Community› The Bump Local Boards› Austin Babies
Austin Babies
New Discussion

Brushing Teeth help

libbyannlibbyann member
in Austin Babies

Will decided that he HATES having his teeth brushed. It started probably 2-3 weeks ago and it takes both of us to hold him down to brush his teeth. It's terrible and I feel like I'm torturing him.

We've tried having him brush his own teeth - he won't. We tried having him brush our teeth while we brush his - he still won't let us do his. We tried bribing him, which didn't work either.

I'm running out of ideas! I'm sure it's just a stage, but I can't let him go without brushing for the next however many weeks until he decides he's ready to try again. 

Report Reply to Post

Re: Brushing Teeth help

  • atlanticatlantic
    I posted all the things we do in another post a bit ago...which may just be the same as what you've tried.  But one other thing we've been doing is making funny noise..  EEEEEE and OOOO and AHHHH with the mouth shape we need - then we get there and out quick.  Also, giving her something else to do sometimes works - somethng to play with, read, etc.  Also, we sit her on the side of the sink and let her put her feet in.  Sometimes getting her feet wet or turning on the water distracts her.  
    image
    Photo by Melissa Glynn
    Lilypie Pregnancy tickers
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • kellenicklekellenickle
    It was always a fight for us too... Until, we went to the dentist. He showed M pictures of a cavity (a really gross blown up pic) and talked about the "sugar bugs" that we need to brush off everyday. I don't know that I would've gone the "freak her the eff out" route (I didn't know they were going to do that) but it worked. Ever since then, we never have to fight and half the time she's asking to do it.
    Lilypie Fifth Birthday tickers
    Image and video hosting by TinyPic
    Lilypie First Birthday tickers

    Our Blog
    Report Reply
  • libbyannlibbyann member

    Thanks for the suggestions - we have been laying him down on his changing table to brush them...maybe he needs to move to the bathroom? I'm scared to think of what that fight would be like, though!

    Kellenickle - We need to take him to the dentist soon. The pedi actually recommended waiting until he was closer to 2 1/2 or 3 based on how much he freaks out at the doctor's office. He doesn't want anyone in his space or touching him at all! So hopefully as he gets a little older we can take him to the dentist and explain WHY we need to brush his teeth.

    Report Reply
  • fjarilfjaril

    I'd move to the bathroom. Let him see you do it int he mirror and ask if he can show you his and then ask if you can brush them or let him. Just make it sorta of a game, but in front of the mirror so it's cool :) make faces to keep him smiling etc :)

     

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • kellenicklekellenickle
    I'm not sure why I thought he was older... I didn't pay attention to your ticker :). Marlee first went to the dentist right at 3 years old. So, up til then we tried it all. Letting her pick out her toothbrush and toothpaste helped for a little. And letting her brush our teeth helped too. But it was always just for a bit, then she would go back to fighting it. Good luck, I feel your pain!
    Lilypie Fifth Birthday tickers
    Image and video hosting by TinyPic
    Lilypie First Birthday tickers

    Our Blog
    Report Reply
  • ali-1411ali-1411 member
    I've always brushed the kid's teeth in the bathroom.  Layna sits on the counter and we make funny faces in the mirror and the AAAAHHHH and OOOOHHH sounds like pp said.  Then we make a big deal about her running off to show Daddy how clean her teeth are.  That's her favorite part :)
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • MrsMillerTimeMrsMillerTime
    imagelibbyann:

    The pedi actually recommended waiting until he was closer to 2 1/2 or 3 based on how much he freaks out at the doctor's office. 

    We see the same pedi and DD freaks her freak when we go to the pedi, too.  I kind of decided that I really didn't care and we took her to the dentist in Feb/March and she did AWESOME.  Something about sitting in a funky shaped chair & watching TV at the same time probably had a lot to do with it - she opened suuuuuuper wide and even let them scrape off some of the tartar buildup!  We had struggles prior to the dentist visit, and ever since then it has been easy-peasy.

    Also - we let her brush her teeth in the bathroom, too.  She sits up on the counter & makes lots of silly faces.  I always start with a different "zone" (upper right rear, top front, etc.) so if she decides she is done earlier than usual, I at least feel like I'm getting her whole mouth over the course of several days.  After we finish brushing, we *always* "let Audrey do it" and give her the toothbrush to brush her own teeth (when she's really just sucking the toothpaste off).  We let her "brush" while we count to 10.  Then we rinse the toothbrush & put it back in the holder. 

    ETA:

    imageali-1411:
    Then we make a big deal about her running off to show Daddy how clean her teeth are.  That's her favorite part :)

    We totally do the same thing - except we like to talk about how good her breath smells.  :) 

    image
    Report Reply
  • BLONDIE6FTBLONDIE6FT

    we have had total meltdowns!! we were in the same boat. then a friend of mine told me to look for animals in her mouth. or leftover food. like 'is that a chicken nugget i see in there???"  we have had success with the animals. we say ' is that a giraffe in there? we better brush back there! oh, he ran to the other side!"

    the other thing i did was let her brush my teeth to make it seem more fun. 

    09/21/09 and 08/16/2011 image
    Report Reply
  • libbyannlibbyann member
    Thanks for the suggestions everyone! We'll try moving him to the bathroom and the animals suggestion first...if nothing else works, we'll be the mean parents that hold him down ;)
    Report Reply
  • balihaigirlbalihaigirl member
    imagefjaril:

    I'd move to the bathroom. Let him see you do it int he mirror and ask if he can show you his and then ask if you can brush them or let him. Just make it sorta of a game, but in front of the mirror so it's cool :) make faces to keep him smiling etc :)

    This is what I do.  I sit him on the counter and he puts his feet in the sink.  He can see himself in the mirror and I ask him to go "Awww" and make other funny noises so I can get in there.  We also let him pick out his toothbrush at the store -- he picked a mechanical Thomas one and he loves it.  He still puts up a fight every now and again but I tell him that I'm going to brush anyway.  :(  Hang in there!

    Lilypie Third Birthday tickers Lilypie First Birthday tickers
    Report Reply
  • libbyannlibbyann member
    Brushing his teeth in the bathroom this morning was a massive fail, haha! I ended up having to hold onto his head with one hand, brush with the other, and try to fend off his hands pulling the toothbrush out ofh is mouth with my elbows ;) We'll keep on trying, though. He was screaming too loud to hear me make any noises or talk about animals in his teeth, but it can't last forever, right?!
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"