My 11 Month Old Refuses to Let Me Brush Her Teeth!! What Do I Do?

My kids and I did a trade. I let them "brush" my teeth and I got to really brush theirs. We also played games where they had to get the zoo out of their mouth and if they missed a monkey or a zebra (which they always did) I had to get it out before they went to bed.
now that my kids are older, they still get "inspections" before bed brush. Morning brush they do completely on t heir own, night time, I still inspect and look for monkeys.
hope that helps a little bit!

Let her hold the brush, guide her hand and do it together. Or just get a second toothbrush for her to hold and try with while you brush with the first one.

My boyfriend's little girl was the same way! We let her brush her own teeth the same time we were brushing ours. Since she was in the mimicking stage, she tried to brush hers the same way we were brushing ours...it's better than nothing!

With my son the Firefly toothbrush helped solve the problem. You can get them anywhere - Walmart, Target, Walgreens..two for $1. You squeeze the bottom and they light up and blink. They blink for one minute to teach kids how long to brush. My button obsessed baby would tolerate tooth brushing if HE got to turn it on. You can't turn them off, but if he started to fight I would take it and say it would be turned off (I had a plain jane toothbrush in my back pocket) and would show the toothbrush "turned off". Switch them and let him turn it back on...it was a lot of work, but I was tired of having to pin him down. By the time he discovered my ruse, he was more used to having to brush his teeth. The next problem we had was that he would bite and chew on the toothbrush, so we got a spin brush. It was harder to chew when it was spinning. And that one does have an on-off switch :)

Now my daughter (who turns 2 this week), wouldn't fall for the firefly and really didn't care about the flashing light after about a day. With her I started off with two toothbrushes...one for her to hold and do it herself (she kept yelling "I do" while I tried to brush her teeth) and one for me to get in there and brush really well. It was a little tricky with both toothbrushes in her mouth and she fought it a little bit, but it worked. Then that routine has morphed in to us both saying "Ahh" and she brushes my teeth while I get hers done. And now I brush first and then she gets to do it herself. With her, she just wants to do it on her own. It's still not ideal...but again, it beats pinning her to the couch. My BIL is our dentist, even he was baffled on how to get the kids to cooperate.

My son was the same way, but his problem was the he was constantly teething so brushing his teeth was just painful. Then, at the suggestion of my sister, I bought an electric tooth brush which helped immensely because i was able to get in a good toothbrushing without taking too much time.

I brushed my daughter's teeth while she was asleep (I waited until she was in deep sleep). She rarely woke up. Same with cutting nails.

I let my son hold the bigger toothbrush and I go in with the finger tooth brush. We take turns. If you put a bit of the toddler toothpaste on "your" toothbrush your daughter may let you in with it. Plus, I use two different looking kinds and he isn't interested in mine.

Good luck!

We used two toothbrushes. One for my son to use and one for me to use at the same time. It kept him occupied/distracted and I was able to work around "his" toothbrush to clean fairly well. I also would try singing songs and making faces that he will mimic to get him to open up. Keep it up! The more you do it the more she will get used to it and it will soon become part of your routine.

Make it fun. I brush my teeth and make faces while she does her own. She likes to try to copy me. Make sure she drinks some water before or after to rinse any food debris. Don't make it a power struggle. She's not going to get cavities unless as people said below, she's drinking a lot of soda or juice, or eating candy. I'm not sure why you've already been to the dentist twice, that's excessive: he is just trying to make money off you. We might go when she's got more teeth than 8 and around age 2. Those baby toothpastes are mostly sugar. Our pediatrician said it's enough to just use water to avoid any possibility of the toothpaste being detrimental, and of course you wouldn't use adult toothpaste because the fluoride is not safe if she swallowed it. Make it fun and be consistent and she will start to like it!

She's 11 months old, relax. Just think when she's a 3 year old and refuses to brush. Save your energy for the fighting then. If she senses you're stressed about it, then she's not going to want any part of it.....as long as you wipe them quickly with a washcloth every so often and avoid most bad foods/drinks, her teeth will be just fine. My daughter is 11 months and has 4 teeth and if I tried to stick a toothbrush in her mouth she'd gag and protest too.
Lynsey

well thats when u help her try to brush her teeth even if she dont like it make her go through with it she'll eventually stop being a pistal

Once the crying started, I used to lie her on the floor and brush her teeth. She never clamped her mouth shut, so I was able to brush them while she cried. She would swing her head from side to side, so I used to hold her head with my knees/thighs. We battled for about two weeks and then she started letting me do it without the fight.

My neighbor works for a dentist and she busted me on not flossing her teeth. I the floss sticks and we have started a good regimen on flossing too. Now if I can just get her to quit sucking her thumb before he front teeth fall out, maybe she will have a perfect little mouth.

i am sorry. my daughter was like that as well. you can try different cute toothbrushes, try reading a book while someone else brushes, or let her brush yours while you do hers. im not sure if those things would matter at 11 months.

in reality for me, nothing worked so we had to hold her down. actually, when she would start crying, it was so much easier to brush. we hated doing it, but would hate more for her to have cavities. please do whatever you have to. my kids have no cavities, but everytime i go to the dentist, there are tons of 2 year olds getting fillings! one thing completely separate is dont give your daughter juice. if she never has it, she will never ask for it.

one thing you might want to try, every night go through the brushing routine, no matter how it plays out. on the nights when you didnt get a good brushing, go back and do it once she is asleep. that way you are still teaching her to do, and then are actually getting a chance to do it correctly.
although after i brush, they brush their own teeth, i personally wouldnt let a child brush their own teeth solely. my sister and SIL both did it thinking their 3 year olds were capable, and all the kids have tons of cavities. they just arent capable of doing a thorough brushing at a young age. the dentist actually told me that children under 6 really cant get everywhere.

all of a sudden, my daughter was fine. it was just like that, and she was fine ever since. i do agree to get the rotating ones for now, the brush does most of the work so its just easier. good luck.

She has 8 teeth and you are fighting with her to brush? Sure should get in the habit of brushing, but it should not be an unpleasant experience. Let her do it herself while you are brushing yours. If you limit sticky sweet snacks (lollipops, fruit snacks etc.) and juices she wont need to have her teeth brushed. Never give her anything but water at bedtime either. If you give her juice or milk in bed all the brushing you do is undone.
I raised 6 children and NEVER brushed their teeth until age 4, at which time they brushed their own. We went to the dentist regularly and none of them EVER had a cavity. And no its not genetics, because 4 of them are adopted. What they eat and drink is more important than brushing. We never had soda in the house. Soda will ruin teeth faster than anything.

Let her do it "herself" then take the brush and tell her you're gonna look for dinos, princesses, Elmo--whatever she's into.....say "Uh-oh! I think I see Elmo rigggghhht back here......let me tickle HIM, and who's over here....?" Make it a game. It's all about deception! LOL

I let my son 'brush' his own teeth while sitting on the bathroom counter, wrapped in a towel, while I brush my teeth... Before I'm done, he's usually already playing in the water. I will ask him when I'm finished with my teeth, if I can look at his and ask for his toothbrush so I can help him get some spots he's missed. We've been doing this since he was about 10mos old. We do use a fluoride free toothpaste made specifically for toddlers that will swallow it.

And besides... those are baby teeth that will fall out anyways. My dentist said that if he's getting the hang of it, even a little, that's what matters. Getting him used to it and doing a routine.

But he lets me 'get the spots he missed' after he's done. We make a game of it.

Have you tried brushing your teeth together?

Buy two toothbrushes. Show them both to her - she'll grab one. Never too early to let her start making decisions of her own. Put a little water on hers, and then let her hold it while you brush her teeth with the other one. She might just like to hold it. If needs be, you can take turns - she play brushes, and then you brush for real, but she still gets to hold one while you are brushing. The $2.50 or whatever for another bright, colorful character toothbrush, for us was worth it to avoid the nightly fight.