Brushing LO's teeth...

Ricola

...is a nightmare in this house. We do it once a day while he's in the bathtub and we have about 3 seconds before he starts to throw a fit. 

Ideally I'd like to brush his teeth twice a day and not give him milk after the evening brushing, but right now that's just not happening.

Please share your tips and tricks with me!

motang

The only way I get my LOs teeth brushed is if I let her play with my phone while I brush them. I have a xylophone app she loves so that gives me enough time to brush. She hates it too!

lckcdc3

I have no tricks and I'm in the same boat as you! It's awful. Sometimes DH has a better time doing it but 98 of the time it's a battle!

KansasFarmMomma

We are in the exact same situation! We have about 5 seconds in the tub to try and get them done real quick. I hope someone has some other suggestions, otherwise he's never gonna get his teeth brushed!

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asyph107

DS1 and DS2 and I all brush at the sametime (when I am getting ready in the morning for work and after dinner.) I usually hold DS2 so he can see all of us in the mirror and I let him fake brush while I brush and DS1 brushes. Then I take a "turn" and brush both of their teeth. Granted DS2 only has 6 teeth still but he lets me get them for a good 30/ 40 secs before he gets mad and tries biting it.

They have tooth brushes with lights and music that are entertaining but I think the real trick is getting them looking at something on the wall or mirror. stickers maybe? I used to have a sticker on the ceiling in the bathroom so DS1 would look at it while I washed his hair.

secretsout

We do it after we get him ready for bed, and right before we start the bedtime routine.  Mornings are honestly a little spottier because it's hard to do alone.  He actually thinks it is hysterical, and laughs/giggles the whole way through it, but I still have to hold his arms down to get it done. 

Cherryblossoms07

mtb21:

It is a two person job here. One of us holds him on our lap while the other brushes his teeth. And we sing a song and clap for him when we're done. There is a pediatric dentist who posts on parenting, I have seen her recommend the two person approach too a few times. I could try and google the post and link it... ETA: link! https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/1/71151897/ShowThread.aspx

This is what our pediatric dentist suggested also.  She said to expect resistance for about a week and then they should give in and that is exactly what DD did.  She loved having all the attention on her during the brushing time.  She doesn't mind getting her teeth brushed or flossed now.  I haven't started with DS yet since he doesn't resist too bad, but we will have to start doing it this way again pretty soon because he is getting stronger and more resistant. 

Jmcmahon21

I'm not sure what kind of tooth brush you're using but I found a finger tooth brush that came with elmo tooth paste in the baby section at Target. It's blue and DS loves when I brush his teeth and I think it actually tickles because he laughs. I don't know if you want to try that but just a suggestion

ccip82

I think I just have a strange child because she loves to brush her teeth.  We were given a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste from the our home health visitor (NHS) E loves to have her teeth brushed and lately she has been wanting to help hold the toothbrush.  I wish I had more tips/advice to offer, but she never had an issue...now STTN is whole different story....

jesselayne8

We are failing at this. We brush DD's teeth maybe 4x a week for 3 sec in the bathtub. Terrible I know.

Ricola

Great ideas! I'll definitely try out the sticker/mirror thing, I think that's most likely to work out for him. He loves his monster stickers in his nursery. If that doesn't work, we might try the lit up spinning toothbrush, but that might scare him more than anything! 

Kelly1109

My LO LOVES brushing his teeth.  I think because we let him stand on the stool and makes him feel like a big boy.  We also have the banana toothbrush that is gummy that he likes chewing on.