I'm still having issues getting DD to brush her teeth

KathrynMD

any suggestions???

with enough options, etc. DD will do it, but she won't let me do it.  And, her breath is RANK.

I try to just roll with it if one night I don't do it, but sometimes, it is over a day and its gross. 

lite-bright

Has she been to the dentist? Maybe just hearing how important it is from someone else will make an impression. 

We took DD1 for her first real check-up and cleaning (she let them scrape her teeth, but the polisher scared her) and since then, she's been very enthusiastic about getting her teeth "sparkly" just like they were after going to the dentist. 

cmanmom

I agree with OP, take her to the dentist if she hasn't been.

DS has an amazing dentist and they talk about "sugar bugs" and how you have to get them out by brushing and flossing or they will get inside and eat your teeth and make them yucky.

I went with it and now when DS wants candy I remind him of the sugar bugs and he's over not getting the candy.

lmdbww

I feel like i've really tried everything and were having little success, too. Recently what has been working is telling her that her teeth will turn yellow and fall out. Somehow out of that she says she is going to "brush the worms out", I have no idea where she got that from. Some nights I let her do it herself, others she lets me do it and I really get in there and do a thorough job.

kmhunt11

It's not easy, but we've had moderate success with a few things.  Taking her to the dentist helped.  He didn't do a cleaning- just checked things out and did a little tooth brushing.  Now when we brush she sits on the "pretend dentist's chair" (ie the toilet with the lid closed), and brush because that's what the dentist told us to do.  We also talk about the food she eats making holes in her teeth while she sleeps if we don't brush it off.   We let her brush her own teeth once a day (morning), but a grown up has to do it at night.  The last thing we resorted to when it was getting ugly a few weeks ago - we asked if she would rather brush her teeth downstairs before going up to get ready for bed.  I think the "I don't wanna go to bed" routine was negatively impacting the teeth brushing.  It helps because it's not really related anymore.  

mrsekins

My sister had problems getting her 3 year old to brush - and she wouldn't let mom do it, either.   So in addition to trying to coax her to do it anyway, my sister would make a game of rubbing a washcloth on her daughter's teeth - like it was a game, all giggly.  Anyway, it helped with some of the nasty breath, etc problems.

KKMMex

You may laugh (or be appalled!) but DH and I hold our 3yo down in order to get her teeth brushed.  She puts up a lot of resistance every.single.night and so we've just made our wrestling matches with her part of the nightly routine.  One of us holds her down while the other forces the brushing on her. I usually sing a song and tell her that when the song's over, we're done with her teeth.

It's far from ideal but I get the heeby jeebies thinking of her going to bed without this ritual.  DD absolutely hates it!

 The 5yo brushes her teeth herself with very little complaining.  Go figure.

ETA:  Just thought I should clarify that if we didn't hold her down, DD's teeth would never get brushed because she refuses brushing also and won't do it herself.

TurtleGirl3-4

When my 3.5 yo son went to the dentist for the 1st time they gave him a green toothbrush that you press a button on the end and it blink for 1 minute so you can time how long they brush for. This was the magic trick for me. He loves the blinking while brushing for some reason.

KathrynMD

kmhunt11:

It's not easy, but we've had moderate success with a few things.  Taking her to the dentist helped.  He didn't do a cleaning- just checked things out and did a little tooth brushing.  Now when we brush she sits on the "pretend dentist's chair" (ie the toilet with the lid closed), and brush because that's what the dentist told us to do.  We also talk about the food she eats making holes in her teeth while she sleeps if we don't brush it off.   We let her brush her own teeth once a day (morning), but a grown up has to do it at night.  The last thing we resorted to when it was getting ugly a few weeks ago - we asked if she would rather brush her teeth downstairs before going up to get ready for bed.  I think the "I don't wanna go to bed" routine was negatively impacting the teeth brushing.  It helps because it's not really related anymore.  

I tried this last night and it worked pretty well.

She asked me about 3x and kept quizzing me about it, but it worked. 

Thanks