How to Get Two-year-old to Brush Teeth?

Hi K.,

I'm not sure exactly what the problem is but maybe this will help.

One of my kids is disabled (he's 14 now) and he goes to a special medical dentist. It is impossible to really brush his teeth. His dentist recommended that we just dip the toothbrush in one of those flouride rinses (I think ACT is one)and don't even bother with toothpast and just do the best we can. We don't have to rinse either. We use a sonicare toothbrush and just try to get around his mouth. It must be working as he's never had a cavity and his gums are always fine when he goes to the dentist.

We also brush his teeth while he is lying down in bed - that way he can't back away from us.

Good luck,

C.

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My son is almost 2 1/2 and I was having the same problems. Then I thought about it and thought maybe he would be ok with it if he knew exactly how long it would last, so I sing the ABC's while I brush, and he knows as soon as the song is over the toothbrush is out of his mouth. ALSO I let him brush his teeth at the same time that I brush them. It is a tight fit with 2 toothbrushes, but it makes him happy and it works. Good luck!

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K.,

I think that at two, it's more about instilling the habit. What worked for my son when he was that age was to let him do it himself, then praise the heck out of him for being a big boy. Then take the toothbrush and say, "Let me see what a good job you did" and do a better job, praising the whole way.

Hope this helps,
M.

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We went to an electric tooth brush. If you haven't tried that, you might think about it. It was much easier to get teeth clean and made dentist visits easier too because she was already used to noise and vibration. Also, my husband was able to get her to brush teeth and let him do "touch up". She seemed to like this idea because it gave her a little independence.

Lastly, for an occassional good cleaning we would sit on the floor and have her lay her head in our lap (mouth up). Then we could easily see her teeth and brush from angles that are difficult when she's standing upright. The dentist taught us this technique. She actually enjoyed this (believe it or not) and would ask us to do it instead of brushing her own sometimes.

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Do you have one he can just carry around and chew on? That is how we got our daughter comfortable with tooth brushing in the beginning. Now she asks to have them brushed after meals and before bed.

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We ask our kids to open their mouths and we look for "bacteria bugs" and do the whole, "got one" "there's another one", etc. Also, put a mirror at their height so they could watch themselves brush. That works really well. These were both suggestions from my dentist. If you need input and information on how important brushing at 2 is, I would ask your dentist.

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BE STRONG! You are fighting with a CHILD. I realize that they are insanely strong when they don't want to do something, but you need to make it clear that this is not an OPTION...it is a NECESSITY. From the time my kids got teeth until they were about 2, I let them use the toothbrush and a cup of water. They loved to dip it in there and swirl it in their mouth. Then I would brush their teeth for them. If he is having milk snack before bed, make sure he is drinking water and rinsing with water at a minimum before you try to brush. Kids LOVE to swish and spit.

Also, try different flavored toothpastes that are fluoride-free. Ask him what he doesn't like. Try letting him think it is his idea (this really does go with the being strong and necessity part). I started telling my kids about how awful it would be if they didn't brush their teeth...that their teeth might start to hurt, rot, and fall out. That changed their tune once they realized that it was a GERM issue, not just a parental control. If you support the tooth fairy, let him know that he won't get gifts for his bad teeth.

One other thing to consider...it may be a sensory issue. Try rubbing a wet washcloth over his teeth and let him do it himself. He may like this. Then graduate to different things (the rubber finger-brush, then a hand-held brush).

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We kinda had the same problem, it errupted around 20 months or so. It was always a struggle to get the front of his teeth brushed. He would curl his lip tight with no access to those teeth. We ended up turning him upside down and tickling him or making him laugh and I would go in an brush quickly. I would also hold his lip up and brush quickly. It worked about every other time. Just in the last few weeks he has really started letting us finish brushing his teeth (back and front) without any fuss. (He is 26 months old now) He is even getting the back and forth motion down pretty good all by himself. I would suggest that you just keep at it - eventually he will get that it is going to happend and its not that bad! Good Luck!

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Hey K.,

As long as his diet is healthy (little sugar and processed food), I wouldn't worry too much.

And here are two tips - don't know if they will work for your LO, but they worked for my daughter.

1. I tell her, "are there any mice in there? Let me see. Oh! there's one! I got him. Are there any more?" She giggles and giggles and let's me brush her teeth.

2. By complete coincidence, we took a book out of the library that showed a little girl vigorously brushing her teeth - the book was full of pictures of children doing every day things. This little girl happened to look a lot like my daughter and I remember saying something like, "Wow! She's a big girl. She's brushing her teeth so well."

When things get tough, I usually just have to mention that girl ("remember that big girl in the book?") and she'll grab the toothbrush and start brushing really well.

Don't know if this will help! Every child is SO different. Good luck.

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I am not sure how to help you, but for the new moms out there this may help. I started brushing my boys gums at birth. Every night we brushed. Since it has always happened, it has never been an issue. They are 2 1/2 and 4 1/2, and view brushing as just another part of their bed time ritual.

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I received great advice about this when I was struggling with my son's teeth brushing and it has worked like a charm. First I let him put his tooth brush in his mouth and pretend brush for a moment and then I tell him we have to get the 'animals' out of his mouth. When he was really in to monkeys that was the only animal I needed to use. I would say, "oh my, I think you have a lot of monkeys in your mouth. Open up so we can let them out! Oh, I see a monkey up on the top! Now he jumped to the bottom, let's brush him out!, etc." He loved it. Now we have moved on to him telling me what animals are in his mouth. Since we go to the zoo a lot he has a lot of animals to name. He is really into fish, dolphins, sharks and sea otters. We usually stand there for over a minute with him naming all the animals that we have to get out of his mouth. Since I am usually brusing his teeth while he names the animals, I can a little sprayed with toothpaste but it is worth it. Good luck!

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when my son was in this stage, I looked in his mouth one night and told him that I saw cute, little bugs that I needed to brush off his teeth. As I brushed, I said goodbye to the buggies in a funny little voice. He laughed his head off, and then every night we brushed and said goodbye to the buggies. He loved it and we never had a problem again.

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Make sure you keep giving him a flouride supplement (assuming you live in Oregon where there is no flouride in the water). What helps with us is Dad yells say, "AHH" and they both say Ahh while I brush. I did learn that I was pushing a little too hard in my desperation to get her teeth clean as well. Not sure if that's your problem, but I found out when I hurt my OWN mouth. I figured, goodness if I'm doing this to myself, I must be hurting her. After that it wasn't as hard anymore.

A.

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I think a couple of things contributed to our daughter's diligence with tooth brushing (and hand washing too). When she was around 2 we had started reading a few kids books about germs to get our daughter familiar with the importance of hygiene in a cute, funny way. She really likes a book called Germs, Germs, Germs. The germ characters are hilarious and it shows the importance hand washing, proper sanitary skills (like covering mouth), and tooth brushing (lots of germs inside the mouth)! WHen she was in her 2s (she is s3 now), we began talking about the dentist and what happens there (again more books exist for help in making it fun). We always talked about how once she is 3 she is going to go to the dentist and we want our teeth clean and healthy. Whenever she gave us a hard time about brushing, we told her that the dentist will be looking at her teeth and it is important that they are healthy, so we need to get all the germs/plaque. Then we would spit out the germs and make sound effects as they went down the drain. That seemed to really work and make it fun.

Hope that helps!

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Our little guy didn't like brushing either. We had him lie down on a boppy-type pillow on the floor when it came time to brush his teeth. We flossed first and made a game out of it...I was always "pickin for chicken," and if something came off on the floss (food, etc.), I'd start making clucking sounds like a chicken. I felt really strange doing it, but it totally amused our son and he sat still through the whole thing. Then we would put toothpaste on the brush that was safe to swallow, and I would brush his teeth for the duration of one song. Our son loves music and we would sing whatever he was interested in at the time. We also talked to him a lot about what would happen if he didn't brush...the cavities that would come, the drilling, etc. (Without getting too dramatic...we didn't want to scare him off completely from the dentist). We also had him visiting the dentist from the time he was 1. He didn't necessarily need to go when he was that young, but it was great to begin conditioning him to going twice a year to the dentist for a cleaning. Now we talk about the dentist by name...."Dr. Hsu would want to make sure that you are cleaning your teeth so that you don't get cavities." We read books about the dentist too. Our son transitioned to brushing with adult toothpaste (learning to spit it out) and standing up at the sink when he turned 3.

I know oral hygiene is a difficult thing with these toddlers. Just hang in there, and one day he will see the benefit and not be so difficult to work with. Good luck to you!

You are instilling a habit. Don't fret to much. Have you tried rewards or electric toothbrushes?

When my daughter was two, I had to lay her on the floor and "force" brush her teeth. Not a fun way to do it! This time around, with my son, we got him interested in my electric tooth brush. He got to brush mommies teeth. Then we got him his own electric tooth brush (a choo-choo train from Freddies) and he now brushes his teeth all the time! My nephew who is turning two soon also does not like to brush his teeth. We found a fire truck that even lights up when you turn it on. He is very excited about it. Worth a try!!

I think at this age is more of instilling the habit. My son is the same way. If we have him do it he just chews on it or sucks the past off. And if we do it he fights us. But it's important to try and show them that you do it too.

Good luck, I am in the same boat.

R. S.

Hello there, about the 2 year old and brushing my son did the same thing and now he is 4 1/2 and doing it again to us but one thing is the toothpaste some taste "hot" to peppermint but one thing that works is making a game of it, example you brush the same time he does and set the clock 2 mins see who gets done first....(,Im going to race you, better start brushing bet you wont make it the 2 mins, in the mean time start your brush and paste while he has already started!

we do this with a lot of things if he is not cooperating with us! Good luck hope this might help

We had a terrible time with our daughter too. The electric toothbrush with sesame street characters and a small head on it worked a little bit.

Letting them brush your teeth while you brush theirs was somewhat successful.

Get out every book from the library about toothbrushing. They'll start to have more pride in that ritual.

There is some controversy over this one, but we started talking about cavity creeps and had better success after they started conceptualizing a creep staying in their mouth.

We found and awesome pediatric dentist. I recommend finding one and paying a visit to see what their recommendations are. They can also tell you where to concentrate your effort. My daughter felt like it was a dental disney visit and now takes great pride in caring for her teeth.

hang in there, by 4 it wasn't an ordeal.

My son is 22 months and also hates getting his teeth brushed. I finally decided to hold him down, let him cry and get the teeth brushed. It's not as traumatic the last month or two because now he knows that even if he throws a fit, it's still going to get done. Good luck, I hope something else works for you, but I don't think it is terrible to let them know how important brushing teeth is and that if there is a power struggle, Mom & Dad are going to win.

Brush your teeth together... my little one loves to do this with me every night after her bath. She sees me do it, I talk to her about it and she loves to pretend to spit. Mine only has five teeth and is a few months younger, but I think if yours sees you do it then he will want to. Get on his level and sing songs or play games. Make it fun, give him a mirror and show him his teeth. I gave my daughter the elmo mirror that was in my car when she was in a rear facing carseat and she looks at her teeth all the time. I have heard that its not so much about cleansing as it is about getting them in the habit.

K.-

The only thing that has worked for me to get my almost-three-yr old to let me "help" him was persistance. I just tell him "Mommy is going to help you" and I have him say "ahh and eee" so I can get at all the surfaces. And now I'm facing the same battle with my 1&1/2 yr old daughter! Getting a toddler to "let" you "help" them with anything usually a fight.

Sorry I don't have much advice, but support and sympathy!

Best of luck!
-B. M.-

Hi K.,

I think you need to just keep at it. It is important to get those teeth bruthed and to instill the habit of brushing. I'm still having this problem with my 5 y.o. She did ok, but not good, at it before but then was hit in the jaw last September by a metal bat up the street. Her jaw broke in two places and brushing has become a huge battle of the wills around here. She now has several cavities starting and has to have them scraped and coated this week at Children's Hospital. So...it is a big deal. Those little cavities begin in a few short months. At your son's young age you may want to get some sugar free lollipops and allow him one if he does a good job. I would also instill brushing into his morning routine so that you are making sure not to miss any of his teeth.

Good luck. I know how much of a nightmare this can be.

D.

I think that the best thing that has worked for my children has been consistency. It takes time (a lot of time), but with a positive attitude it became a habit. The other thing is that kids don't often want to do the things that are good for them. With my third son I would let him brush by himself, but at night after he brushed we would play dentist. He would lay on the couch with his head in my lap and we would play. I got to scrub his teeth extra good, and it was really good practice for when we went to the dentist. Also, a visit to the dentist might make this a bit more fun. We use a pediatric dentist, and she is really great, so there is NO guilt or fear.

Sincerely,
N.

My DD is 4 and we still have a bit of trouble from time to time. The best thing that I found to help her get over the "I don't wanna" is buying a spin toothbrush and a toothbrush that plays music while brushing. LOL Plus, she has about 6 different toothbrushes and 3 pastes. I think the variety has helped to make it easier?!. Good luck!!

I read all your advice and didn't see this one: Have you seen the "singing tooth brushes?" You only hear the music when you brush your teeth! Walmart has them and I am sure a lot of places have them. We also do the crest spin brushes, they come in kid characters you can switch out every few months!

Hello K.,

When my daughter was 2, I assisted her / helped her with the brushing. I allowed my daughter to use the toothpaste that wasn't so hot for her. I think I allowed her to use that til she was, maybe 4? I don't really remember right now. But, assisting / helping your son has to be done on a daily basis, as you may know already. With the consistency of you showing him how to brush his teeth, he will eventually get it. It just takes time. He'll get it eventually.

So, I suggest that you brush your teeth during the same time he is brushing his. Maybe you can allow him to brush your teeth so that he will see why you want him to keep his teeth clean. It'll take time for him to catch on. You have to make it positive. You have to figure out what will work for you and him. I think, in order to get your son to brush his teeth, it should be repititious (spelling???) throughout the day until he gets it in his head. How about every time he goes to the bathroom. After he washes his hands, then he can brush his teeth. OH! You can make a chart with his name in BIG letters. Then on that chart, put Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Next to each day, you can put up a small sticker of choice to reward him and praise him for his accomplishments. Then, maybe at the end of the week, you can buy him something fun, like bubbles and let him know that we're playing with bubbles because you've done so well at brushing your teeth. You know.....that's only a suggestion though. Be creative. Kids love to play. Make it a celebration. Let him know how proud you are of him, that he's cleaning his teeth so well.:)

I must say, that you still need to go over his teeth to make sure that there aren't any film on his teeth, because that will end up as a cavity. Also, on his permanent teeth, the dentist will put a sealer on them to keep them protected from cavities. My daughter has a sealant on her permanent teeth (back teeth). I wish I had that when I was a young kid. Even though my daughter is 11 today, I still look at her teeth just to make sure she brushed them thoroughly clean. We don't need cavities here. I want her to have her original teeth til she's 100. I hope she lives that long.

Take Care! And have fun with your son.:):):)

A doctor once told me to let my child brush first, to get the thrill out of it, then to do it myself. Also, eating a baby carrot as part of the snack might help to clean those teeth. I don't think it matters too much, really, as long he's not having sugary drinks and foods. If when you do brush there is blood, then you know that more attention is needed.

At this age, the child wants to be able to do things by themself. Try letting him brush his teeth. He might be able to get more of them in you can. My son who is 23 months has always loved getting his teeth brushed but now wants to do it himself. I tell him that if he lets me then I will let him when I am done. I hope that you find something that works.

What it worked for us is taking turns. Start taking turns first with other activities until she gets the idea. Then you can give her a choice who's turn will be first (hers or yours) brushing her teeth. Let her have a turn brushing your teeth too. Turn it into a game and ignore the mess. My son is 4 and he still can't brush his teeth properly or at least not how his dentist expects him to brush them. I do let him play and brush for 5 min and than I do step in for my turn. With the years I've learned not to put his PJ before that, because it is always ending up with toothpaste and water on it. Good luck!

these really cute tooth brushes from avon that single twinkle twinkle little star for 3 minutes and flash blue light all the while . It's battery powered and it is mesmerizing and gives the time to the task. I'm impressed with the invention- It' worked for us until he said it was baby stuff.

Sugar bugs.
That's what we told our daughters were in there teeth. Sugar bugs that you have to get out of there.
One of my nieces hated to brush her teeth. But more than that she hated the witch on Snow White and my sister told her she would get witchie-poo teeth if she didn't brush.

i have a girl same age - make it fun i brush her hair while she does it - i let her do it whenever she wants i let her watchme do it over and over again and when all else fails - we hold her down and brush her teeth thoroughly.,....

It sounds like you've named off a few, but not sure you tried this one, a battery operated one of his favorite cartoon characteer.

Hi K.,

I would also suggest singing a song while doing it. "I am (Mommy) is going to brush your teeth just until Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is done." Kids love songs and they can be a great distraction.

Good Luck!

My little guy is almost 3 and that is about how it goes. He comes and brushes his teeth when I brush mine and some days he brushes and watches me and copies me and other days he just sucks on his tooth brush. When we first started I was just happy to get a few brushes in and according to many of my friends getting their teeth brushed everyday is an accomplishment.

My sister works as a dental asst. for a pediatric dentist, and at this age it is about instilling a habit. She also told me to try and floss my son's teeth (which I laughed at) but she said to get those flossing sticks and that if you can floss that is better than brushing their teeth because of all the sticky stuff they eat (fruit snacks, raisins, etc.)

Good Luck!
M.