My 18th month old absolutely refuses to let us brush her teeth. Sometimes she'll stick the toothbrush into her mouth herself and chew on it for a bit. I took her to a pediatric dentist at 15 months and he said that this chewing action is good for the teeth, too, and that it's not a huge deal yet if she doesn't let us brush her teeth thoroughly. Is anyone a dentist or knows if this is true? It would make me feel better about her tooth care if she'd just let me brush it. I've tried singing her songs, reading books together about teeth brushing, buying her cute toothbrushes, etc but she still doesn't like it. There is a lot of crying involved day and night so I'm not forcing it since I don't want her to develop negative feelings about the process. Any thoughts?
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We let my 15 month old brush his own teeth. After every meal he goes in the bathroom we bring the little step and he points at his toothbrush.
I grab mine as well, and show him how to do it. Sure it chews on it, but sometimes he gets the movement.
Do you let her do it all on her own, meaning you let her hold the toothbrush, put the toothbrush under the water etc? I know Mavi hates when I do it to him, so maybe the independence is what she is looking for?
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Yes, I let her do everything except for putting on the toothpaste since she can't get the squeeze action right yet. So she knows that she has independence in the situation. There are some times when this works, so that's when she chews on it, but for the majority of the time she starts crying as soon as I bring her to the sink since she knows what we are about to do!
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Aw boo. Have you tried different toothpaste? Maybe she doesn't like the taste.
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I brush my teeth in front of him and talk about how yummy and fun it is. He goes ballistics and tries to steal my toothbrush!
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For us it's on and off... we used to brush his teeth after every meal (he has some plaque issues behind his bottom front teeth because of all of his drool) and he used to let us do it, but now he wants to grab his toothbrush. He even holds on to it and takes it to daycare with him. He's learned how to brush back and forth when it's in his mouth. But mostly he just chews on it. We have a tooth brushing song when we're taking him into the bathroom and brushing his teeth. He loves it and sings along.
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I have this little rubber gum brush thingy and i brush Jovani's gums every morning and every evening after bath time.
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@hreichard Ya I got that for my son at an early age and would "brush" his gums and it helped while teething. Maybe that also helped in him liking the toothbrush?
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em's loves to brush her teeth. we also found brushing along with her helps. before she'd want to chew on it. but when we brush with her she get's the motion. we also switched to a electric kiddie brush. she loves it. and it helps us out because it does so much of the brushing for us.
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I picked up this toothpaste on the recommendation of another mom. He loves having his teeth brushed now. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YFNEMY/ref=oh_o04_s00_i00_details
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Maybe I will try the electric kiddie brush and a new toothpaste as I've tried all the other suggestions. Thanks!
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Yay, ThatWife Jenna, I'm so glad the Weleda worked for you!!! Our girl is definitely addicted as well. Which is appropriate, since it's as expensive as crack. But at least I feel good about the fact that she's not ingesting as many crazy chemicals as the drugstore stuff.
P.S. Andrea, our other successful ideas were brushing our teeth regularly in front of the little one, letting her hold her own brush (trades efficiency for frequency, since she enjoys it more!), and getting a brush with a character that she loved (the Sesame Street series from one of the major brands). Maybe it all worked TOO well -- never expected we'd constantly have to tell our child that she already brushed too many times today!
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Thanks @Mamatulip! I have tried those tactics so maybe it really is the toothpaste. I am using the drugstore stuff which does taste kinda gross. I am going to order some of the "crack toothpaste" asap! Lol.
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Blushink-he loves when i brush him gums since he's teething right now. he just chomps away while i'm brushing.
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@Andrea: Did this ever get better for you? My LO is doing the same thing. He's happy to chew the brush, but I can't get anywhere near his mouth to help him actually brush his teeth. I have tried using a finger brush, but he seriously tries to BITE MY FINGER OFF. Ugh.
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@Mrs. Yoyo: right now she starts off brushing her teeth and then I take over to make sure it is thoroughly cleaned. I didn't end up doing too much else except maybe telling her that we would skip bedtime stories if we don't brush her teeth on the days that she was really fighting it! I think she just got used to the routine more.
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@Mrs. Yoyo: My LO is a biter too!
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We have to take turns. She lets me "brush" but really I am just jamming the brush where I can and then I let her chew on it and suck the water off.
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