advice please for cleaning dd (15 mths) teeth.

[mommie]

when she sees the brush, her mouth is clamped shut and i have a horror of her getting wizened teeth by the time she is 2 cos she loves fromage frais, apple juice etc etc. any good tips for making toothbrush time a bit of fun (for mum and baby

[lazycow]

Watching thread with interest as have exactly the same problem with my 14 month old ds. He loves his food and snacks a lot - yet clamps his mouth shut when brushing. Sorry I don't have any tips - I usually end up with a screaming ds and holding him down. this is not the best solution and I dread it so I generally only do it once a day. I know you're supposed to do two - bad mummy

[lunavix]

We sing 'this is the way we brush our teeth, brush our teeth, brush our teeth....' always worked for ds.

Now he's 22 months he loves brushing teeth (we've just stopped singing!) and either he starts or finishes the brushing, me or dh do the middle bit (less chewing more scrubbing!)

[mommie]

good idea lunavix...will start with that

[QE2]

Any attempt at me helping ds3 to brush his teeth resulted in a major strop every time. So in the end I gave up and just let him play with it. He was nearly 2 when he wanted to actually clean them. He is 3 now and has lovely teeth.

I wouldn't get into a battle over it.

[kbaby]

I take the bad mummy approach and sing any song while quickly try and get around all teeth in a 20 second frenzy.
Shes learnt over the past few months that she has to open her mouth but now tries to push it out with her tounge.

[Angeliz]

Reverse psychology.
Let her mis a day and say you'll start again when she's a bit older as you think that maybe toothbrusehes aren't for very little girls and you think maybe she's right and you should wait. Bet she's asking you for it soon!

(If it doesn't work in a few days of course then change tactic)

[mabel1973]

don't know if this helps but i don't attempt to clean DS's teeth I let him do it himself (after a fashion) and I clean mine at the same time, so it makes him feel grown up and he can copy what I do.
We also do it in the bath sometimes, which makes it more fun, as he really enjoys his bath. He is 14 months

[jamiesam]

Bad mummy approach - use the handle of another toothbrush to force ds's mouth open, then you can brush sorry, but he doesn't seem to hold it against me.

Better mummy approach - tell him about all the food that he's eaten that day (or week) that you can see in his mouth/on his teeth - mine have loved that.

Top tip - not sure what age you can start, but we got ds's electric toothbrushes last summer when ds1 had his first filling (and other three back teeth pretty much condemned ). They were 4 and 2 then. They both have a bit of a go and then we brush for two mins.

[hovely]

doing giant lion roars (her not you!)
let mummy count your teeth whilst she counts yours
read a book about dentist and take dd/ds with you then say dentist will want to check your teeth and say 'well done dd,ds for cleaning them

[beansprout]

We have gone for the copying option which has gone ok.
Also, ds responds differently depending on where he is - he wants to take the toothbrush if he is sitting on my lap but will let me brush them if he is standing on the floor so it may be worth trying different places?

[mazzystar]

let her clean yours too?
electric toothbrush works a treat in this house, is somuch more exciting than an ordinary one
let her do it herself
in the meantime ditch the fromage frais and apple juice, stick to water and unsweetened yoghurt, fruit only at mealtimes?

[7777777]

my ds begs for a toothbrush when he sees me cleaning mine and sits and chews it for ages, only has 6 teeth but loves toothpaste. im hoping he'l carry on with his love of when it comes to proper brushing

[TishTash]

Sounds silly but worked for me and a friend - ask them who they want to brush their for - friend, auntie, nanny - got through the whole family! - worth a try...