Need Advice on Brushing Child's Teeth

Oxnard Dental Group does teeth brushing classes. I have not been yet, but I am planning on signing up.

have you tried a finger brush? or a gauze 2x2? I have a 15 month old and we have to alternate using a finger brush and regular brush. One thing that works well is to let her "brush" my teeth while I'm brushing hers. Daddy holds her and it's a fun game.

Hi,
I have a 2 and a half year old, and he from the early baby age like to play around with the toothbrush... so i was excited, my kid liked to brush his teeth.. then, at about a year and a half, he started hating it... i'd brush it for him, he cried, wailed, miserable... i first started giving him a mirror to look at, so he can see what he's doing, but that got old quickly... he was just making faces at himself.. so what i started doing is i'd give him my toothbrush, and ask him to brush my teeth... and as he's brushing mine, i brush his... this seems to work, keeps him busy and takes the missery out of it, since he gets to do it to me...
good luck.. plus, dont stress it... they'll fall out anyway... as long as you do it before bed, i think once a day a good cleaning is good, and in the morning, he just plays with his toothbrush in the mirror..

Hi P.,
Glad to hear you already took your daughter to the dentist. Crying at this age is normal but its one way to get their mouths open! Yes, you should be brushing her teeth with a SOFT toothbrush and it should be the appropriate size. Do not use regular toothpaste. Use the toddler training toothpaste without fluoride. Has your dentist prescribed fluoride drops and is the water in your city fluoridated? When brushing, concentrate on the chewing surfaces. A few things to try: 1) brush together - kids like to mimic. 2) let her brush her teeth and then you go back over them. 3) use mirrors and the words "sugar bugs". That's what you're trying to clean off. 4) make up a silly toothbrushing song. 5) try a different position- you sit on the floor or the bed and your daughter lays down with her head in your lap facing up and you can see in her mouth. Kids get 20 baby teeth and they are usually all erupted by age 3. Repetition is the key with alot of patience and positive reinforcement. Remember, no bottle with milk in bed- only water if needed. No soda and dilute all juices at least 50/50. Watch sugars in diet, even concentrated sugars like raisins. Keep YOUR tasty toothpaste out of reach so she doesn't eat it. And do see the dentist twice a year.
I hope this is helpful and happy brushing!
BTW- I'm a dental hygienist:)

Hi, from my experience with m two kids. They don't like brushing teeth at all. No matter if you or someone else does it. I have a 15 month old and she hates me brushing her teeth, but my son did the same thing when he was that age and only until the age of about 2 did he let me brush his teeth without grumbling or crying. I think that babies just don't like it because its something thats not normal to them. I think that their teeth a little more sensitive than ours so when being brushed they cry. Just keep doing it because it the long run it will be good for them even though they don't like it.

Wow! I feel kind of bad cause my son is 20 months old, has a full mouth of teeth and I didn't even take him to the dentist yet! I guess I better get moving, huh? I am kinda in the same boat as you are. I am obsessed with brushing my teeth so I want to mold my son to be the same way. As soon as my baby's first tooth came out I was good at getting a wet cloth and rubbing his teeth. If you make a game of it, it works. My son is like a sponge for learning and mimicking so anything I would do, he would do the same thing. I would make faces at him to make him laugh and open his mouth, then that would be my chance to get in there. But then the more teeth he got, the more I didn't want to stick my fingers in there. As time went on and he's got me figured out, I moved to the toothbrush. I gave him his, no toothpaste, and I would brush my teeth. We did it together and that seems to work. You gotta make it fun, and if she sees you doing it, she'll want to do it too. I found that doing the wet washcloth thing worked best when I had him in the tub. There will be days that she will just fight you the whole way so you need to be patient. Do the best you can and try not to make a huge fight of it. If it gets to be too much of a fight, just put the brush away and tell her we will try again later. Need to keep talking to her. Tell her how you want her to have pretty teeth and that we need to take care of them. Babies understand more than you think so the best thing you can do is keep talking to her. In time she will get use to the routine.
Good Luck!

As soon as my children got their first tooth, I began brushing. However, with "baby" toothpaste (I believe it was OraGel), which comes with a soft, rubber "finger" toothbrush. Since the toothpate is for babies, it's not harmful if they swallow it. You could go into any drugstore, Babies R Us, or even the market and find it where they keep children's toothpaste and toothbrushes. It wasn't until they got a little older that I used a real children's toothbrush. I would keep it in the kitchen and as soon as they were done eating I'd brush. THey all actually LOVED getting their teeth brushed with this rubber finger toothbrush. I think it was soothing during the times that they were teething. Give it a try.

M.

I use to work for a pedo dentist and we also did not clean the teeth till4 yrs of age-hope they didn't charge for a cleaning. Anyway we use to rec swaddling in a comforter or straddle while you brush-then let her brush, but at this age you need to help her.Or if you have someone to help you-you can have her legs around one of you then lay he back in the lap of the other-mind you-you need to be sitting down-the person who dores not have her head in the lap holds the hands and the other controls the head and is able to brush. We use to do exams like that where I worked and the kids were very comfortable doin it that way. Good Luck! L.

It could be the toothpaste that she objects to. Some children even find the children's toothpaste to be "spicy"; there is a toothpaste made for infants that is more mild (I have only seen it in apple-banana) that you can get in the baby section.

I always sing the ABC's when brushing my son's teeth. He seems to enjoy it and tries to sing along so it makes it easier to get in there and clean all his teeth. I think the singing takes his mind off of the brushing too.
Good luck! :)

Okay--my son was born with a cleft lip and palate. I neglected to brush his teeth for like the first year on a regular basis. H ended up having a dental surgery to fix his cavities. AFter that---end game. I refused to have more dental surgeries to fix cavities. So from about 15 months on, and it was not fun for the first several months--I would sit on him (well, straddle him so his arms were pinned under my legs) and if you take your left hand you can open their jaw and do a quick tooth brushing. After like I said several months--he totally got used to it--and sometimes we'd do it in front of t.v. and that would calm him down. But it was so worth it! He's 7 now--and for the last 2 years I also floss his teeth--but it took a while to even let me brush---but it was so worth it! His ped. dentist says you let them brush their own teeth when you trust them with your best china---b/c I'm so much more thorough than he is right now. But keep it up--it's not fun at first---but so worth it!!!!

I have the same battle with my children! I have tried EVERY trick in the book and they all work for about a week! Then it is on to the new trick. What I have decided is that I will let them brush in the morning and I will do the brushing at night. Some tricks... use a flashlight and do it in the dark... explain what happens if you don't brush (pirate teeth)... play tickle toothbrush... buy the light up toothbrush (don't recommend the singing toothbrushes bc they are too loud and the songs seems like it is playing for hours)... GOOD LUCK! I would love to see some more responses!

My little girl had her teeth cleaned at two. She cried, but we got through it. They just brushed, flossed, counted, and coated her teeth. She doesn't mind my brushing her teeth anymore. It will get better, keep it up and it will make a good routine for her.

Hi. Unfortunately, brushing a toddler's teeth is a big challenge. My kids hated this, too, and it often ended up in a big screaming wrestling match, at least at first. However, now that your kids are old enough to eat solid foods it's really important to get their teeth clean. Think of all that food and juice (= sugar) stuck on their teeth -- you don't want to have to drag them back to the dentist to have fillings drilled into tiny baby teeth! So the battle is worth it. Try a bunch of different tactics to get her to cooperate and see what she likes. Stuff that worked with my kids: brush your teeth at the same time with her, hum or "gargle" a song while you're doing it and she will likely mimic you. Try a child toothbrush that lights up for the minute or two they should be brushing. Or try taking turns -- let your daughter hold the brush and do her thing for 30 seconds, or a minute, then it's your turn to brush her teeth. If you get a big colorful timer of some kind she is more likely to respect the timing of each person's turn. Have a funny-face contest while brushing (mouth open wide, vs. lips drawn back to reveal front teeth, who can open their eyes the widest while brushing, etc.) And start a reward system for when she does a good job cooperating -- tell her each time she can get her teeth clean using a nice voice, for example, she gets a sticker, or an extra story before bed, or whatever (not candy or food, though!). The dentist's office can be very scary for a young child so it's not surprising she freaked out there but at home just try to find ways to make this a fun, silly but very normal part of your everyday routine. But make sure those teeth get clean no matter what! Good luck. This battle gets way easier as she gets older, don't worry.

BRUSH HER TEETH!!!!!! Even if you have to hold her down ( I had to do that with my 2 year old daughter until recently when I taught her a game that she was a hippo at the zoo and she opens her mouth wide now. My husband and I just paid $5,600 fixing my 6 year old's cavities (and that was AFTER our very good dental insurance covered some of the bill.) He had to be sedated because the work was so extensive, which was very scary to have your kid under for 3 hours. He has 4 silver crowns and 5 more fillings because we didn't take teeth brushing as seriously as we should when he was your daughter's age. I want to save everyone the expense and trauma that we went through. I would even try to start flossing your daughter's teeth, because 4 of my son's cavities were in between teeth. Make sure you are using a fluoride baby toothpaste and a real brush and don't let your baby go to bed with juice or milk.

Hi,
When my son was a baby I worked for a dentist and she told me just to wipe his teeth with a washcloth. She also said she hadn't brushed her son's teeth until he was 2. HOWEVER...my son had been getting teeth fast and furiously since he was 4 mths old. At 18mths I started brushing his mouthful of teeth. By his 2 yr physical my doctor found 2 cavitities! The damamge was done. We spent the next 2 years going to horrendous dentist visits and getting fillings. Even a crown when he was about 4 yrs old. My son was so hysterical that the dentist prescribed valium for him. After 5mg didn't work (it took 2 nurses and myself to hold him to allow the dentist to work) we gave him 10mg! At the last visit the dentist gave up trying to do a filling and gave him a crown instead. The dentist (who was a pediatric one and wonderful by the way) said if we needed to do any more work we may have to actually use an anaesthesiologist to put him under! That is a last resort. Needless to say when my daughter's teeth started to come in I was there, toothbrush in hand, scrubbing away. I wish I could tell you it was a piece of cake. Unfortunately she often didn't want me to brush her teeth and we had many battles. I tried everything...bribing, begging, pleading...but ultimately I wasn't going to let another child go through what my son had gone through. And, to be perfectly honest I couldn't go through it again either. My husband, at the time, actually refused to take my son because he couldn't handle it. The good news is that we have my son's teeth under control and my daughter, who is now 7, has never had a cavity. Perhaps if you let your child brush your teeth she'd let you brush hers! It sounds silly but if you can somehow make it into a game it might work. If nothing works, get in and out as fast as you can. Even a quick scrub is better than no scrub at all!
Good luck!

It may sound funny, but it worked for my children and my nieces and nephews as well. "One, Two, Buckle my Shoe... Three, Four, Close the Door... Five, Six, Pick up
Sticks... Seven, Eight, Shut the Gate... Nine, Ten, Do it
Again." I would brush each section while saying this rhyme.

I said the rhyme 2 times. The second time, on the last line, I said "A Big, Fat, Hen!" or "And That's The End!"

I could usually get through all quadrants of their mouths
this way, even the lingual. As my children got a little older,
I just said it slower. It was a good gage for them, because they needed to know it was almost done.

I also used (and still use for my 11 year old) a one minute
timer, which is how long they should brush for. They come in different colors. Cute toothbrushes worked, too.

In order to get ALL the teeth, quickly, I would often use a bigger-head brush. This allowed for more coverage in my limited time frame.

But no matter what - DON'T FIGHT ABOUT IT! Have her rinse and spit a few times and PRAISE HER EFFORTS. Start with counting to 4 if that's all you can get to. With a bigger-head brush, you can at least touch the surface of each quadrant this way. Also, let her brush YOUR teeth. She becomes more "active" about brushing this way.

Good luck and stay calm.

Our dentist said it was too early for a cleaning...my little one just turned two. We used to use one of those rubber finger glove things that has rubber bristles along with the giggles and grins toothpaste, that is safe if they swallow it. We have been using a small kid size toothbrush for a year. I mirror what I want my little guy to do. I open my mouth real big and he copies me, or clench my front teeth so I can brush his...I take my toothbrush now and let him follow me in my brushing. He likes to do what mommy does. So, he is brushing his teeth a little bit now. Then, I always do the final sweep clean in the front of his teeth for him. Try and let her do a little brushing first then do a final brushing for her. Then let her have the toothbrush when you put the water on it to rinse. Make it a fun thing...let her copy you. The cold washcloth always feels good on my little guys teeth especially when he is teething. I'm not sure what else to do. Good luck!

I have a 14 mo. old and I hold him in my arms after bath and swish the toothbrush around and then let him teeth on it a bit on his own after that for a bit. He doesn't mind. But, he hasn't had the dentist experience yet. (He got sick the day of his appt., yet to reschedule.) We also have a 3yr old. She went to the dentist at 2 yrs. He showed us a great technique that worked with her. He said kids don't always like having the toothbrush come at them straight on- intimidating, I guess. So, for the dentist visit, she sat on daddy's lap facing daddy, then leaned back so her back and head were resting on the dentist's lap and she happily opened wide for the exam. We did this at home for brushing - worked like a charm. Over the year, it progressed to her just laying on the floor (didn't need two laps, or even one) and we could brush her teeth. Now she stands at the sink and brushes on her own and we usually finish to make sure all those back teeth get brushed, too.
Good luck.

what i do with my 13mo old is brush her teeth first and them put water on her tooth brush and let her do it. maybe tell her that if she lets you brush her teeth for a minute she will get to brush them while you brush yours.

The market sells a small finger toothbrush and I believe a little edible toothpaste(does not contail flouride; so its safe for baby to swallow), you should be able to find it in the baby isle. What you do is put this little rubber brush over your finger and just rub her little teeth in circles and you can also massage her gums with it. Also for her teething you can try Hylands teething tablets, what I would do is wash my hands than place the teething tablet on my daughters gum and rub it in with my finger, she loved them, and they are all natural and dissolve in the babies mouth.
Goodluck & God Bless!!!

Some children are sensory sensitive... to textures, sounds etc. It could also just be the "ages and phases" kind of things.

Our Pediatric Dentist, does not do teeth cleaning until about 3-4 years old... or unless there is a problem. 13 months is kind of young for that, to me. Also at 13 months, yes, you need to assist your child in brushing their teeth...they don't yet have the coordination to do it themselves, much less the attention span to do it. Little by little.... for as long as she will tolerate it... just brush using a brush or washcloth. Sometimes, kids like those battery run toothbrushes too, and these clean better than hand held manual brushes.

Yes, teething can make them more sensitive also. There are Hyland's teething tablets with are homeopathic and helps.

The main thing is getting a child used to the routine of brushing, and starting young.

Good luck and take care,
~Susan
www.cafepress.com/littlegoogoo

Her mouth probably hurts. I'm really surprised that a dentist would clean the teeth of a child that young. There are some really good, really soft infant tooth brushes available - in the grocery or drug store - I think NUK still makes one. Also, I used the Oral B baby tooth gel which tastes really good and isn't harmful if swallowed. If it were me I would just let her play with it as you were doing and make a happy game of the time while "helping" her do a satisfactory job.

My 2 yr old daughter didn't like it at first when we started brushing her teeth either. We would have one of us brushing her teeth while the other one would brush thier own so she could see it. Now she has a tooth brush that plays music while she is getting her teeth brushed. (You can only hear the words when there is pressure on the brush). Now she asks to brush her teeth. Also, we use bubblegum flavored kids flouride mouth wash. Just pour a bit on the toothbrush. It's more effective than baby toothpaste and since it is just a splash it is okay for them to use.

Maybe you could go to the store w/ her and let her pick out a character toothbrush and one that vibrates, my daughter really likes those, or they have ones that light up at the ends for the amount of time you need to brush.(Target)Try brushing your teeth with her too, they always like to do what mommy or daddy does, make it fun for them. Say front teeth, back, sides,toung make funny sounds too if you want.Good luck hope it works.=)

Just keep trying different things to distract her. I usually give my son the toothpaste tube because he loves to try to open it. And I also sing songs (this is the way we brush your teeth, etc). Get a soft (level 1 toothbrush), better for teething gums. HTH!

my 11 mo old bites on the brush and it gets them pretty good, she just started not liking me to brush them for her. We have all kinds of brushes, I have to make her let me brush them. At least give her water after each meal to rinse her mouth if you cant brush the teeth. If my daughter is full and won't drink water, we spoon it in her and for some reason, she drinks it that way or we use a medicine syringe and shoot it in. Whatever works.

I wiped both of my children's gums with a washcloth basically from birth. (as recommended) My daughter's first dental appointment was at 6 months and my son's was about age two (because of insurance then). She's now 19 months and he's now 12 1/2 years old and we're about to go back for their annual appointments.
I know that the AAP recommends they see the dentist by age one but I don't know about age recommendations on teeth cleaning. Seems as though it would make sense to do them at this age though because they aren't brushing as neatly and as thoroughly as they will when they are older (btw, neither children have a single cavity)
What worked for my son and is now working for my daughter is the Barney "Brushing Song" I sang it to him as I brushed and now sing it to her. Sometimes she's resistant and I have to brush while she's crying, other times she's happy as pie to have it done.
Our water isn't flouridated and I haven't filled the prescription for flouride with my daughter (again the same thing I did with my son) but I do use a tiny amount of kids toothpaste on the brush. She also seems to like the taste of the toothpaste and that helps us get through it.
Please do keep trying to brush her teeth even if you have to force it. We did have a period where she hated it but now, not so much. When it was bad, I would have dad hold her hands away from her mouth and just brush. With my son as he got older, I would say "EEEEEEEE" and smile really big and he would mimic me and get the front teeth and then "AHHHHHHH" and get the molars. I brushed his teeth for him until he was about 5 years old. (he helped more as he got older but I still did the "final clean" at that age) It's important for her overall health (not just oral) to have clean, healthy teeth. I had cavities when I was a kid and they plus having them filled hurts A LOT! Plus when I got older, the teeth I had filled broke (two of them anyway) . I can say when I take my son to the dentist and still hear "no cavities" it's a great thing. So far, it's going the same way for my daughter. So help her get a good start and keep going. She won't fight you as much as she gets older and more used to it. :) Just keep trying to make it fun.

P.,

As much of a pain as it is to brush their teeth, it is way better than needed to get dental work done if they develop a mouth full of cavities. So the answer is yes, you should brush her teeth even if she doesn't like it. I lay my 18 month old on the floor with his head between my thighs and I trap his arms under my legs. That gives me both hands free and I brush his teeth. He still doesn't like it but I've gotten really fast and he's mostly okay with it (a little screaming but nothing too serious!).

:-)T.

I have 3 children and have taken care of quite a few nieces/nephews too! I brushed their teeth a.m./p.m., to allow them to get used to it and have it be apart of their daily routine. I always made it a game - sing songs or make up things for them to say that will have them put their mouth the way I needed it to brush. Slowly, (about 2 - 2 1/2) I had them start to brush on their own - as in with me there, and saying the words/songs etc...so they were reminded of what to do with their mouth and brush appropriately. If they need a little help at some point, remind and show....& then let them take back over. It always worked. My kids have good teeth & of course still need reminding but, normal amounts. They are teens and tweeners now. Good luck & God Bless!

Try an electric toothbrush. The time will pass much quicker (when brushing her teeth).

Sometimes my 16-month old daughter will let me brush her teeth, sometimes not. If I feel they really need to be brushed and she is fighting me, I have to lay her down on her back while she's crying and brush them. It's the only way. Otherwise, I try to do the best I can and then let her have the brush and chomp on it.

Wow, I'm really suprised that a dentist would do a teeth cleaning on a child that young..sounds like that dentis is after one thing..money! Most insurance companies won't even cover kids for dental until 3 or 4. My dentist has told me there is really no need to see them sooner, Theres only so much you can do for baby teeth anyway, and especially being that new of teeth,in you case only a few months they wont have any cavaties anyway. Also the diets that babies should be eating is not foods that will generaly cause much decay. I really wouldn't worry about brushing her teeth, let her go back to trying to play with the tooth brush in her mouth (it actually helps to get some gunk if any off the teeth) and shes probaly not eating much of anything that will hurt her enamal. If you're worried I would just make sure she has a littl watter after her bottle or nursing beafre she goes to sleep to make sure the mouth stays rinsed. I really wouldnt worry though, keep up the good work! :) I would try an electric 4-5 dollar tooth brush, my kids love them! It is fun for them to turn off and on, and they love feeling their mouth vibrate...worth a shot.

Hello P. D,

My G/G twins are 11 months old and since 6 months old, I would wipe their gums and teeth with a damp clean paper towel or rag after meals and after their last bottle at night. Another twins mom told me that she trained her twins to open their mouth by saying "Now I am going to tickle your teeth," and her babies would open every time. I was skeptical, but I tried doing this and every time I wipe their teeth, I wrap the rag around my finger and say "tickle, tickle tickle," and they smile and open up right away. It took a week but they got it! I wipe the top front first and then bottom teeth and then quickly wipe the back gums, top and bottom---done! No tears or pushing away. Since your baby is teething again, give her a cold teething ring or cold clean wet washcloth to suck on. You can use Orajel on her tooth/gums too for pain. If her gums are swollen just use the damp clean rag to wipe her teeth gently instead of the toothbrush until her tooth cuts through and she isn't in pain anymore.

Good luck,
E.

Best of luck! Here are a few things my family has tried:
When the pain of teething wasn't too much, my sneaky sister did a couple things:
She had her children in the bathroom with her while my sister and her husband brushed their teeth or they brushed their teeth in the kitchen in front of the baby.
She bought a pink sparkely tooth brush for their daughter. She was allowed to play with it and chew on it as much as she wanted.
And they used Tom's Silly Strawberry tooth paste.
I also was enlisted to show the little one how I brush my dog's teeth.
All of that said, as babies our mother used to give us whole raw potatoes to chew on to "clean our teeth" and ease the pain of teething. Ha! There is no one answer!

I have 3 girls (now 7,6 & 4) and it was always so hard to brush their teeth when they were toddlers. We adapted a system recommended by a dentist. It may seem a bit awkward but it worked and the kids got used to brushing their teeth. Sit on the ground w/ your legs apart in the shape of a "V". Put your child lying down on their back w/ their head/body between your legs (their head closest to you). You'll literally be brushing your child's teeth w/ an upside down view. You can use your legs to hold their arms down if necessary if they squiggle or try to grab the toothbrush away. If your child cries it's okay as her mouth will be open and you can have a clear view of the teeth to brush. An electric toothbrush w/ a 2 minute timer works best. Also, if you use an electric toothbrush w/ a smaller brush head it's easier and a more effective way of cleaning the teeth (most of the children character toothbrushes have way too big of a brush head so I find the Braun circle shaped brush head and Sonic small size brush head as being the best for kids). Hope this helps.

My dental hygenist recommended that my 2 year old daughter come to MY appointment and watch me have my cleaning first. I haven't done it yet, but that's my plan.

Make it a fun time for you and your DD. Instead of "forcing" my DS (now 3 years old) we made funny faces at him that he would copy to get him to open his mouth. Now when we say "EEEEEEE" he smiles really big so we can brush his front teeth. Then we say "AAAAAHHHHH!" to get him to open wide so we can get his molars and backs of his teeth. We started brushing his teeth around the same age as your DD and once we made it fun for him, it wasn't hard to get him to want to brush his teeth. We also give him time to brush his teeth on his own for a few minutes after we are done with all the necessary brushing. And of course yummy tasting infant toothpaste helps. We use the flouride free Baby Einstein one from Ora Gel in Fruit flavors. My DS would suck down the whole tube of toothpaste if we let him :D.

Good luck and have fun with it!