Brushing LO's teeth

christinasullie37 · November 2013

LO will not let me get in her mouth to clean her teeth and never has. I am worried now because she has 7 teeth and she won't let me anywhere near her mouth. I have tired finger brushes, wipes and even letting her put her own tooth brush in her mouth. All she does is suck on all of those things. I guess at what age do they catch on? I do sit her on the counter with me while I brush my own and give her own toothbrush.

PineApple85 · November 2013

Every kid is different but what worked for us was me brushing DS's teeth while DH brushed his own teeth (that was the first time and it opened the door). After that I let DS "brush" my teeth while I brush his. Of course his brushing my teeth is more like me getting jabbed in the eye and stabbed in the roof of my mouth with a toothbrush. But it lets me get the job done.

ETA: Getting a tooth paste helped, too. And he does suck most of it off when I first put the tooth brush in his mouth. But, again, it works.

christinasullie37 · November 2013

I actually just talked to a pediatric dentist and she said I just have to force my way in there and eventually it will get better. I attemp every day but as soon as I grab the brush she clamps down or pulls lips over her teeth so I can't get to them. I am just worried about hurting her.

PineApple85 · November 2013

christinasullie37 said: I actually just talked to a pediatric dentist and she said I just have to force my way in there and eventually it will get better. I attemp every day but as soon as I grab the brush she clamps down or pulls lips over her teeth so I can't get to them. I am just worried about hurting her.
I read other Mom's saying they employed similar approaches and to each their own. I am in no way judging because, again, every child is different and what works for us may not work for others. My biggest concern with "forcing it" is that I didn't want DS to have a negative association with brushing his teeth. I tried once "forcing" him and I hated it but it took about 3 days for him to not cry when he just saw the tooth brush after that (he never cried before and hasn't since I went back to a gentler approach - other than those first few days after forcing him). It is my opinion, that associations made in childhood (even early childhood) follow us most if not all of our lives and I just didn't want there to be any potential for a negative association with brushing his teeth.

Again, please, no one take this as judgement.

christinasullie37 · November 2013

That is my thought too. We'll just keep on trying though. I guess she'll get it eventually.

dufferoo · November 2013

I'm coming out of the closet and admitting that I've never tried to brush my 14-month-old's teeth. I've never even thought about it until now! So no matter what works and doesn't work, you can at least rest assured that you're a better mom than me

DawnLilly · November 2013

jociejones said:
I'm coming out of the closet and admitting that I've never tried to brush my 14-month-old's teeth. I've never even thought about it until now! So no matter what works and doesn't work, you can at least rest assured that you're a better mom than me

Haha this made me snort for real. It seems like lately I've had those "Oh shit I'm supposed to be doing what already?!" moments a lot. Don't feel bad.

christinasullie37 · November 2013

I in no way going to force my finget in fer mouth. Well just keep doing it to gethet and hopefully shell catch on. She is a difgicult enough baby. I don't need to make it worse.

yepyepsms · November 2013

We had success with a spin brush. 5 bucks at target. He played with it as a toy one night and then he let me put it in his mouth whereas before would not let any toothbrushes in:) I also made a point of always saying "do you want to brush your teeth?" Prior to starting the routine and now I only have to say that line and he runs back to the bathroom and knows its time for bed. I sit him on the counter and I let him play with the faucet for a minute and he's happy to do that and makes it easier to brush a happy baby:) it's been a long journey:)!

doggiemom4 · November 2013

I gave LO a kids tooth brush when he was teething to chew on. Now I actually use that tooth brush to brush his teeth at bath time.

Jessica+Penny · November 2013

I had to use force for a few weeks before my daughter would let me brush her teeth. This started around 13 months when her top front teeth were coming it. I would stand behind her (my front against her back), lean over, hold down her arms, and brush her teeth. Yes, there were tears and she tried to push me away. This is a job that I feel must be done and is non-negotiable.

I would tell her calmly that momma needed to brush her teeth and then she could have some Chapstick afterwards (her reward). I would praise her when she wouldn't clamp down on the toothbrush and I tried to act like brushing teeth was something to be excited about.

After about 2 weeks she eventually stopped struggling and crying. Now at 19 months old I let her brush her teeth for a few minutes by herself before I brush them. We brush our teeth together 2-3 times a day. We have 2 toothbrushes for her and let her pick out the one she wants to use. I also let her squeeze a little bit of toothpaste on the brush my herself (I help a little). She likes to do it now and looks forward to getting to put Chapstick on.

I had really crooked teeth as a child and went through 9 years of orthodontic procedures/retainers/braices/head gear yadda yadda so I am slightly OC about making sure her teeth are clean and healthy!

KristinKWashington · November 2013

We struggle. I've found a video on YouTube, with Elmo. I was looking for a video with toddlers brushing their teeth and found this.

It's starting to work and she's actually doing the motion of brushing. I always end with a drink of water, since it's something more to clean the teeth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxMrtK-kYnE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

cedenton · November 2013

KristinKWashington said:

We struggle. I've found a video on YouTube, with Elmo. I was looking for a video with toddlers brushing their teeth and found this.

It's starting to work and she's actually doing the motion of brushing. I always end with a drink of water, since it's something more to clean the teeth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxMrtK-kYnE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Good idea! I've tried doing it so he sees me, I've tried a singing toothbrush and I've tried brushing his while he brushes mine. Nothing works great so far.

RoastyToasty · November 2013

Tasty toothpaste is what saved our bacon. For a few weeks all I was really able to accomplish was getting the brush in her mouth, but DD started to get used to it being part of the routine and now it's a non-issue. Good luck!

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