10 Month Old HATES the Toothbrush

S.,

I commend you for your diligence in trying to be proactive
with your daughter. When children are teething, the gums tend to be sore and tender. Often times, children even refuse to
eat because of the pain. Rather than using a toothbrush or
any kind of toothpaste, it is best to just use a wet washcloth
and gently clean the teeth. If the teeth are just cutting through the gums or the gums appear red and swollen you may
even want to delay cleaning until the teeth are erupted. At
10 months, it isn't a good idea to use toothpaste or have
the child suck on the toothpaste for two reasons. First of
all, it teaches the child that toothpaste is something that
they eat, and this is not the case. Toothpaste should only be used for cleaning. Secondly, it will be a difficult habit
to change once it is developed. An important practice to help prevent tooth decay at this age is to avoid putting the
baby asleep with a bottle of formula or juice as the sugar
from these foods rests on the teeth all night long and can
lead to decay. If the baby needs to have something before bed either clean the teeth afterwards or only offer water.
Once your daughter's teeth are erupted and the gums are
no longer sore, she will get use to having her teeth cleaned.
Good for you for being such a caring mom!

Just keep at it. My kids hated to brush and now they have bad teeth. My youngest had to have caps put on all of his teeth. Last March he had to have three pulled, and one was a permanent tooth. My oldest is a little bit luckier. He has just a couple of bad teeth. Although he needs to go to the dentist again. When I first started out, I used a wash cloth on the new teeth. Good luck.

Keep up with it, meanwhile ask the dentist for a fluoride prescription. If he/she won't give you one, ask a different dentist.

Praise her when you brush her teeth, tell her good job even when she whines. don't let her see any frustration on your part, but firmly tell her to open her mouth and say "good job" again when she opens it. Good luck!

hey S. the way that i got my little girl to let me start brushing her teeth was i took the tooth brush and started brushing my teeth smiling really big and having alot of fun doing it. then i told her how much fun it was. i kept doing this untill she wanted to have fun like mommy. its kind of a goofy way but when a little one sees you doing something that you seem to really enjoy they usually want to do it too.

Hi there. My daughter is now 15 months old and is JUST becoming comfortable with me sticking a toothbrush in her mouth. I have been brushing her teeth since she was 7 months old. The only advice I can give you is that I used a washcloth to wipe her gums and the surfaces of her teeth off instead of a toothbrush for a while. That made it easier. I also brushed my teeth with her in my arms to show her that it was fun. We then would do a little brushing on her teeth. We also let her pick out fun toothbrushes and she began to like it. She now will take the toothbrush from me and try to brush herself! It takes patience and diligence! Good luck!

I agree with the washcloth idea. Especially since she doesn't even have her teeth in yet. The toothbrush probably irritates her gums even more than they already are from the teething. When you do start using a toothbrush make sure it has the softest bristles available. Until then I would say just use the washcloth. You might even try squirting them off with a waterpik or something. Something similar to what the dental hygienist uses to rinse off the toothpaste after the professional cleaning.

some kids really hate the tooth brush. You could try getting some of the training toothpaste. It doesn't have anything harmful in it and is safe to swallow. It's for little babies and it taste good so they love to suck on the toothbrush to get the flavor. I would try that.

Keep trying- eventually she'll get used to it. I tried, like you did, at an early age, and my son didn't like it at all either. Always be gentle- just put it in her mouth, maybe just brush her tongue. Swollen gums are painful! Have her watch you brush your teeth and then give her a few moments with her toothbrush. I think my son was a bit over a year before he was ok with it. Try the infant toothpaste, too- the fruity stuff that they can swallow- a teeny bit so they can taste something good when they brush.

My 2 year olds started liking the tasks when I got them a stool so they could do it themselves. I also got those kids spin brushes which they love. I think it feels good on their gums.

i'm just starting my baby, but we use a q-tip. i let him chew on it while i attempt to swuave his little teeth

You might wait until she has teeth rather than trying while it's just another potentially painful thing in her mouth. Personally, we've waited for a good number of teeth so it's not two new things at the same time. Tough for me since I'm big on cleanliness, but has worked well with two boys, one who loves cleanliness, and one who despises anything related to cleanliness.

maybe let her try holding it. If she is like my kids everything goes straight in the mouth and they love to just sit and chew on it-it feels good on their itchy gums. Of coarse, have them supervised and maybe sitting in your lap or in the highchair or something.

When I introduced a toothbrush to my son I just handed it to him and let him play with it for a while. I kept it as almost a toy for quite a while. He loved to put it in his mouth. He loves getting his teeth brushed now. I didn't do this with my two older children and they hated getting their teeth brushed. I don't know if the difference was due to personality or approach but you may want to give it a try.

Since you have already tried to brush her teeth you may want to hold off on the toothbrush for your little girl for a little while and then hand it to her. See what she does with it. She probably still won't like getting her teeth brushed, but she may like the toothbrush.

Hi S., you might want to consider the fact that your daughter is still teething which means there is pain in her gums that will happen off & on until the teeth totally come in. Seems like you are looking at this experience from your stand point not hers. She's only 10 months old that's way too early to be brushing teeth. Best, J.E.S.

Hi S.,

I agree with the other moms that you should let her play with the tooth brush. Also let her watch you brush your teeth. Get her curiousity up and steal the brush from her for a second at a time and brush then give it back to her.

Also, you are NOT introducing the tooth brush too early at all. Her first dentist appointment should be just after she turns (1) year old. When I took my daughter, the dentist just looked at her teeth for any problems and gave me advise about what I should be doing and that was about it. And it was only $25, so not a budget buster.

Kind Regards,
T.

Hi I am a Dental assistant I have 3 boys 28 mo. old twins and a 41/2 yr.old.I used the little orgel finger brush and tooth cleanser for about the first year or so. My oldest didnt get molars until about 24 mo. I used it on him until then. When They have back teeth they can bite your finger.Ouch! one of the twins got teeth in early so i went to a baby tooth brush sooner .I use oragel or gerber tooth cleanser for the first 3 years due to swallowing.I tried a electric tooth brush for my oldest and that helped.All three always throw at fit but there comes a time when you have to brush even if they dont want to.Its better to brush them screaming then to go to the hospital to have their teeth pulled before they get their first tooth. Try to make it fun and get them used to it first . Some kids just dont want to do it even at 4 or older . Then it helps to educate them on what happens to teeth when they dont get brushed. The tooth bugs get them. It is great that you are doing the best and trying to take good care of her teeth. It is hard when they cry and fuss . All the hard work will pay of in the end .Just try your best .Good luck

I introduced my son to his toothbrush right when he started teething, but I did not try to brush his gums or anything. I figured he was getting enough discomfort just with his teeth coming in. I took him to the store and had him choose his own toothbrush, and then I got the Orajel baby toothpaste (no flouride, so it won't hurt their little tummies when they swallow it). When we got home, we made a big deal out of having a new toothbrush and opening it up and put just a little dab of the new toothpaste on and I let him play with it however he liked. He mostly sucked on it because he liked the flavor of the toothpaste. We "played" with the new toothbrush every day (obviously, don't let her play with it by herself -- choking hazard). By the time his teeth had actually come in, he was very comfortable with it, and had no problem letting mommy "have a turn" with it and brush a little. Hope this helps!

Dear S.,

I am a dental hygienist. I would suggest that you just wipe out her mouth with a cool wet cloth. Then she can chew on it for a while and that will do the trick. The tooth brush right now will only scratch her gums. When she gets some teeth make it a fun thing.

Let her hold it in her high chair. Let her see you using it and having fun. Don't try to use it on her when she's teething. Her little gums hurt! Time enough when the teeth come through and the gums settle down.

My daughter hated it too. Just try every once in a while--even just letting her put it in her mouth because as other's said, it's probably painful. Now my daughter is 16 months old and for about 3 months, she has loved it. For a while, she even cried whenever we had her put it away. (So we had her rinse it, tap it & put it in a special cup herself--now she loves the process.) Good luck!

When my son started getting teeth he really wasn't too fond of the toothbrush either. We took him to the doctor for a check up and he gave us a flouride prescription designed for children his age. We didn't start actually brushing until they came in. We always brought him in the bathroom when we were brushing our teeth so he just wanted his own so he could be like us. Thats how we got him to brush and now he loves it!!

I just gave the toothbrush to my 11 mos old daughter to "play" with. She just naturally put it in her mouth and chewed on it. So every night after her bath I give it to her and tell her she is brushing her teeth. She is not really but I'm laying the groundwork for that part of her routine when she gets older. To really brush her teeth, I take a baby washcloth and scrub her teeth/wipe her gums when I'm washing off her face after meals. My dentist told me that was way more effective on babies/toddlers and she does not seem to mind too much.

good luck

I would definitely get her a cheap toothbrush that she can just play with. Most things end up in the mouth anyway, so if she can get used to having the feeling of the toothbrush in her mouth without forcing it, she won't be so reluctant to do it for real. Also, make a game out of it... if she thinks she is playing then, again, she won't hate it so much. Good luck, just be patient :)!

Remember she is only 10 months old. She is going to hate that kind of stuff- all babies that age do. If she's just barely getting teeth, especially if they're not even all the way through, I wouldn't stress over making sure they get brushed. I'm no dentist, but I'm pretty sure baby teeth are pretty strong. Unless you're loading her with sugar every day, which I doubt, her teeth will be fine. I didn't worry about religiously brushing my son's teeth until he was about 18 months old. Even then I didn't stress about it. Sometimes he didn't want to, so I waited a few days to try again. If you force them to do something they hate, they'll only hate it more. I would let him brush while I'd brush and then I'd help him to make sure he did a good job. I didn't always do it every day, but we tried. He's now almost 4 and just went to the dentist for the first time, and his teeth were great. He's now old enough that he can do it by himself with only a little help from me. So, don't stress about it. Remember how old she is. If you are wanting to do something, you could gently wipe her teeth with a washcloth.

I suggest wait until she is a couple of months older. Give her a little toothbrush to hold and let her introduce it into her mouth. All babies put things in their mouth. Just make sure the bristles are soft and are made for a child. No need to brush right now since there is no teeth yet.