My Son HATES Getting His Teeth Brushed!

I let him watch me brush before brushing his teeth, and then I bought him a Winnie the Pooh brush, and subsequently other character brushes, which my baby now loves. He also likes putting the paste back,etc--I guess the key is getting them involved.

I got the following advice off another board and it REALLY works for us:

Pretend there is character in their mouth and make it a story. I know it sounds weird but my daughter LOVES it and before she wouldn't let us NEAR her with a toothbrush.

Our usual is:

Oh! Dora is in your mouth. She's climbing to the top of tallest tooth so she can take a picture of your tongue. Uh oh I see Swiper over here... etc.....

Hi. I was told by my childs dentist that I must assist him until he is 3 years old to brush his teeth. Make it as fun an enjoyable as possible. Both my kids are now 4 and 6 and brush their teeth after meals and once after bathtime. I made them feel that this is needed, got them those flashing toothbrushes, it blinks on and off for a minute and a half and they know that they are done when it stops blinking....but they want to continue brushing even after the light goes off....so, I let them. Good luck.

I agree with the previous poster. Give him something fun to do/play with that he can only have while brusing. Maybe give him a toothbrush that he can pretend to brush his stuffed animals teeth with while you do his.

i rec. the knee to knee
also laying him down helps if you need to pry his mouth open put the pad of your finger behind his last molar and hold it there plus laying him down he will naturally sort of open do to neck posisiton
also he should see a ped dentist
the american academy of pediatric dentist say they should go for a risk assesment visit by 1 yr

I've posted about this before and maybe you can find it in the archives, but here is what I did for my daughter (who would fight and BITE ME when I brushed her teeth!)

Get some stickers or other small toys that are age-appropriate (I like stickers cause they are CHEAP!)
After brushing his teeth, leave a sticker (without him seeing) on his pillow, or even in his pocket, etc. Then say, "Look... the Sticker Fairy must have seen you brush your teeth!"
You can make it as elaborate as you want (sprinkle glitter or confetti, etc. during the day to say, "Oh the Sticker Fairy must be waiting to see if you brush today!!"
I left a bigger gift after a dental checkup too.

Another thing that may work is to get him a battery powered toothbrush and let him pick it out. They clean better AND they make all kinds that look fun. You can get a small sand-timer to let him turn it over while he brushes and you brush OR use a kitchen timer, etc.

Good Luck! I know it is a PAIN to hold them down and brush!
-Amanda

I agree with the rewards and other gimmicks. Here is a technique suggestion. Get another adult to help (let's say daddy) Daddy sits in a chair and holds his boy on his lap, facing him, with legs wrapped around Daddy's waist. You are in another chair Knee to knee with Daddy. Then lay your son back with his head in your lap while Daddy holds his hands and sings or whatever. he may scream, but you will be able to see all his teeth and do a better job of brushing in a much shorter time. This may help until he learns to cooperate better. My daughter is only 11 months and is already a terror about the brushing. This works for us!

try an electric tootbrush for kids. my son is 20 mo. and he has a sensitive teeth. he's been gong to the dentist since 9mo and has to get his teeth cleaned every six months...so he's someone who really hated brushing his teeth. but as soon as we bought the electric toothbrush, we've had no problems. he will just open his mouth as soon as he sees it and lets us brush.

good luck!

I too, went thru the same thing with my, now 22 month old, son. As a matter of fact, I went thru it with my daughter as well. I could usually get minimal cooperation by singing "This is the way we brush our teeth." Typically, I had to get the brush in his mouth first though. The song served as kind of a diversion more than anything. Lately, I just have him stand between my legs and tell him "Do like this" and open my mouth really wide saying ahhh. He actually has fun with it because he lays his head back and we end up having an "AAAHHHH" screaming match til I'm done. It helps to have a fun tooth brush too. My daughter loves the light up ones mentioned above. My son likes his hotwheels brush. Good luck.

hi,

most likely he will get over it. my son went through this phase too. you can try some of these things :

1. i bought a kids toothbrush that lights up when you push it from the bottom. the lights blink. i found it at target for under $1.

2. try doing something fun.. like sing his favorite song only while brushing his teeth. my son loves counting so right now we count 1 thru 10 on for every side that we brush on. he is thrilled.

3. promise to give him some stickers or stamps if he lets you brush. you can slowly wean him off these rewards.

good luck.
Aarti