Talk to me about brushing toddler teeth.

ShernRich

Every night it's a been a struggle to brush DD's teeth.  She squirms, fights, won't open her mouth, sucks the toothpaste off the brush, etc. Does anyone else have this problem?  How can we keep her still, and keep her mouth open long enough to brush every tooth?  If that is at all possible.  TIA

Sinafey

Good question, we've been having a heck of a time.

Lots of people report having luck after letting their LO pick out their own Spinbrush, but they scare my DD. 

Taytee

We're fighting every night too. Tonight, letting her brush my teeth at the same time helped. She was using Abby's brush but whatever...

MrsMillerTime

We used to brush DD's teeth while she was sitting on the counter so she could "watch" in the mirror but lately she's been asking to brush her teeth while sitting on the couch.  So we do that.  I also make a lot of silly noises and ask her to copy so that gives me access to different parts of her mouth (ahh, eee, ooo) and we always end with sticking out and brushing our tongues -- she loves to skip ahead to that part.

DD is an awesome brusher now -- we just had to take it slow until she was comfortable with it.  There were days when I would only brush one "zone" before she gave up on me so I always started with a different part of her mouth each day so that her entire mouth was touched at least once a week.  I also found that I was using too much pressure and it was uncomfortable for her.  Particularly in the back where she is still teething (2 year molars).

Have you tried flossing?  DD has always taken really well to those toddler flosser thingies.  We got ours from the dentist but I'm sure you can get them at the store, too.

 

BLONDIE6FT

It is stressful everytime. We try this: 

"I see a giraffe running loose in there! Lemme chase him

Out with your toothbrush.' use different animals. For spitting

We say 'spit out the bat poop'

Tell her you want her to roar real loud while

you are doing it. Have a sticker reward system. 

Take turns brushing. She brushes first then mommy

Gets to brush

We alternate all of these 

 

 

 

 

atlantic

BLONDIE6FT:

It is stressful everytime. We try this: 

"I see a giraffe running loose in there! Lemme chase him

Out with your toothbrush.' use different animals. For spitting

We say 'spit out the bat poop'

Tell her you want her to roar real loud while

you are doing it. Have a sticker reward system. 

Take turns brushing. She brushes first then mommy

Gets to brush

We alternate all of these 

These are great ideas!  We have the best luck looking for animals in her mouth while we brush.  We also always have two toothbrushes - she chooses one, mommy uses the other one.

MrsShackleford

We stand at the window or porch and show the animals how to brush.  "Hey you (insert animal here:  birds, deer, squirrels, etc)  N is going to show you how to brush your teeth."

We also take turns with me brushing, then her, etc.

 

balihaigirl

We do what blondie does and pretend there are animals in there that we need to get out.  It was suggested by someone on this board months ago (I forget who!) but it works every single time we brush his teeth.  L has even started saying what animals are in there that we need to get out. He hasn't fought me on brushing his teeth since we started doing that.  I also use a mechanical toothbrush that I let him pick out, which has helped too.

mrs.wildman

MrsMillerTime:

There were days when I would only brush one "zone" before she gave up on me so I always started with a different part of her mouth each day so that her entire mouth was touched at least once a week.  I also found that I was using too much pressure and it was uncomfortable for her.  Particularly in the back where she is still teething (2 year molars).

This is all I can deal with right now. DD likes chewing on and playing with the toothbrush, but just won't let me in long enough to get all of her teeth. Usually she lets me get half of her mouth done before turning her head and saying "NO!" then throwing a fit.

amyliisa

The animals is a great idea, although we never thought of that.  I used to talk about all the food that he'd eaten all day, and how we had to get it all off his teeth.  It was also a memory exercise for him, because it made him think back and recall everything he'd eaten that day (I can't remember how old he was though - he could have been older than your DD when we did this). 

Also, DS went to the dentist for the first time around 2yo, and he LOVED it (we see an awesome pediatric dentist in Gtown.  But he's also weird like that - he loves the doctor's office too).  After he started seeing the dentist he's been great about brushing because we talk about how happy and proud Dr. Kenny will be to see DS's super clean teeth, and now DS understands a little bit about cavities (holes in his teeth that the germs dig if we don't brush the germs away) and he's receptive to brushing to prevent cavities.