Teethbrushing tips for difficult toddlers?

[DianeCourt]

DD used to LOVE having her teeth brushed. We started with a finger brush as soon as she got her first teeth. Since she turned one, though, it's just a big bedtime battle. I switched over to a "real" toothbrush that our dentist gave us, and that worked for a few nights because it was something new, but now she's shoving that away, too. I've tried everything....distraction with toys and singing songs in an attempt to make it fun to name a few. I need some tips on how I can get her teeth brushed! What works for you?

[jh124]

DS still likes slurping on the toothpaste. We use the Gerber fruit flavor. He's not crazy about the brushing, but I'm wily and do some serious brushing while he tries to figure out the best angle for chomping my finger and sucking the paste.

[EmilyBronte]

I read in What to Expect the Toddler Years to let the child brush themselves in the morning and give them help in the evening. It also mentioned things others have said, like having the child brush your teeth and then switching. There are other suggestions there, too, but I can't recall all of them - I'll check tonight. I hold my son in my lap and brush from the side and it seems to work ok.

Our son's daycare has them brush their teeth after they eat and they use a toothbrush that looks like this:

https://jawproducts.authsecure.com/images/70000028_all.jpg

You can buy it at the following link:
https://jawproducts.authsecure.com/infant-toothbrush-with-oval-handle-p-361.html?osCsid=98bf41d031ca81b0dff9b3440deac053

[missy329]

My DD is a bit older (2 1/2) but we always went "looking for animals" in her teeth. I would say in a suprised voice "I think I see an elephant or lion or doggy or kitty cat or..... (you get the idea) in your mouth." Then we would look for another animal in between some other teeth. Now she suggests things we are finding in there. She opens up to let me look for those hiding animals. I also let her brush after I do. Oh, and I have found those battery operated toothbrushes really are the best - my dentist also agrees with this. We have a Sesame Street brush.

[dana b]

i bribe my dd with stickers -- she gets them when she brushes her own teeth. right now she absolutely refuses to let me brush them, she was really good about it when she was younger though. i had to pin her down to brush them on halloween night. i don't know what else to do, her mouth is so stinky :o

[Jen1098]

We do the animal thing to. I told DS "Oh I see a monkey in there". "I've got to get the monkey out" Sometimes it's bees but usually monkeys. Right now that's been working for us for awhile.
He does brush it himself first then we do it. I will admit I know I'm not doing it as long as we're supposed to. Guess I should be happy we're able to brush them period.

[Renrel]

We have gone through periods of brushing resistence. Here a a few tips to try.

Check that the child likes the toothpaste you are using. My son only likes the baby toothpaste and hated the toddler stuff. He is not too hot on the children's paste with floride we just started using.

One step a head sells a toothbrush designed to be chewed that wraps around the teeth. That worked well for us for quite a while. We let him brush in his room while we read to him.

This was a CC tip, I think from winter biscuit. Tell the child you need to count his/her teeth and have trouble finding the last one. It helps when you child knows how many they have.

Tell the child you need to hear the sound of the brushing.

Get a book about brushing and dentists.

Let the child spit in the sink after brushing. So much fun to do something you normally are not allowed to do.

[Franni]

What helped us with DD is that we let her brush our teeth. She likes that.

When that started wearing thin, we taught her how to gargle and spit. she loved that for a couple of weeks.

[Winter Biscuit]

I posted some tips that worked for us (including the one Renrel mentions above) in this thread - in the 18 months - 4 years forum:

http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23295&highlight=brushing+teeth

We just started using "big girl" toothpaste with flouride, and DD currently gets a big kick out of spitting in the sink. Like Renrel said, it can be very fun for them to do this when they are normally not allowed to spit.

My DD also likes it when we tell her that she has fresh breath. (Don't ask me where that came from ? :confused: ) If she didn't brush good enough, we'll tell her that we need to brush a little longer until her breath is fresh. Then when we're satisfied with the brushing job, we'll tell her how lovely her breath smells ;)