Brushing Teeth - Corona, CA

Hi there. It's tough getting a 14 month-old excited about brushing his teeth...I know my 2nd is the same age. I sing "itsy bitsy spider", as I brush his teeth and he loves it.. It worked for my first born, too. Try singin him a fun song...Good luck and don't worry he'll catch on.

Nothing to get super excited about, chewing on the brush is the best part! LOL I started really young so my kids would get used to the toothbrush so this wasn't really too big of an issue, although when my son wanted to knaw on the brush, I'd tell him, "Mommy is going to get all the sugar bugs first, then it is your turn" I'd let him have his turn/chew on the brush while I finished getting his jammies on. You will want to be the one doing the actually cleaning until age 5 or so, so get in the habit of doing the first sweep, then let him "finish". Stay consistent (brush morning and night if you can) and it will become easy. With both of mine, I'd say, OK, time to brush your teeth to remove the sugar bugs! I would either sing the A,B,C's two times or mention all the things he/she ate that day, OK, we had mac and cheese, let's get the sugar bugs, oh, is that a piece of carrot I see in there? Let's get it... and so on!

In regards to flossing: once the teeth are touching, you'll want to floss. Start this early too, even if it is just a quick little sweep. Getting him used to it now will not only make it easier when you have to do all teeth but will set him up to have great dental habits!

M.

I got my son the same flashing toothbrush, and we would brush our teeth together, morning and night. He liked spending the extra time, and felt like a "big boy". And I also got him toothpaste with his all time favorite movie-CARS!

Until my two sons were about 3, brushing teeth was a struggle. I consistently brushed, even if they struggled. After a while, they just knew they would need to brush their teeth and went along.

I tried these tactics:
I'd dance around and say the tooth brush fairy is here to save his teeth.
I'd count to ten on each part of his mouth so he knew it was ending soon.
I'd sing the ABCs so he knew it was ending soon.
I'd explain that if we don't, his mouth will become very sore and owie.
Let him choose the toothpaste and put it on the brush, "ok, which toothpaste do you want?" It started the wheels turning to brush teeth.

My sons are now 6 and 4. We both floss and brush with no fuss.

There were days when I would need to pin down the wiggling child and they'd cry. However, ever notice how easy it is to brush the teeth when the child's mouth is open in a full cry? I do not believe this is mean. He is not hurt. Just frustrated that he didn't get his way.

Poor oral hygiene can lead to many health problems. My brother-in-law is a dentist. :-)

A few things that helped with my son....the tooth paste for kids that is safe to swallow. It tastes great. My son gets to brush and then we put the paste on it and we get to brush them for him. The other thing that helped us was we let our son brush our teeth while we brushed his. It takes his concentration off his teeth and on yours!

I let my dude see me put the toddler tooth paste on. We brush while he's in the bath tub. Which is a fun environment for him. Also, after I have brushed, I hand it to him and let him have a try.

Sounds like you're doing great all by yourself. A toothbrush that lights up? Heck....I would think,he'd spend every few hours brushing, with a gizmo like that! lol You may have given all the young mothers here One Great idea! You know....The dentist says...flossing is even more important than brushing. Your son may be a little young yet to learn how to use it properly,but that is the area,our brushes miss,and thats where food collects and where we get our cavities.Your on the right track A..Good luck to you.

Kinda might sound a little dumb but maybe try having him watch you get ready in the morning when you are brushing your teeth, and doing some kind of song and dance with it? Make it fun and maybe he will catch on? And maybe not try to force it?

I brush and floss my kid's (2,4,6) teeth at night and they "brush" in the morning. They've been seeing a pediatric dentist since age 6 months and have always had great checkups even though I was worried that they were only really getting one good brushing per day. I lay my kids in my lap to brush their teeth and I bought those little individual flossers. Don't try regular floss, it's impossible to get in there. As for making it fun, I saw on Super Nanny that she gave the kids their own little mirror that can stand on a table and had the kid watch themselves as they brush. I've been meaning to try this in hopes that they'll do a better job themselves.

I pretend Im the dentist and invite her to sit or lay down so I could get all the sugar bugs and then I get really silly and animinated and say what I see in her mouth like"Oh there is all that corn you had for dinner, oooo i see a carrot, let me get that. We want your teeth to stay white so the sugar buggs dont turn them brown/black. It usually works along with cool toothpast and brush and really inviting her into my dentist office, sometimes I even where a special wig or hat to get her attention and it works. I had the real dentist talk to her and she got it....