How well do you brush your lo's teeth?

Jeffreysmom24 · February 2014

So we finally broke the habit of giving Jeffrey a bottle right before bedtime. Now he drinks milk before his bath. We are still not doing a great job of brushing his teeth though. He rarely will try to do it himself and only lets me do it for a couple of seconds. He does let me put a dab of baby toothpaste on his teeth and I normally end up wiping his teeth with a washcloth. Does anyone have any tips??

LindsayDesigner · February 2014

DH and I brush DD's teeth together. One if us will hold her and secure her arms while the other brushes. It seems to help if we let her watch in the mirror. She likes to look at herself.

alrighthamilton · February 2014

I bought Kate a battery operated toothbrush and it has made a world of difference. I think she likes the feeling of it. We also make a big event out of teeth brushing time. She gets to turn on the light, help to put the toothpaste on, then push the button to turn the brush on and off. When we're done, I let her help rinse it off and then put it away, and then she gets to dry her hands on the hand towel, which she thinks is the coolest thing ever. Then I let her turn the light off and tell her what a good job she did. She is going through a big "helping" phase now, and likes praise, so I really lay it on.

vic8504 · February 2014

DD will brush her teeth as long as I do during the day. Bedtime brushing has taken a hit as she no longer wants to do it. Even when I sing my brush your teeth song she refuses to brush.

NeneCakies · February 2014

Bedtime brushing is hit or miss. Sometimes she'll happily chew her brush and dance forever while we chant a brush your teeth song. Or she throws it in the bathtub and plays peekaboo with my robe. If the latter we have to trap her and brush all the teeth for her against her powerfully locked jaws. Thankfully there's not much crying involved.

I need to investigate this battery operated toothbrush. She like fancy things.

alrighthamilton · February 2014

NeneCakies said:

I need to investigate this battery operated toothbrush. She like fancy things.

Oh, it's very fancy. It came from the grocery store and there was a choice of Dora or Hello Kitty for $5.95. We went with Dora, because we're all about cultural diversity, and because Hello Kitty kind of creeps me out.

stlmomma27 · February 2014

Ds just lets me hold him on my hip and I scrub his teeth. He doesn't fight me, but if he did, I would still hold him or get dh to help me. Teeth are very important to me

I would just keep trying to hold him and really get in his mouth and scrub. Good luck!

Jeffreysmom24 · February 2014

Thanks for all of the replies ladies! This has motivated me to come up with a new routine and Becc77, I am going to look for a similar toothbrush too!

twinkletoes3126 · February 2014

In the morning he sits on the bathroom floor and brushes his own teeth while I brush mine. At nighttime, my husband does it for him. He absolutely hates when we help him so that's why we do a good job once a day.

CoUnTryBB1 · February 2014

LO likes brushing her teeth for now. She brushes in the morning watching me or her dad and every time before she gets in the bath time. She will literally do anything you ask if you tell her she can take a bath. She has multiple toothbrushes (they were her favorate present from Santa).

shakinros · February 2014

I have her say Ahhhh and I can usually get a couple good swipes in then. Then I pass the brush over and she chews it for awhile. We're not doing an awesome job.

abbyful · February 2014

Right now, not very well. He used to love brushing his teeth, but lately he's rebelling. So now I'm back to doing a little and and then cheering/clapping to trying to make it fun/exciting again.

Msbean22 · February 2014

Teeth brushing time is something Evie looks forward to all day. To make sure it's done, I give her teeth a good brush over to make sure her back molars are cleaned, then I let her go to town. Even though she loves it, she finds it funny to bite down on the brush while I'm doing my work. She also gets a small cup of water afterwards which seems to be super exciting as well.

HoneyBunn24 · February 2014

I've recently discovered the art of brushing teeth together. Teeth were a fight to get to, but now I wrap her in her towel after her bath, hold her in one arm and I get my toothbrush and she gets hers. Then we switch. She brushes my teeth and I get to brush hers because she's distracted. She loves it, and laughs the whole time.

Toni79 · February 2014

DD loves the "idea" of brushing her teeth ... but in practice that a whole differant story. We've only been brushing before bed (I should probably add a morning brushing in there I guess). On bath nights brushing teeth is after the bath. On non bath nights we wash face, hands, and then brush teeth. When she knows its comming she starts asking for "teeth" and doing the sign for "brush teeth". Sometimes it's the only way I can get her out of the tub - come on its time to brush your teeth!

The problem that we're having is that I'll give DD her toothbrush with the training toothpaste on it and she'll just suck on it until she's sucked up all the toothpaste. She'll ask for more, but I tell her she already has some. She might make a few "brushing" actions, or chew on it, but she's really not doing any decent brushing. I'll brush my teeth too, so she can copy, but she just moves it all around her mouth not touching any teeth! We sing a silly song that I made up. It keeps her entertained, but it doesn't really help her do it correctly. Also, now that she knows that she can control the tooth brush, she doesn't let me help her at all. If I take her toothbrush and say let mommy help, she gets upset, closes her mouth, and tries to get away (she sits on my lap).

When she's all done, I take a wet washcloth and wipe off her face. She sort of lets me wipe off some of her teeth. I count out loud (1-2-3) as I wipe the front of her bottom teeth. She usually lets me do the same with the front of her top teeth. Forget about getting the backs of her front teeth or her molars - she's figured out she can bite down. So now she wants to take the wash cloth and wipe her back teeth - which she's really not wiping them off, she's just opening her mouth and saying ahhhh.

I like some of your suggestions. Maybe putting her where she can see herself will help. Or maybe an electric toothbrush. DH and I actually use electric toothbrushes. DD has never seen them tough, I have a regualr one that I use when I brush with her.

Toni79 · February 2014

Oh, I also wanted to mention that I BF at bedtime (after DD has brushed her teeth). Its the last thing we do before laying her down. I know its probably not the best practice. But I've read so many mixed reporst - LLL says BFing at bedtime won't cause cavities. Plus I figured that she's actually getting so little milk from me at bedtime that it's probably not a huge deal.

The nurse in my pedi office gave me a hard time about it once. She said I should wipe out DDs mouth with a cloth after I BF. But I'm worried that will piss her off before I lay her down. She's awake 99% of the time when I lay her don, but she's all dazed and confused.

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