Brushing Teeth - 15 mo old has 6 teeth and brushing time is a huge battle

Amy - posted on 01/26/2012

My son is 15 months and hates getting his teeth brushed too.

We bought this:



http://www.toysrus.ca/product/index.jsp?...



he loves it and it works great.

Ursula - posted on 01/26/2012

Thanks for all of the advice. I think I will try using the washcloth in the bathtub first. Of course, I only bathe her twice a week! But maybe after a week I will start using the cloth every evening. Something tells me that she will fight that too! She does like to watch me brush my teeth, and she does like to have the toothbrush, but like I said all she does is bite it! We will see!

M - posted on 01/25/2012

My 15 month old son has never had a fear of his toothbrush, but I allowed him to watch me while I brushed mine for a long time now. I think it helped him to see me do it first (it made him laugh), so he saw it as funny, not hurtful. I, then, began cleaning his teeth with a washcloth while bathing him. Like the other mother mentioned above, I used the "coarser" side to make sure the food sediment would come off. That got him used to opening his mouth for me to clean it. Yes, he would bite my finger once in awhile but at that time, he bit my finger anyway to relieve his teething discomfort. ;) Maybe it's me, but that doesn't bother me much. I'm messing with his mouth area, so in my head, that makes sense that he'd bite my finger - I'd bite it, too! Anyway, from there we went to the Earth's Best toothpaste/finger brush (the brush was okay, but I just felt it was no longer working that great as he got more and more teeth). Now, we're onto a small kid's toothbrush I got from my dentist's office. He still bites it a bit, but he's comfortable with having his teeth cleaned and sucking a bit on the toothbrush bristles. He likes to do it himself, too, and that might be more helpful to you at this stage. Have her watch you, let her do it and brush your teeth together. I hope that helps you!

Edna - posted on 01/24/2012

my daughter is 8 and i still have to remind her to do her teeth, but my son is 17 months and loves to clean his own teeth, each child is different just try not to force it or it will become phobia.

~♥Little Miss - posted on 01/21/2012

Have you just tried gently wiping her teeth with a wet wash cloth? Use the rough side, and it helps grab all the plaque. It may be easier than using an tooth brush. Or let her have the tooth brush and see if she tries to do it on her own. Have her watch you brush your teeth. They love to copy.

Kristy - posted on 01/19/2012

My son was exactly the same and he had most of his teeth by one. It was a matter of trial and error for us, of when exactly we do it, if he is geting tired we can forget about it so we would have dinner at no later then 4.45pm so that i could brush his teeth after before he was to tired, even though he doesnt go to bed till 7pm. Also try the bath, after tea give bub a bath and let them play with the toothbrush, chew it, taste it, scrub the bath etc and then after a few days try and brush there teeth. praise them even for a 5 second period of them opening there mouth and letting you do it. Be consistent and calm. For a while only dad could brush his teeth in the bath. Also he had to be lying down in the ater to brush his teeth to. It is fustrating and can take a good few months before they are happily letting you brush there teeth but it does get easier and eventually they will let you just do it. It took us a good 6 months but now he will sit down and let me brush his teeth at night before bed. Good luck.

Kellie - posted on 01/16/2012

Stop and take a break.



In a week reintroduce the toothbrush in the bath, let her play with it, bite it, explore it and get used to it. Then in another weeks time introduce the toothpaste, same deal, let her play with it, explore it, eat it and get used to it. Then after another week start showing her how to brush her teeth by demonstrating how you do it.



I'd do this in a bath together especially when introducing the toothpaste :) nice and messy :)

Kellie - posted on 01/16/2012

Stop and take a break.



In a week reintroduce the toothbrush in the bath, let her play with it, bite it, explore it and get used to it. Then in another weeks time introduce the toothpaste, same deal, let her play with it, explore it, eat it and get used to it. Then after another week start showing her how to brush her teeth by demonstrating how you do it.



I'd do this in a bath together especially when introducing the toothpaste :) nice and messy :)