Toddlers and teeth brushing?

Whitney - posted on 11/02/2009

Tell her that if she brushes good, or well lets you brush them good that she will get something, like a treat or money for her piggy bank or something that she will like. It worked for my little girl, and now at age three she loves Brushing her teeth and has no problem letting me help!

Alesha - posted on 11/02/2009

have you tried the ones that sing songs as they brush? it worked for my little boy

Dezere - posted on 10/31/2009

put ur finger in her mouth that way she cant clamp down. it forces them to keep their mouth open. my daughter used to do the same and would even bite me. but with children, u have to be persistant. let her watch u brush ur teeth and she'll catch on. maybe if you even let her help you brush your teeth she might want to brush her own.

Yvette - posted on 10/31/2009

I sing a song to my son about brushing teeth that i made up while I brush his mouth so that works

Mary - posted on 10/31/2009

Try the Eeee Ahh song. Eeee for teeth together and Ahhh for open wide. Make it a game and let her do you first, good luck.

Tonia - posted on 10/30/2009

I was told that chewing on the brush is good, you can also get a baby face cloth and go over the front and back of the teeth first then get her to 'floss' with the brush.

Right now I sing Raffi's "Brush Your Teeth" song and she loves it. She will sing it when I brush my teeth. I go through one verse, for the bottom, then the 2nd for the top, 2rd verse I go back to the bottom, then the top again for the 4th verse. On the last verse, I give her a cup with water and she then spits at the wall.

BTW in between verses and switching top to bottom I get her to spit. I am sure your little one is not quite old enough to do that yet. At least it gives you ideas ;)

Lisa - posted on 10/30/2009

I let my little guy brush my teeth when he would get frustrated when I would ask him. Also I let him pick out a toothbrush that looks like our toothbrush. He loves the motorized ones and gets mad when I take it away from him now! lol!

Tanya - posted on 10/30/2009

I have just told my daughter that if we don't brush her teeth, that they will rot and fall out. When my husband and I brush her teeth, we do a good once over in her mouth, and then let her have fun and try herself. Also, I like to brush my teeth with her sometimes, and she watches me and mimics what I am doing.

Nikole - posted on 10/30/2009

my son is nearly two..and he likes to eat and just simply do everything mommy is doing. so we brush together. i show him how much fun and he does what i do. it works for me.

MIchelle - posted on 10/29/2009

She will stop. Let her brush either before or after so she has control.

J** - posted on 10/29/2009

Maybe try a special toothbrush that spins or plays music.

Shannon - posted on 10/29/2009

When my daughter was that age, she is now 3 I used the wash cloth with toothpaste. Now that she is older she uses the electric

Denise - posted on 10/28/2009

Have you tried one of the new tinted mouth washes they are great both of my kids love it because they get to see what they are brushing away. Plus they get to "make a mess in the sink" it cleans up with water just rinse it down the drain. Good Luck!

Jessica - posted on 10/28/2009

At first my son didnt want me brushing his teeth, so I let him do it for a few weeks by himself. Now, i tell my son he has monsters, spiders, and octopusses in his mouth.. it works and we take turns brushing. He is 2, so I only floss the front four teeth that touch all the way. then I take a wash cloth after brushing at night and wipe out the jaw. if he doesnt want to brush his teeth one night, i give him water with floride in it, and wipe out his mouth with a wash cloth. u just have to be patient. it will come.

Annie - posted on 10/28/2009

if she is 17 months, she may still be teething.

I used that blue squishy finger thing from when they were babies (3 months) with oragel - got it all over her teeth and then she was numbed up - then I brushed her teeth with the toddler tooth past to get all the milk and food out of there.

Mind you, at three, she still chews apart the tooth brush, but at least now she has passed 2 trips to the dentist.

Amy - posted on 10/28/2009

What I do is while my daughter is taking a bath, I hand her the toothbrush and I brush my teeth while she brushes hers. She copies everything I do with the tooth brush.

Lauren - posted on 10/28/2009

Heya, my son is 19 months old and he is exactly the same....try tooth wipes. you can get them at any pharmacy and u wrap the wipe around your finger and you battle away to clean their teeth, but it does help. They come in different flavours too...Good Luck

SABRINA - posted on 10/28/2009

most of these suggestions on here may work for a older child but its a different ball game with a toddler who only wants to suck the toothpaste of the brushand push the brush out with his tounge ,ive done the singing ,the calming the brushing at the same time it ,even the toothpaste on the rag didnt work he just did the same thing i can only get to his teeth long enough to brush them once he gets feed up with fighting it and crys about it,,,,its a shame

SABRINA - posted on 10/28/2009

definalley i agree with u on that,it just has to be donr one way or the other, and were only doing whats best for them im hoping he will learn that they will have to get done one way or the other and just let me do them, i dont like to force him to do it but i have to ,i would like it to be a nice experience for him but its just not at the moment

Veronica - posted on 10/28/2009

encourage her to imitate you. Let her see you brushing and say see look at mommy. After you're finished show her how pretty your teeth are clean and then say don't you want your teeth to be pretty like mommy's (or something like that) and see if she'll let you make her teeth like yours.

Gwen - posted on 10/28/2009

we had the same problem. for awhile, making it a "tickle" game worked cause she'd laugh and open her mouth. sometimes crying worked, cause at least her mouth was open! lol :-) now, she likes to sit on the counter and play in the water while i brush her teeth.

Maggie - posted on 10/28/2009

let her pick out a new toothbrush, one that she'll like. Let her brush her teeth for a minute before you do it. She is probably feeling independant and doesn't want you to do it for her. My son is just like this with teeth brushing and eating.

Mandi - posted on 10/28/2009

with my 17 month old son i brush my teeth with him... I let him pick out his toothbrush and while I am brushing my teeth I tell him to do like mommy does and talk to him and say lets brush our bottom teeth, lets brush the back teeth, lets brust up top and I do it as I am saying it and he follows what I do... once I am done brushing my teeth I say mommy is all donw let me help you finish and he hands me the toothbrush and I brust his teeth. Most kids this age are following what they see and want to to things by themsleves... by doing it this way my son gets to do it himself and that makes him happy and than he lets me do it so I know his teeth are getting brushed/cleaned

Daphne - posted on 10/28/2009

My son went through the same thing!!! I just continued to keep brushing his teeth even if it took me 1/2 an hour!! Hes 18 months now and and is really good with having his teeth brushed :) I think he just learnt that his teeth were going to be brushed weather he liked it or not LOL :-p

Lyndsay - posted on 10/27/2009

If all else fails, hold her mouth open and forcibly brush them. My son was the same way but he learned real fast that those teeth are getting brushed either way, so we might as well make it easy. I brush them for the first minute then let him brush them after, then we rinse. I was told by a dental hygenist that children under 8 lack the dexterity in their hands to brush properly, so you should help them up until that point.

Abi - posted on 10/27/2009

My son and i fight through this experience "every night" (i'd like to say I tackle it every night... but its such a fight that it only ends up happening every other night)..... he says "i do it" so i let him.... and then..... when all he does is brushes his tongue and suck on it while it goes buzzzz (cuz we have one of those oral b kids electric ones)...... i take it and say...alright now mommy has to do it the hard way.......

SABRINA - posted on 10/27/2009

my son shayne pushes the toothbrush out of his mouth with his tounge or covers his teeth with his toung its a constant struggle to try and brush his teeth, i have the same problem ive sang to him tried making him smile the only way i can brush his teeth is the few seconds when he cries about it ,its so hard because i want it to be a good experience for him so he can enjoy it but its impossible ,the only way i can get to them is the lie him on the foor with my legs open put his head between my legsso his feet are the same side as mine hold both his hands together and try to brush the best i can,at the end of the day ive had no other choice i wont let his teeth rot,

Vicky - posted on 10/27/2009

have you tried brushing your teeth as a family at her bedtime? me, my husband & my 2yr old daughter brush our teeth together...she tries to brush her teeth by herself & then daddy brushes them asks her to say aaaah...i think maybe that way she's copying us and feels like it's ok cus we're all cleaning our teeth? worth a try anyway ;-)

Melanie - posted on 10/27/2009

My Daughter's Dentist said to use a wash rag and put the toothpaste on it and rub her teeth and then let her play with it she said it works just as good as bushing . my daughter fights me most of the time too and doing the wash rag bushing has help a lot and i also give her the toothbrush and she will let me do some but she will try to do the rest so she is getting double the brushing now . also she is teething still and bushing might be hurting her mouth so i have been putting baby orajel and then wait about 15 min's then i go brush her teeth it has been going a little better , good luck

Brittany - posted on 10/27/2009

my son has always liked brushing his teeth...but when he needs a new toothbrush or toothpaste then he gets to go to the store and pick out whatever kind he wants (last time it was a spiderman toothbrush and pooh bear toothpaste) and he gets so excited that he cant wait to get home. he also brushes his teeth at the same time as me and my husband and that helps too.

Cathy - posted on 10/27/2009

I had a similar problem until it got bad enough to have to get her to a dentist. she had bad cavities and a horrible experience taking care of them. I tried everything until I got her a few different electric or battery toothbrushes with her favorite cartoons. that was the only way she liked brushing her teeth, I don't know if this helps but it worked for me.

Jamie - posted on 10/27/2009

my son went through the same thing to calm him down i sing to him his favorite character songs and try to get him to dance with me and get him to ease up so i can brush them or i talk to him about the day and get his mind off it works every time