Brushing Toddlers Teeth - Austin, TX

Hey L.! I have a two year old and use the Oragel training toothpaste most of the time. Sometimes I use a dab of kids toothpaste b/c it foams and cleans better, but only a dab. I only brush his teeth once a day and think it is enough right now. My five year old brushes day and night though. I use the battery powered toothbrush for my two year old and it helps cleans his teeth better than just a regular toothbrush in my opinion. My five year old uses one as well. They come in neat cartoon characters. As for cooperating, my two year old only cooperates when he brushes his own teeth which he doesn't do a good job. So when I do it, I have to hold him down on the changing table, but it is important, so I do it. I did the same with my other son and he eventually got used to it and began to cooperate as he got old enough for me to reason more with him. Good luck! It does get easier!

I started brushing my sons teeth when he had a couple teeth. In the beginning - mostly with washcloth. Then as he got more teeth I used a toothbrush and toothpaste (no fluoride). My son didn't like to brush teeth in the beginning, so we bribed him with Elmo - 1-866-Elmo Tips. It's great - he brushed his teeth and got to call Elmo. We also bought an electronic toothbrush. He loved that. We sing toothbrushing songs (let me know if you want ours). :-) Now he knows we do bottom, top, fronts, tongue, and roof of mouth. He does great. But - it took some time. Oh, and he also likes to watch himself in the mirror while doing it. It's fun.
Good luck!

Hello I have a baby girl names Lily who will be 2 next weekend. She LOVES to brush her teeth. What I started doing was first of all I got her a small toothbrush for her little teeth. I put the tooth paste on it and I say " Ok let Mommy brush your teeth and then you can do it like a big girl by your self". I brush the front teeth back and sourth and up and down and then I say " Open your mouth so I can get those other teeth. I will brush top and bottom back teeth just as if I would brush mine. Next I rinse the toothbrush and put a tiny bit more tooth paste on her tooth brush and give it to her and let her do it herself. It makes her feel like a big girl.To get your daughter to be more cooperative make it fun for her such as letting her do it herself, buy bubble gum flavored toothpaste because children love the taste of it. Make sure you definately let her do it by herself but you will also have to do it to make sure they are getting brushed correctly. Now I find my daughter in the bathroom all the time with a stool brushing her teeth, she absolutley loves it and she would brush ALL day if I would let her. I usually let her brush her teeth after every meal. Two or three times will be fine...good luck I hope this helps out!!

Hello L., You have gotten some good advice. Here is one thing I learned from watching "Super Nanny" have the child sing or humm (in their head) to the sound of 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" twice. That is a fun way for them to learn and a long enough time frame to have a good teeth brushing, and always brush twice.

There are toothbrushes with TUNES.Several different tunes. The tunes last as long as you SHOULD brush... two minutes.
I'd say twice/day at least.
At that age, I gave my son a brush and I brushed too! lol
Good luck

Hello! I have a little boy that just turned 3! I started brushing his teeth every night when he was about 18 months. There is a great toothpaste out there by orajel. I believe it has a bear on it, but it is safe to swallow. I used that on my son until he was about 28 months or so. Now we use the kids toothpaste that has flouride in it. I think it is very important to start them on flouride as soon as they can understand how to spit the toothpast out. It really does help prevent cavaties. :)

I have a 6 and 2 year old. With both my boys, I went to Dollar Tree and bought FireFly Tooth brushes. They have a light the flashes inside for 1 minute, which is plenty of time with my younger son, Jacob. Braeden, 6, knows to push the button again after it goes off for 2 minutes, which is what is reccommended. After the light goes off for Jacob (one minute), we trade and he brushes my teeth while I go back over his. It does get messy, but there is less of a battle. This is good preparation for the dentist. Braeden LOVES going to the dentist!!! He had a front tooth that had split into 2 when the were forming before birth, making it impossible to floss or brush well, and had to get it pulled and never shed a tear! At night, we brush our teeth in the dark and have blue and red lights flashing in front of the mirror!!! FUN!!

Per my daughters dentist advice.

Use Oragel toothpate made for Toddlers and babies. Do NOT use toothpaste with Floride! Because they swallow the toothpaste and this isnt good for them. Brush daily!

Brush in the morning with they wake up and if you want after meals and brush right before bed after she drinks her milk. Pay close attention to the gums...try to brush her teeth yourself first to make sure she gets a good cleaning and then just give her the toothbrush and she will chew on it and finish the job.

Hi, L.. I am a dental hygienist and children's teeth should be brushed twice a day just like adults. As far as brushing them good, just do the best you can. I have a 21 mo old and believe me I know it's hard to do a GREAT job. You can use baby tooth paste (which is unfluoridated) at this age. Do not start her on regular toothpaste (fluoridated) until she is old enough to know not to swallow it and to spit it out on her own. Hope this helps. H.

Something that helped when mine were that age: I brushed them first, and told them after mommy does it, then they get a turn. I'd set the timer for a certain amount of time and let them brush their own teeth. They loved it, and were always cooperative while I did it because they knew they'd get a turn next.

Dear L. W,
I'm a 27 year old sahm with a 2-1/2 year old son and a son due on april 17th,also happily married to a wonderful man. Sounds like we have a little bit in common. Well with my son I have always brushed his teeth when he wakes up and when he goes to bed. He likes to brush his teeth alot, so now he brushes after naps also. I just use toddler tooth paste (flavored of course) and I would brush them the same as you would yours, only not near as long. My dr. says not to use adult tooth paste until they know not to swollow it (4 or 5 I would guess?). I had concrens about how good they were getting cleaned & my dr. said his teeth looked great and to make sure I just kept doing what I was doing. I let him brush his own teeth (like a big boy) then at the end I would brush over them a bit just to make sure they were getting brushed good enough. He gives no fight brushing his on own, but when I do it its usually forced, but you gotta do what you gotta do until they get old enough. I usually don't go back over them unless it's bed time. Really how many times you do it and how well is going to be your own judgement for now. When she is three that's when you'll start taking her to the dentist and they will help you from there. As you well know each child is different, but for mine always making it exciting,fun (like a game)and brushing my teeth at the same time worked like a charm. He always wants to do what mommy and daddy do. Well I hope my rambling helps some, good luck with her and the new little one.

L. H