them. He loves the way it feels in his mouth and now he asks for it. They slightly vibrate in their mouths, it was recommmended by his OT therapist. Good luck. We thought we were never going to find something.
hi J., You are well trained by your daughter. Dont stop doing the right thing for her. You need to brush her teeth and if she cries then atleast her mouth is open.
Positive thinking! She can't make these decisions, you need to. Also, if the toothpaste is the issue, then don't use it everytime. It's the action of the brush that really is important. and if her teeth are touching then you need to try and floss too. Fun being a parent, eh? You will always have to make the decisions that are the right thing to do. good luck, Deb
My dentist told us that they just need one thorough brushing routine per day in order to stave off problems. Genes are the most important factor in dental health, so if she has good genes, you can get away with skipping a brushing here and there, but if the genes are more fragile, you'll need to enforce brushing everyday. We used the technique of having them lay on the floor while you sit next to (above) their head, legs over their arms, and have them look up at you. Resistance at first, but success later. Good luck!
Hi J., if is all just a phase. Keep up the good work and she will be remindinoutou to brush her teeth.
Hi J.,
My son only cried when he had new teeth coming in and his gums were sore (now he cries when his teeth are loose).
Do the best you can with brushing and keep trying. Eventually she'll let you do it properly. When she is 2 years old you should start taking your daughter to the dentist for check ups.
Good luck!
Hi J.,
It sounds as if you've done everything you should to make sure there are no health issues with her teeth. My son is 2-1/2 and still cries when we brush his teeth, and has been for about 8 months now when he didn't used to. Some of it I know is my little guy just exerting his 2-ness. (c: However, I've noticed that he is finally getting his last molars in and that would indeed make his gums tender. It took his molars (eight in all) a long time to come up. Possibly she has some teeth waiting to break through?
You would be surprised how much it cleans their teeth when they chew on it. Make it a game. Put a song on or sing a tooth brushing song (make it up!) Do a little dance and hopefully that will make it more entertaining. Also, let her do it herself. It gives them a sense of independence. Try brushing your teeth with her. Monkey see monkey do.....
Good luck!
have you tried a electric tooth brush? with my daughter what i did was sit my daughter on the counter facing our mirror and i would hold her and quickly brush her teeth then let her do it (like you let your daughter do it). also when my daughter has her turn to brush her teeth i also brush mine. maybe try letting her brush your teeth so she can see its not so bad. also another thing to consider is that she could be teething. has she got her 1 yeah molars yet? my daughter was sensitive when she was getting her 1 year molars in and now at 2 she is also sensitive with her molars that are comming in. just give it time. oh another thing that i do is i let my daughter brush her teeth with out me doing it in the morning (unless she is seeing her dr or dentist then i brush them) and then we both do them at night. good luck!
Hi J.,
Have your husband brush YOUR teeth so you can experience how uncomfortable and even painful it is to have someone else brush your teeth.
Then, if you can try to make it fun -- and tease her with a gentle laugh "you don't want to brush your teeth?" Keep it fun and quick. The crying in my house didn't stop until my son became 3.5, but we did brush more gently after being on th other end of that brush.
Lots of Love,
L
www.RivieraPlaySchool.com
She's probably getting mollars, give it time.
HI! I know this battle with my own daughter. She's 9 now and sometimes it's still a struggle. I only mention this because of the possibility that yours may just be as sensitive as mine. My daughter tends to be on the picky side with food, has to have all her clothes tags cut and nothing with too much stitching.
Over time I've just come to realize that as long as I give her more decision-making power we have less fights over all these things because she knows her body pretty well.
When it came to teeth-brushing we somehow hit on the idea of a spin brush. Eventhough she might not do the greatest job at brushing, I know that she gets more done with it than with a regular toothbrush. She also enjoys picking out a character and so we make a fun time out of it. When she was younger and needed a new one we'd make a big deal of going to the store to see which new ones they might have or if she liked her current one then we'd go find another one.
Good luck with all this.
We had the same issue with our dd, but she also just refused to open her mouth! We bought one of those spin brushes and it has made things alot easier. She actually giggles when we do it. I tell her mommy does it first then you do it. So I brush them good, but then I let her play with it for a bit. It has been working, not easy, but we are able to brush them better now. Good luck to you.
Hi- not sure if this was already suggested, but if your daughter is willing to chew, this might work:
http://www.babyplanetboutique.com/angel-brush-babys-1st-t...
My daughter doesn't mind it but unfortunately doesn't chew enough.
Btw, you can buy it other places. =)
Best wishes.
Let her chew on the toothbrush if that's what it takes. She is still young enough that not too much decay happens. She will eventually start liking to brush, but maybe she needs to be shown how to do it herself. They sell flouridaded water, so just supplement her with that. This time will pass and soon she will be able to do a really good job on her own. Give her some of the control and the outcome might be better.
Both my kids have at times cried when their teeth are being brushed. She is becoming a toddler. My daughter went through phases every couple of months between liking it and hating it and now at 4 is back to not wanting to brush her teeth. We bought her an electric toothbrush and that seemed to help. My son at 20 months enjoys it but didnt for several months after her turned 1. The dentist says their dental health is wonderful.
