teeth brushing advice...Please

Re: teeth brushing advice...Please

• MaxandRuby member

  July 2012

  What about a vibrating/electric toothbrush or one that plays a tune? I've seen both at Target. Do you think he would like either of those? Is there a favorite toy he can hold or something else to distract him while you brush his teeth? Could you do it with him lying down and just use a finger brush (like the kind you use for infants) or does he bite?
  

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• Jcrab

  July 2012

  They are have blinking toothbrushes at Target. I also give DS a toothbrush to hold and one for me to use, sometimes he attempts to help brush as well. I put him on a papasan type chair to prevent wiggling, some of my friends lay the child on the floor and pin the child with a leg if needed to just get it over quickly.

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• KelliO924

  July 2012

  This may sound a little counter-intuitive, but maybe it will help.  I'm studying to become a behavior analyst (my son is ASD) and we just did an assignment on this.  Does he have a very favorite snack?  Something he really loves that he can only have when brushing his teeth?  Start with handing him the toothbrush, if he accepts it, praise him and give him the snack.  Keep doing it until he does it without an issue. You may have to put your hand over his and help him pick it up initially. If he already does it, hand him the toothbrush and tell him to put it in his mouth (you might have to break this down to having him just even touch the toothbrush to his face or lips) and put your hand over his and guide him.  Give him the snack once he touches it to his face or puts it in his mouth.  Keep doing this until he's desensitized to putting it in his mouth.  Then move on to the actual brushing, if he lets you do it, give him the snack.  When he lets you get through the entire process, give him an extra big reward with lots of praise.  Once he gets it, you can begin fading out the snacks and just praising him.  He won't get it in a day, but just keep working on each step, he'll get it.  We went through a phase right around age two where we were pinning him down and brushing, but a year later, he will do it himself as long as we turn the water off so that he isn't messing with that when he's supposed to be brushing. 

  Good luck!
  

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• bumpuser511563 member

  July 2012

  Jcrab:

  They are have blinking toothbrushes at Target. I also give DS a toothbrush to hold and one for me to use, sometimes he attempts to help brush as well. I put him on a papasan type chair to prevent wiggling, some of my friends lay the child on the floor and pin the child with a leg if needed to just get it over quickly.

  I like the light up toothbrushes but DS was biting them. It got him to stick the toothbrush in his mouth though. The OT gave us these brushes that you can bite on. I use one for DS and DS gets to bite on it. I still use toddler toothpaste though. 
  

  

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• seethesmiles member

  July 2012

  You could try using a washcloth instead of a toothbrush. Wrap the washcloth around your pointer finger and go at it. Just make sure to wrap the cloth around your finger a few times. That way, if he bites down, it won't hurt you. The washcloth should be abrasive enough to do a good job cleaning his teeth.
  

  

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• malcivar member

  July 2012

  We started by bringing DS into the bathroom when one of us was brushing his/her teeth and just give him a toothbrush to chew on.  Since he was teething, he loved the feeling of the toothbrush on his itchy gums.  Slowly we started taking the brush and brushing his teeth very quickly but he still squirmed and fought. We sang him songs or made silly sounds as we brushed different areas of his mouth and he still squirmed but mostly it was giggling.

  Presently, him and his dad brush their teeth together.  We still have to brush his teeth but he doesn't fight anymore.  I tell him to say "cheese" to brush his front top teeth.  He's still not doing it on his own but he likes "brush your teeth time" so it's not so much of a hassle. 

  Does he have a speech therapist?  We noticed that when they started using chewy toys with the therapist, brushing his teeth got a lot easier.  Maybe they can suggest something?

   

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• JenGK

  July 2012

  A couple thoughts:  we use the lap technique that Auntie describes (our awesome dentist showed us). It is easier to come at him from above than in front. At first it was a 2-person job, with DH pulling z on his lap so that they were chest to chest, and then laying him back so Z's head was on my lap. DH would hold arms while I brushed. Our dentist also gave us some foam board things that we could use to keep him from clenching his teeth closed. 

   Now we largely use a conting method. Z has anxiety and needs to know when things are going to end, so I tell him we are going to count to 10 and then we will be all done. I count really slowly. Now he will even let me brush for a while before I start counting. 

  Finally, they make tooth wipes that you can wrap around your finger to clean teeth - Amazon carries them. My dentist suggested wiping with those and then putting some Act flouride rinse on the brush or wipe and following up with that.  

   

      

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