My 13 month old wont let me brush his teeth. At all. Not with paste not without. If I give him the brush he just throws it. Try it when he isn't tired or after bath or before bath or during back and he just won't. He purses his lips and shakes his head so hard. It's been like this for 2 months and I am worried about his dental hygiene! Occasionally he will ket me use a damp cloth but he mostly refuses. He has 7 teeth. Help!
-
Have you used tooth paste? Will he put the brush in his mouth? Will he even suck water off?
-
I use a finger toothbrush and the NUK toothpaste thats safe for babies. LO loves it!
-
@T.H.O.U.: yes to paste. No he won't put brush in mouth anymore. Purses lips shakes head and smacks my hand away.
@matador84: tried the finger brush. He won't have it.
-
@winniebee: This might sound like bad parenting, but have you tried brushing his teeth while he's watching a youtube clip? I used to show M her favorite (Pororo) while I brushed her teeth
-
DD would never let us do it. We just kept trying different brushes at different times and eventually (like, 3 months of trying) she started chewing on one of the finger toothbrushes so we just cheered and started saying "yes! Brush, brush, brush!" And it made her excited to do it again.
-
@winniebee: have you tried backing off and letting him play?
-
@winniebee: J used to love brushing his teeth and then he just started to hate it and refuse. I ended up buying two toothbrushes at a time (and they light up! woo!) so he can chew one and play with it and I can try to sneak the other one in at the same time. I also try to sneak the finger brush it sometimes, too, but I've had black and blue nails from him chomping down on them, so I'm really quick and careful any time I try that.
We also try to brush out teeth around him so he can see us doing it and maybe he'll want to join in? (sometimes he does) -
@chopsuey119: no I haven't and it sounds like a better idea than what I've been doing!
@T.H.O.U.: he just throws the brush and then goes and does something else if I leave him be.
@rachiecakes: hmmm lighted toothbrush. You might be on to something!
-
@BabyBoecksMom: lol I thought u were going to say the cheering scared her from doing it again. I just need to keep trying?
-
Does he watch you brush? Does he like it? M laughs when I brush and so halfway through my brushing, I'll brush her teeth. She sticks her tongue out but if I let her look in the mirror, she usually let's me in for at least a quick swipe or two.
-
Have you tried brushing your teeth in front of him while he plays with his toothbrush? That's what we do with our LO and once we're done we try our turn at brushing his teeth.
-
My dentist said if we were concerned, we could bring her in and if they can get in there for a second, they could put a finger of fluoride on her teeth. It helps seal them. Maybe consider something like that?
-
@mediagirl: he finds it interesting but won't let me brush his even if I'm doing mine. I don't know about fluoride bc our town water has fluoride?
@Boogs: I've tried if but not consistently. Admittedly I give up quickly bc he freaks out.
-
Olive immediately starts crying and I take advantage of her open mouth and brush her teeth!
-
I'm working on a blog post about this
-
@winniebee: My little guy is as stubborn as yours, but we just do the best we can.
-
@winniebee: sigh. Same here!!!! Lo is 16 months and hates brushing with a passion. All except 2 teeth has all came out! Stress!!
No solutions but I have bought 2 picture books about tooth brushing. One is a popup book. Still no huge luck but he does understand "brush your teeth" and toothbrush and what it is for (at least he puts it in his mouth) but he won't let me brush his teeth.
I think I will try finding a good YouTube video about teeth brushing and like @chopsuey119: said, show it to him while brushing his teeth. Ha great suggestion
-
I'm not to that point yet but the only things my lo will let me put in her mouth are bottles, pacifiers, and spoons. If I even try to put a finger or anything else in she shakes her head and cries!
-
@winniebee: Our 14-month-old does the same. She used to let us brush her teeth but now it's all tears. I just tilt her head back and the crying helps because her mouth is open.
I don't know what happened. She used to love it. I brush in front of her all the time.
-
I'm having a time of it lately here, too. Basically, I seem to be most successful when I set him on the counter with his feet in the sink, then run the water for him to play in. He doesn't fight quite so much if he's got his feet in the water. Also, timing it right for Mickey Mouse clubhouse to be ending and the hot dog song playing, often means I can sneak it in his mouth. And there are lots of mornings that I just have to lay him on the bed and hold him down to get them scrubbed, but I'm not going to let it go, just because he doesn't like it.
His nighttime brushing happens during his bath, and I think he's more scared to fight me in the water, so it's usually less dramatic.
-
@mrsjazz: yes, the crying does help since his mouth opens wide! I hate the fact he's falling apart over it, but he stops as I say that we're done, so I know he's not really that distraught.
-
We sing a song...
This is the way we brush our teeth, brush our teeth, brush our teeth.
This is the way we brush our teeth before we go to bed (or after we eat, or after our bath, or during our bath)
Brush and brush and brush and brush, brush and brush, brush and brush
This is the way we brush our teeth.We sing through it twice, once for the lowers and once for the uppers. Then I turn the brush over to her and let her do it while I sing it one more time.
She really likes the brush and brush and brush and brush part of the song.
-
Is it gross that I use my toothbrush? I have 5 baby brushes but he is best if I brush mine (one handed while holding him) and then rinse, put on his baby paste and then do his. He still bites it (so its hard to move) and sucks off the flavor but at least I get some brushing in.
I also sing the 'you brush your teeth ch ch ch ch' song.
-
The Raffi 'you brush your teeth' song helps us too.
LO brushes my teeth sometimes then she's more willing to let me brush hers.
-
I started out by letting him play with it, which inevitable ended up as chewing it and putting it in his mouth. Then he hit an independent streak...
Now I sit on the floor and brush my teeth and hand him his toothbrush and have him sit next to me. I brush him for part of it and let him practice on himself too. He is obsessed with watching me brush my teeth and likes to imitate.
-
I implemented every trick here. Bath time. Brushing teeth song. Watermelon toothpaste. Cheering. Letting him do it. Result:
Yessss! -
@winniebee: yayyy!! I was just going to say they sell singing toothbrushes, they're for older kids - they play the song as long as they are supposed to brush. may be too large for his mouth but might distract him or get him used to it? I have no idea cause we aren't there yet, lol.
-
@sorrycharlie: That will be next step. I *may* have gotten him excited about brushing b/c he whined when I took it away tonight!
-
@winniebee: haha I just brushed Olivia's two teeth tonight for the first time, and she wouldn't unlock her jaw for me to get the brush back either. she just wanted it I think cause I wanted to take it. she's doing that with all her toys..straight meltdown when I take something!
-
Yay!! Way to go little man!
Reply
Subscribe to our newsletter
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
30 comments