Teeth-Brushing Battle

Hi C.,
Like Jewel said, we sing a song (I actually learned it from my mom...she works at a dentist office and it works wonders with the kids) This song also teaches the correct way to brush your teeth...."up like a rocket, down like the rain, round and round like a choo-choo train." We sing it over and over. My daughter is 3 1/2 and we had some battles in the beginning, but now we don't have too many issues. I hope it gets better. Good luck!

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Hi C.,
I too had that problem with my now 5 year old. What I did, which really worked well, was I made up a song about brushing your teeth to the melody of "row, row, row your boat" It went like this, "brush brush brush your teeth, every single day, merily, merily, merily, merily, brush those bugs away." I'd sing it 2-3 times. You can make up your own words. She really loved it and for the first few times kept laughing, because it was so silly. I also used it with my now 3 year old, who also loved it.
I also let them brush their teeth in the morning, and I would brush their teeth at night. Even when they were brushing their teeth, they would sing the song.
Good luck!
K.

We also struggle with our 16 month old to brush her teeth. Lately the only thing that works is letting her watch Elmo while I brush. It has gotten to the point that when I tell her it's time to brush her teeth she goes running to the tv and says Elmo. Hey, at least it works! Hang in there.

Hi C.. Because he's 18 months that might happen. I recommend that meanwhile you can take a soft cloth with a pinch of toothpaste and with your fingers brush his teeth with it. Still try the toothbrush, but if he still regect it then you have the option of the cloth. You can even do it when he's asleep if he give you a hard time with the cloth. Remember to put just a small pinch of toothpaste for the abrassion. As far as the fluoride, the tap water here in the Grand Rapids area has fluoride. I hope this works.

I made a game out of brushing my sons teeth, we had some difficulty with it. I brushed with him and whoever took the longest won a treat the next day, either an extra cookie, or spending ten extra minutes at the park for a great job brushing his teeth. He's thirteen now and every onec in a while brings out his brush and asks do you wanna race? I am so glad he remembers the game, it always brings back fond memories. Good luck Jenn K

I always pretended that his friends were in his mouth and they wanted to come out and play. I would let my boys brush their teeth first for a few minutes and then I would take over by saying that I think one of his friends was in his mouth and he/she wanted to come out and play. I would say things like "oh, my goodness, I think someone is hiding in your mouth. I wonder who it could be - it's Johnny. Johnny, what are you doing inside Eric's mouth. I can see you back there. Do you want to come out and play?" I would do this for as long as was necessary. I would make up many stories about what they were doing in there and my boys were always eager to know who was hiding in there every day. It worked every time! Good Luck!

Hi C.,

I tried using force with my son at that age, but that got exhausting. My doctor told me to try using a wash cloth until he gets more cooperative with me brushing them. I also say to him, "Noah, you can brush first, then mommy." Also, I tried having him brush my teeth first, and then I'd say it was my turn to brush his teeth. He liked the idea that he got to brush my teeth! Hope it gets better for you!

J.

The battle is worth it in the long run first off. I like alot of these suggestions, hopefully you'll find something that works. I'm a dental assistant for a pediatric dentist, so, I say no matter what, don't give up on it. I'm still looking and trying anything that will work with my grandson, who's 3 1/2 now. He does great brushing his own teeth, but as soon as I go near them, its a fight. Of course, when he brushes his own teeth, he isn't hitting hardly any of his teeth, so letting him be the only one isn't an option, its still a nightly battle, but, worth the fight. I dont' want him in my dental chair. Good luck.

My daughter is now 16 months. We started out with the little finger brush that I slid over my finger. I recently bought a regular little toothbrush for her and she LOVES it. She follows me in the bathroom so she has watched me brush my own for awhile. She throws a fit when its time to put the toothbrush away. I hope little Jacob becomes a fan with the toothbrush soon :)

I have the same battle. Now we moved the toothbrushing station to Mommy and Daddy's bathroom so it is special and she has Mommy's stool to stand on. Also, I brush my teeth with her so that we both do it at the same time, and then I let her brush my teeth while I brush hers. If they are sucking the toothpaste off, you want to make sure that you don't have a flouride toothpaste, it can cause flourosis(discolored lines) on the adult teeth as they are forming, and you want know it until the adult teeth come in. There are some non floride toothpastes out there for kids, check with your dentist, and get your water tested, if you have well water, you might not have enough flouride in it and this may be okay, but if you have city water, kids can get too much.

we made up a song.....do you know the hurry hurry drive the firetruck tune??? well we switched it to Hurry hurry brush your teeth now, (repeat 2 times)ding ding ding ding ding.Hurry hurry do the top molars (repeat 2 times)ding ding ding ding ding. Hurry hurry do the bottom molars (repeat 2 times)ding ding ding ding ding. Hurry hurry do the top teeth (repeat 2 times)ding ding ding ding ding. Hurry hurry do the bottom teeth (repeat 2 times)ding ding ding ding ding. Hurry hurry do the top teeth (repeat 2 times)ding ding ding ding ding. Hurry hurry do the front teeth (repeat 2 times)ding ding ding ding ding.
I do them first then let my son's do it again to see if they can do it better then me while i sing it...I made it a game and all of us were happy!

How about just using water? Our pediatrician and my dental hygenist said to just use water at this point and worry about toothpast later. Our daughter is 19months old. she loves chewing on her toothbrush. It's very hard to actually brush her teeth, but I try and she chews on it. that's going to have to be good enough for now.

Pick a routine and stick with it. My daughter is 2 1/2 and wants to brush hers herself now. We've changed the rule a bit about brushing now (from when she was 18 months)... she brushes them first, I brush them second. Our dentist talked to her about "Sugar bugs," which really seemed to help, too. She also got a fancy toothbrush like Mom and Dad (with a battery).

My son is 2 1/2 and we still battle daily. He is better with the electric Elmo toothbrush than anything else. We make it be mommy's turn first and I do the best I can and then it is his turn. He is better than he used to be, but it is still a battle that tires me out! Good luck!

Hi C.,

My son is 2 and we battle every morning and every night. I bought the electric power Diego brush and we are starting to turn a corner but he sucks off the toothpaste as well and says "All Done" So, I then I take over and the battle begins. Maybe if we are consistent, the battle will end peacefully. (fingers crossed) Good luck to you!

Try getting an extra toothbrush for him to hold while you brush his teeth. Or getting him an little mirror so he can watch what you are doing in there. Good luck!

I have the same thing with my 21 month old.

Try this. Brush your teeth together with your child. Have your child brush your teeth (I know its messy...wear a junky shirt to do this) and then YOU brush THEIR teeth.

Also have your child sit on the counter (if you have a vanity) with you as you brush your teeth. They want to mimic.

Tactic. As you are brushing your teeth, if he/she wants to sit on the counter, say you can only sit when you are brushing your teeth.

Good luck!

I have the same problem with my 2 year old. I usually have to force it on her. I even tell her she can do it herself but she hates it. I think their teeth are very sensitive. What you can do is brush your teeth in front of him and then say "It's your turn" and let him try it or do it for you. I am not sure what else would help.

C.,
Have you tried letting him brush your teeth with your toothbrush while you brush his? That is what we do with my now almost 20 month old son when he is being particularly difficult and it seems to work pretty well. He's so busy focusing on brushing mine or my husband's teeth that he hardly pays attention to the fact that we are brushing his! Hope this helps!
K. :)

C.,
Don't be discouraged, it is just a phase. I have 5 boys and the youngest is 16 months.
Usually I do the initial brushing of the child when they are in this stage. Just a quick once over all the teeth. The key is to keep it quick. Then the adult who is helping just hands over the toothbrush to the child and we start brushing our own teeth with our own toothbrush. The child is encouraged to hang around and brush thier own teeth too. Since I know I've already gone over them and the toothpaste is all used up, chewing on the toothbrush is fine. After all its a learning experience.
We also make sure to talk about those "tooth beavers" that get in there and can eat holes in teeth! We don't want any mean ol' nasty tooth beavers in there! We fight those tooth beavers with our toothbrush. I know it sounds corny but it seems to catch their interest and gives a purpose to the whole brushing job. Anyway know that he will grow past this. Good luck!

I have found it better to make sure he understands what I will be doing and where. Doing it in sections works best for my 2-year old. I sit him on the counter and point to the place where I am going to brush. I will touch his cheek and tell him I need to do the bottom left side then coax him to open his mouth just to do that section. I keep at it until that section gets brushed. He will bite the brush and it is not always easy, but once that portion is done, I praise him and move on to the bottom right. If he is really fighting it I will sit down and cradle him for the process. I have also found that if we get ready for bed, rock for a little bit until he is nice and relaxed that sometimes he will continue laying in my arms and let me brush away.

We have had lots of battles in the past and it has taken a while for our little guy to accept this as part of his nighttime and morning routine. We have also made a point to show him mommy and daddy brushing our teeth every morning, we let him hold a toothbrush when we are brushing him teeth. We have ton of extra toothbrushes and let him play with them in hopes that he would get used to them being part of his daily routine.

As hard as it is, keep up the effort and he will eventaully get used to it. I hope you find something that works for both of you soon! Good luck and congratulations on your growing family.

My son is 4 and has just recently had dental surgery due to being premature. He will not let us near his mouth. We are using something called "Clean & Fresh". They are made by CVS. They are paper things you stick on your finger and it cleans their teeth. His dentist said these are fine as long as he is using something. My son calls them "minty fresh" and loves them. He does it himself which makes him a big boy. Its worth a try. They are $1.99 for 10. Good luck.

I did not read all the posts so forgive me if I am repeating. Hsve you thought about taking him shopping for a special toothbrush? Make a big deal about the fact that he is a big boy and he can choose his very own brush and toothpaste. Just a thought, good luck!!!

My son will be two next week and we still battle. We have switched back to the soft rubber brush that fits on your finger. I brush softly and that seems to help as I was wondering if it was hurting him. He does much better with that. He even started to use it himself (with us watching because I do not want him to choke on it). Some days are better than others.

Good luck

we did a sticker chart for both of our boys at that age. we got stickers they really liked and that helped a ton.

at this age, they really aren't able to brush their own teeth at all. I think every child goes thru a phase where you just have to hold them down and do it. I held my kids in a cradled position- and it seemed to be the best to get the job done..in a couple of months they were over that stage and actually wanted to brush their teeth- we only awarded stickers when they were cooperative- not when we had a knock down drag out to brush teeth!