cleaning ds's teeth is my version of HELL

SoHopeful

each evening i wipe ds's teeth with a cloth and then put a little bit of his toothpaste on his banana toothbrush and let him chew on it.  when i have to wipe his teeth off it is the hardest struggle you can imagine.  he screams bloody muder and if i am lucky to get my fingers in there he either closes his mouth shut or bites me.  we have done this for a very long time (he got his first two bottom teeth at 3 months and we are just waiting for his eye teeth now) so its not like he hasn't had enough time to get used to it.  he just hates when i try doing anything to clean him up (i.e. clean his ears, wipe his face, etc).  i am obviously not going to stop doing what i have to do, but i was just wondering if anyone else deals with the same thing. 

EcoBaby

I still struggle with brushing DS's teeth. We finally had a breakthrough yesterday because I made a HUGE deal about how great his teeth looked while I brushed them.

"OH WOW! Look at those teeth! Amazing! They are coming clean. WOW! They look great! Look at your teeth. Can you believe how white they are?" etc.

Then, DH showed equal enthusiasm when we showed him DS's teeth. So he let me brush them again. Twice in one day. It was a miracle.

katypresson

What works best for us is making a big deal out of brushing his teeth.  I sing a little song and let him hold his toothpaste while I brush...then when he gets annoyed I hand the brush over to him.  He chews on it for a little bit then likes to rinse the brush a million times to suck the water off the brush.  LOL! 

DeeandBrad

We also make a big deal about brushing her teeth.  I also let her help me with the tooth brush.  After we are down she always shows daddy a big "cheese" smile.  She loves showing off her clean teeth.

stewiegriffin

We bought a spin brush.  He loves the noise of it.  We make him let us brush first, then we let him hold it himself.  Works like a charm.  Now he always asks to brush his teeth.

SoHopeful

i do make a big deal!  i say encouraging things and sing.  his entire body stiffens and he arches his back.  i literally have to hold him down and that boy is strong!  you would almost think it hurt, but i know it doesn't. 

Noelle2375

DD loves the spin brush. Maybe try that.

PregoCC

I read this on facebook a while back... Seems like it would work better for older kids, but I've started trying it... I say things like "Oooo, what's in there!?" then I quick scrub one tooth, I do that over and over.. I'll mention different things that I "see" in his mouth.. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't!

https://www.kidsteals.com/wp/parenting-tip-tooth-brushing/

kellyncsu

Honestly, the worst thing you could at this point is force it.  It will just teach him to hate it more.  I finally found a flavor of toddler toothpaste that DS loves and I let him "brush" his teeth...he mainly will move it around in his mouth and then he will sign "more" for more of his toothbrush.  In between his basically sucking on the brush, he will allow me to get in there and "wiggle" it a little bit with a song.  I also pretend to brush my teeth with his brush, which he think is hilarious.  I wouldn't be too concerned with every tooth being perfectly clean - I would work towards making him enjoy it more first.  Then worry about that.

kellyncsu

Honestly, the worst thing you could at this point is force it.  It will just teach him to hate it more.  I finally found a flavor of toddler toothpaste that DS loves and I let him "brush" his teeth...he mainly will move it around in his mouth and then he will sign "more" for more of his toothpaste.  In between his basically sucking on the brush, he will allow me to get in there and "wiggle" it a little bit with a song.  I also pretend to brush my teeth with his brush, which he think is hilarious.  I wouldn't be too concerned with every tooth being perfectly clean - I would work towards making him enjoy it more first.  Then worry about that.