My baby is 17 months old and we don't brush her teeth, per se. 
She likes the tooth brush and puts it in her mouth every night. But she doesn't like me to actually brush her teeth with it. I try my best, but its not sufficient. How did you girls begin with brushing your babies' teeth? Please share your tips or experience!
You might also enjoy...
-
First we let her suck on the toothbrush for a while and "brush" her own teether. Then we pretend there are animals in her mouth we have to tickle. If she's being really stubborn we turn DD upside down over our laps so she kind of has to open her mouth.
She goes through phases of being totally okay and letting us get really good scrubbings, and phases of fighting every second of it. It's frustrating, for sure.
ETA: She's 2.5 but we've used these strategies for awhile.
-
I have 2 toothbrushes. He gets one and I get one and we take turns brushing. We have him grrr like a lion to get the front of the teeth and then ooh ooh ahh ahh like a monkey to get the backs. Works pretty good most nights.
-
For awhile there we had to gently pin him down and just go for it. We sing the ABCs and smile big, and then clap at the end, praising him. Within a week or two, "pinning him down" was unnecessary.
Also, he loves having an electric toothbrush, we brush our teeth in front of him regularly, and he likes to have us "brush" his stuffed animals teeth before his get brushed.
-
@agold: When we first started we would have to sing song like pp mentioned in order to distract her and get them done. Then for a while we would count to 30 really slow...
There have also been more than a few times we have done the upside down trick too!
-
My oldest went through a phase of not wanting to brush his teeth around 18 months - 2 years. We would just hold him down and go for it. I have really bad teeth so not brushing isn’t an option in our house.
ETA: when he was three he started going through another phase of not wanting to brush, we got an electric toothbrush and would have him lay on the couch like he’s at the Dentist. That helped a lot.
-
We did what @peaches1038 said. Two toothbrushes - one for them to play with and one for you to actually functionally use.
-
@DesertDreams88: I agree!
You could also try the Elmo brush your teeth video. My son loved that. Ultimately though it’s not optional. Take it from me and the bad genetics I passed on to my son! He just got a filling on every molar and baby crowns in his front four teeth at 3yo.
-
And when they yell you get a really good look at the back teeth at least!
-
@agold: my kiddo has horrible genetics... Like DH flosses and brushes twice a day and still gets cavities. So not brushing isn't an option. I let him brush to the Elmo video on YouTube, then I lay him on my lap and brush his teeth singing the ABCs. I only sing when I can actually brush. It took a month or two, but he now cooperates.
-
When I brush, my 19 month old follows my lead. Have you tried brushing with your daughter?
-
Same as PP, when he was that small it was just whatever worked - some nights a song did the trick, others we would have to go “upsy-downsy” and kind of force it. Right now (he’s almost 2.5) what’s working the best is putting one minute on the timer where he gets to brush by himself - usually with no toothpaste bc he will just suck it off - and once it goes off, then we add toothpaste and do the real brushing. I wish we’d started this method a long time ago!
-
It's still pretty horrible for my 2.5 yo. I think it's because at bedtime he is exhausted and when he's tired he's just a cranky wreck anyway, never mind trying to do something he hates. I usually put a little toddler-friendly toothpaste on there, let him "brush" for a minutes (usually him sucking/chewing on the toothbrush), and then we brush, which generally involves my husband holding down his arms while I hold his head and do it as fast as I can. I usually try to sing a funny song which sometimes makes him laugh so I can get the back teeth. Often he's screaming the whole time.
It's not ideal but I don't know what else to do. We've tried to let him watch videos, tried an electric toothbrush (he was scared of it), etc. etc. so now we just try to get it over with fast. I don't brush his teeth most mornings, it's just too much of a fight, although I know I probably should. I have crappy teeth (genetics) but my husband has great teeth... so hopefully he gets husband's genes.
-
I used to let my daughter brush my teeth while I brushed hers. She was more willing to let me do hers while she was distracted with brushing mine. I kept a tooth brush in her bathroom for this reason.
It’s been way easier with my younger daughter because she just wants to do whatever her big sister does.
-
Toothbrushing is a non-negotiable because of family genetics - horrible dental issues on both sides.
We lay our kids down on the floor with their heads between our thighs and their arms under our legs so they are pretty much pinned down. Then we sing a song while brushing their teeth (as they have gotten older we've started asking them what song they would like us to sing them and take requests). They can suck/try brushing AFTER we brush. DS1 is 3.5 and doesn't need to be pinned anymore - he just lays down - but he knows if he fusses or fights us about brushing, we will pin him. We have done it this way since they were babies and DS2 who is 20 months old has started laying down willingly and asking for specific songs in the last month or so.
-
Have you introduced toothpaste yet? That is a big motivator for my daughter, and we started using it when we transitioned from her playing with the toothbrush to us brushing her teeth. Now she knows that I get to brush first, and then she gets to (so if she doesn't let me do it, a)she doesn't get to taste the toothpaste, and b)she doesn't get to play).
-
I think we pinned our son down once and after that I told my husband never again. So, we tried a bunch of things, and ultimately, what has worked is letting him know it's time to brush and establishing a ritual where he feels he has control. He's 7 now, and he starts, but then I take over and I inspect at the end because I don't feel he has the motor skills to do a thorough job.
-
It took a long time to transition to actually brushing with DS1. But I felt like forming the habit of putting a toothbrush in the mouth is a great start!
Thats kinda where we are now with DS2, in the putting the toothbrush in the mouth phase.
It's not ideal but I don't know what else to do. We've tried to let him watch videos, tried an electric toothbrush (he was scared of it), etc. etc. so now we just try to get it over with fast. I don't brush his teeth most mornings, it's just too much of a fight, although I know I probably should. I have crappy teeth (genetics) but my husband has great teeth... so hopefully he gets husband's genes.
Reply
Subscribe to our newsletter
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
17 comments