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Mommy guilt..son won't brush teeth.

jenn11178jenn11178 member
in Toddlers: 24 Months+
Hi all.. My 2 year old hates to brush his teeth..it is such a struggle. He has ASD, SPD and a lot of anxiety. Right now I manage to get him to brush 2 to 3 times a day..I limit his sugar intake and he drinks a lot of water. But still he has a lot of brownish buildup along his gum line. He only opens his mouth slightly when brushing so it is difficult to brush along the gum line..he also tends to bite down on the brush preventing us from getting a good clean. I recently took him to the dentist and he was crying so hard she was not able to clean his teeth. She did manage to get a good look inside and confirmed he has no cavities. She suggested waiting till he is a bit older.. At which time a thorough cleaning and scraping will be performed. As a Mom..I feel tremendous guilt and frustration. My son is so adorable..but it stings when someone notices and points out his teeth. I feel like people don't understand how hard it can be..and I want to tell them we are trying the best we can. I appreciate any ideas or thoughts..possible solutions to removing the stains? Thanks for letting me air my guilt and frustration.
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Re: Mommy guilt..son won't brush teeth.

  • kimmyberly26kimmyberly26 member
    I was going to suggest an electric brush also if he could handle it. I don't think there is much you'll be able to do at home given his age.

    Good luck with this.

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  • dglvrk2dglvrk2 member
    My dad is a dentist.  He would commend you for attempting to brush your LO's teeth three times a day :-)  
    I like the idea of the video.  Also, do you brush your teeth with him?  Perhaps if he sees it is something others do, he'll be more relaxed.  
    Also, if you haven't done this already, you may want to look into a pediatric dentist. One may have some helpful ideas for you.
    Good luck. Relax. Your heart is in the right place.
    I'm so sorry people comment on your guy's teeth too.
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  • mamantrainingmamantraining member
    Have you tried a picture schedule? Maybe try having something extra fun placed after the completion of brushing his teeth. For example, if he loves to go outside, have a picture of brushing teeth first and then the picture of going outside second. If he lets you brush his teeth successfully, then he can do/have something he loves. Also, maybe setting a timer would help, as well as cutting down the brushing to 1-2 times. I would imagine getting 1-2 good brushings is better than 3 unsuccessful attempts.
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  • cpmichcpmich member
    Sonicare kids toothbrush
    A couple good books...
    Brush your teeth please ... Pop up book
    Brush brush brush... Simple but my son likes it
    We read both books each time we brush.

    Also my son hates kids toothpaste but willingly uses ours.
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  • Tassie06Tassie06 member
    Really, it's just going to take time. Up until 3 or 4 months ago my son hated having his teeth brushed. Now I let him brush his own in the morning and I brush them at night so I know they are done properly.
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  • st.augbridest.augbride member
    Ds struggles with this too and has lots of sensory issues. We sing the alphabet song so he knows when the song ends he is done, but he needs to be open and letting me do it the whole time or I pause the song and then start up again right where we were. He always fights it and gags, but we too were noticing buildup and he does get lots of sugar from pediasure, so he has no choice. We all hate it. We go to a first dentist soon who is supposed to be good with SPD kids.
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