Brushing Teeth when they refuse too - any ideas?

Hi there - My DS does NOT like to have his teeth brushed. He clamps his mouth shut and refuses to let me or my DH brush his teeth. He is only 20 months so we are still using the non-flouride "training" toothpaste that they swallow. My DD and DS will brush their teeth on their own. So.. that is good. But, it doesn't get the job done. So, we do force the issue on my DS to brush his teeth. I hold him in a hug and my husband brushes his teeth or vice versa. But it ends up being a struggle and my DS gets upset. I don't want to do this anymore as I realize that this could lead to him not brushing at all. But, I don't want to give up on brushing his teeth after he "brushes" or before he "brushes" and I put quotes around that because they really don't brush at this stage on their own. It's more like biting the toothbrush. Anyone have any ideas?? I usually can figure these issues out but this one has me stumped. I have tried giving him a mirror to watch me brush his teeth, have him watch me brush my teeth with my toothbrush and he helps me, having him hold the toothbrush at the same time that I do when I attempt to brush his teeth..but none of these things are working. Help!!

 

I have one that hates to brush his teeth too. I think part of it is that he's a big gagger. I've found that he really does better with a character toothbrush that he really likes, letting him pick out the flavor of toothpaste and eventually we ended up getting a spinbrush b/c it fascinated him so much that it made it much easier to get the job done. There are still days where he fights it, but it's just not an option in our house to skip the brushing. It's so hard b/c it's one of those things that they "have control" (opening and letting you brush).

 

These are sooo random… your gonna wonder who the heck I am… but they worked… oddly :blink:

I went through this… and it was a LONG phase… but oddly brushing their teeth to a beet worked (I had tried everything)… John Williams films were a big hit w/ mine for some odd reason… maybe watching Indiana Jones & star wars movies w/ older ds while prego who knows… coming at hit slowly w/ space odyssey … also when that trick wore off… taking the end of their tooth brush and making funny sounds w/ it on my lips… they then wanted to do… I flip the brush around and let them make the noise while secretly brushing their teeth… just some ideas… I hated the force brush myself… I had to do it alone… it sucked

Elizabeth

 

Mine stand on a step stool in front of the bathroom sink. I leave the water running and they like to play with it while I brush. They know that I brush first, and then I let them "rinse" which consists of them holding the toothbrush under the faucet to fill it and then suck the water out of it. On really bad days I give them a brush to do this while I try to brush at the same time.

I may get 30 seconds in if I'm lucky. But I try to talk to them and distract them as I do it, to get them to let me in their mouth as long as possible. I usually run down the list of foods they've eaten that day and say how we need to brush it out of their teeth. me: "Did you eat bananas today?" them: "uh huh" me: "did you eat pancakes today?" them "uh huh"...and so on. It gets them thinking before they answer and they seem to forget what I'm doing to them for the moment (ok, I mean 30 seconds!)

 

Wow those are great ideas! They are so wiggely that I usually try to hold them on my knee which is propped on a step stool. they are still pretty much wiggle worms, but it seems better than them standing by themselves at the sink. I need to transition them to standing there... and the part about letting them rinse the brush is a great one.

my suggest to the OP is that sometimes when I don't feel like dealing with them... is I make them lie down in their cribs to be able to brush their teeth. ours do like to have their teeth brushed so that will work for me.

We had gone to a pediatric dentist back at 1 yr b/c of a chipped tooth and he said that we, the adult, should be brushing their teeth for many years to make sure that it is done well. so early on I tried to make sure that I have control of the situation. I haven't really let them brush theirs yet.

 

Mine hated having their teeth brushed until I switched to a battery operated toothbrush. They like they way it feels in their mouth but I'm still only able to get less than a minute each.

They also think it's so funny when I brush my teeth with my sonicare. Sometimes when I'm finished, I will rinse it off and brush their teeth with it and they will laugh the entire time.

 

I used to make up teeth brushing songs, but more recently I take one of their dolls or favorite stuffed animals and have it "hold" the tooth brush and it "helps" them brush their teeth. I tell them "teddy bear wants to help brush your teeth" This has worked really well.

 

Thanks to everyone for your replies!! These all are GREAT ideas. I am going to try each and everyone and I am hopeful that something will help. Thanks again!!! Happy Holidays to everyone.

 

It is hit or miss how much mine tolerate teeth brushing...I insist on doing it each night and have found that distraction helps mine a lot. For instance, tonight, DS was fascinated by trying to balance travel size bottles of shampoo and lotion (the ones from the hotels...I have them out for the grandparents who arrive tomorrow!). He did that the whole time I brushed his teeth. Sometimes I can get them to join in by counting teeth, singing a silly song, etc...but mostly, I let the play with something novel while they sit on the counter near the sink (my arm wrapped firmly around them).

When I was little, my mom let me play with a plastic cricket for diaper changes and teeth brushing I still remember that thing!!

 

A timer. You set the timer, they get a turn and then you get a turn. be persistent. My LOs used to scream when it was my turn I looked like the worlds meanest mom holding them down so I could "get my turn" but one day they just stopped refusing and let me have my turn without a fight!

Now I tell them to say AHHH and I sing songs or I count their teeth as I brush them or I pretend to see and brush away all the things I know they ate today.

It really does get better

 

My 2 year old hates having his teeth brushed. It's a battle every time, but it's a non negotiable around here. He screams. I brush. Hopefully one day he'll be more agreeable, but if not, I guess I'll be brushing his teeth while he screams. I don't brush his little brothers teeth infront of him so they don't get any ideas.