Parenting

getting a toddler to brush her teeth!

My daughter turned 2 in May.  She absolutely hates brushing her teeth.  I've tried different toothbrushes, with and without characters, even a powered toothbrush!  I tried letting her brush herself first, and then me brushing better - she wants no part of it.  She basically just eats the toothpaste, and then I have to physically hold her down and brush her teeth.  Can anyone offer any suggestions? I haven't taken her to a dentist yet, but I plan to very soon.

Re: getting a toddler to brush her teeth!

  • My dd was the same way but now she'll ask me to brush her teeth after she brushes them.  Just to make sure they are nice and clean.  The dental hygenist at our Dr. has a dd at dd's school.  She wanted to always have clean teeth.  I think your dd will change as she gets a bit older and maybe after the first dental visit. 
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  • We play dentist and I pretend I am the dentist and then brush them and then let DD finish them off. She has her first appt. sometime this month.
    Audrey Elizabeth 11-11-06 image
  • We saw a tremendous improvement in his attitude towards brushing his teeth and letting us brush his teeth, when he could stand on his stool in front of the bathroom mirror and actually see what he was/is doing. Not sure if you are doing this or not, but it has helped alot.

  • Thanks everyone... makes me feel better that she's not the only one doing this.  I will try the stool idea, and I will definitely look into finding a dentist ASAP.
  • My DD has gone back and forth with it also and recently we started having her go Ahhhhh and then Cheeeeese and we get the back teeth during Ahh and front during Cheese. The Ahhhh reminds her of being at her last doctors appt and she loves saying Cheese when having her picture taken. Both of these were my DH's idea so I have to give him kudos!
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