anyone with a toothbrush resister?

Noah not only is a picky eater but has been downright refusing to let me brush his teeth. He is ok putting the toothbrush in his mouth himself but only chews on it..when I try to "help" brush his teeth he cries and turns his head or pulls the brush out to avoid it....any one have this and if so how did you deal with it? He's not buying the reward of a binky after (which is what he wants)..I've also tried showing him doing it in the mirror and pretending I'm brushing my teeth and then have it be "his turn"
it's a battle every night

 

Both of my girls are the same way! I don't have any advice since we go through the same battle here. Maybe someone else has some tips.

 

This is unfortunately very common! Every time I find a trick that works with my girls, they wise up after about 5 days and it stops working. Here are some things we've tried that sometimes work -- maybe one of them will work for you (at least for 5 days!):

- ask them to show you which teeth need to be brushed
- turn them upside down (best case, makes them laugh -- worst case, makes them scream and their mouth falls open)
- make them laugh some other way
- say "it's Mommy's turn" and count to 10, then say "It's your turn" and count to 10 -- repeat as necessary
- let them brush your teeth while you brush theirs (of course they push the brush in too hard and make me gag -- but it gave me some sympathy for what it feels like to have someone else brush your teeth!)
- give them one toothbrush to chew on while you sneak the other one in for the real brushing
- make a silly noise (preferably one that involves opening the mouth wide, like "aaaaaahhhhh!") and have them imitate you

And when all else fails, pin their arms down. It usually makes them mad enough that they forget to clamp their jaws down, at least for a second.

 

Same boat here!! I have found that if I give them the tb while we are reading a story I can usually sneak in a few brushes on each but that is it. It is a struggle for the most part.

 

Same here! They just chew on it! I'm hoping it's a phase...they used to let me do it!

 

QUOTE(Minette @ Feb 20 2008, 05:56 PM) [snapback]632181[/snapback]
This is unfortunately very common! Every time I find a trick that works with my girls, they wise up after about 5 days and it stops working. Here are some things we've tried that sometimes work -- maybe one of them will work for you (at least for 5 days!):



Mine are the same way! We're currently on "I need to brush the buggies off your teeth", but this one has almost run its course for them too. I also have them say "eeeee", my lazy version of "cheese" so that I can get the front teeth. Otherwise Madison always has here top lip wrapped around her teeth. When none of the 'tricks' work, I turn to the chinese torture chamber method of pinning their arms down with one of my arms and holding their head up and back with the other and brushing really quick before they escape. And I usually brush their teeth while their still strapped into their booster seats so they can't run from me.

 

You might want to try a battery operated one. The battery operated ones are a cheaper version of Sonicare. My children have fun brushing their teeth with theirs. We let them do it first and then it is our turn. There are many different types of battery operated ones, just be sure to get one with soft bristles. Here is a link so that you can see what I am talking about.

 

and I thought I was the only one! I'm so glad to hear everyone else has children as difficult as mine. I've reverted to laying them down on their back so that I'm not worried about trying to pin them down. I figure they're going to have to lay in the dentist chair.... They do fine when I give them the tb, just not as efficient. So that's my trick, lay them down on their back and then hold their lips back. Works for us. Good luck.

 

Oh my god, at that age (and until they were about 2.5) I actually had to pin them down to brush their teeth! Only now do they willingly open (sometimes) for me and let me do a good job and do a fairly decent job themselves. Only now.

 

Several of Minette's tips worked for us too (letting them brush my teeth while I do theirs, letting them chew on one toothbrush while I sneak in the other one, etc.). Another thing I tried tonight was to give Sarah the plastic bath duck she kept pointing at and wanting to play with, as soon as she had it in her hand, she was distracted for about 20 seconds and I got the brush into her mouth.
If all else fails, my dentist said to give them a sip of water. So just give them a sippy cup with water instead.

 

We had that so badly with Maia and then I bought myself an electric toothbrush. I'd had the battery one but it had too big a head for the girls and didn't work very well as the battery ran down. So I saved up and bought cheap electric one and some extra heads. Tal loved it immediately and asks to have her teeth brushed every time she sees it. Maia was a bit nervous initially and wouldn't have anything to do with it. Very slowly I introduced it to her and now ... it's amazing. It is just so easy to brush their teeth, they LOVE the brush and will open wide for as long as is necessary (giggling most of the time).

 

We had minimal success with toothbrushing until I sat them down right next to each other. Now it's a competition. They grab my hand, grab the toothbrush, anything to get it in their mouth and out of their sister's mouth. I have to juggle two brushes and try to keep up with which one goes in which mouth, but atleast they're not resisting.

 

My DS is also a huge struggle. I brush immediately following breakfast while they are still strapped in the chairs, but the trays are off. I let DD go first so that DS can watch and know what's coming (as if he didn't know torture always follows bfast!).

I squat down to get on his level and say it's time to brush mommy's teeth. He giggles and starts poking at my mouth and laughing. I put the backside of the brush up to my mouth and pretend - then I say time to do yours. I'd say this repeats a gazillion times so that I can get the majority of his teeth. If this doesn't work......then I do chinese torture to finish. I hate doing that.

I always follow with a good drink of water.

 

Being in the 1-4 forum I think a better thread topic would be "Anyone WITHOUT a toothbrush resister". LOL

Nick will let me do his for a minute or two, but if Daddy tries he gets slapped in the face and pursed lips.
Joe will let me do it if he's in the mood.

We use the electric toothbrushes, which I feel make the most out of the brief moments we are permitted to get the brushing done.

Don't you just love toddler independence!

 

We have the same troubles, but one bonus is that we all brush teeth in the shower. For some reason they think its another fun bath toy thing so they actually do it with smiles. The only drawback is that it only happens once per day.

 

Except for teething times, ours do ok.
Each twin has 2 toothbrushes - one is theirs to use, and one is for Mommy or Daddy. Theirs are Elmo ones. The others are plain.
We have step stools that they stand on where they can see themselves in the mirror.
They also love to run their toothbrush under the water and tap it off to rinse it. They don't get to do that if they don't let Mommy or Daddy brush.
We also sing "Jingle Bells" (I know it's not Christmas anymore, but I'm not messing with a good thing) so they know how long Mommy or Daddy will be brushing.

 

Ours resist a lot but lately we have told them they get a drink of water out the big cup (no lid) if they let us brush their teeth. They have been letting us brush so they can have the drink.

 

Minette gave some great suggestions!

The things that work for us (and they go in spurts, so I have to be creative):

1) Dixie cups -- we buy ones with Disney characters or animals on them. They can't wait to see what cup they will get (it's a surprise), but they have to let us brush first.
2) Giving them a mirror to hold (which I know the OP tried, but hey, we got lucky).
3) Letting me brush the ogre out (the ogre from Little Einsteins, but sometimes I brush Tinkerbell out, etc.)
4) Letting me "paint" their teeth.
5) Counting to 10 and taking turns.

And the current one that has been working for a good month now, "The dentist told you Mommy has to have a turn." She likes our dentist and his word is apparently gold.