Right, so how do I brush the teeth of an 18m who goes mental if anyone touches her toothbrush?

[notnowbernard]

Any tips gratefully received!

Bar wrestling her, I'm at a loss

[redadmiral]

Wrestle with her.

I've never worked out a better way to get their teeth cleaned, and as I don't want them to have a mouthful of teeth like mine, I have literally sat on them and done it while they screamed. They quickly gave in and let me do it...

Not really recommending it for others as it's pretty brutal

[JeremyVile]

DS has two brushes (one of which flashes, seems to help as a distraction) he has one and I have one. We usually end up with both in his mouth at the same time but with a bit of manouvering it gets the job done.

[ellideb]

I remember my mother used to make a game out of it, i was a little older than your daughter at the time so i don't know if this will help, but here goes; she used to pretend that each tooth was a member of the family or a family pet so she would say " Now lets brush Nana over here and this one here is Sooty (the cat), cousin steven is over here right at the back etc etc. Sounds strange but she made it into a game and it was fun! I used to ask her to brush my teeth because I wanted her to say names! I've heard of people having to pin their children down, at the end of the day, it's for their own good! but if you can make it into a game then even better! Good luck!

[duomonstermum]

DD (16mth) hates having her teeth brushed so i settle for her chewing on her brush( with toothpaste). my dentist says that's absolutely fine and not to get into a battle with her cos it'll make it harder in the long run. DS went through a phase like that and i got round him by having 2 brushes and taking turns ie he brushed then i brushed for him. he also liked it if i let him brush my teeth before i did his.

[Flibbertyjibbet]

DP gets our two's necks in an armlock and gets on with it...

[pofaced]

Only give her water or milk to drink and no sweets and let her poke about herself with a wet brush... over time you'll get to brush them but right now she probably doesn't eat anything that'll cause problems. If she doesn't like water, keep giving it to her: she'll get there!

PS Only use mint toothpaste - "strawberry" kids toothpaste only promotes having a "sweet tooth"!

[notnowbernard]

Ellideb -
When dd1 went through a phase of not wanting her teeth brushed I used to role-play 'dentists' (the lounge was the waiting room!) to get her more in the mood... she was about a year older than dd2 though!

Chewing on the brush is as good as it gets atm

Might have to be a 2-man job from now on...

[LuLuMacGloo]

Def try two toothbrushes - one for her, one for you. She brushes first then you 'check' (i.e brush) in a v dramatic manner with lots of examining your brush, holding it up to the light, looking for specks of biscuit and 'oooohhhh this one's clean...well done... now what about this one...' ad infinitum. Works for us. Feel for you - it's a nightmare.

[rookiemater]

Another vote for the wrestling. I'm fairly easy going with DS and try not to make too many battles for myself but both DH and I have rotten teeth and I want DS to have the best start he can. So basically managed to get him lying down using my legs wedged on either side, then waited until he got bored crying and put in toothbrush. First time was only for a few seconds, but we have built up from that, and now DS knows that its inevitable so he lets it happen and after a minute he gets to chew the toothbrush. Mind you he hates it when he is teething, so I don't push it then.

Oh another thing that might work, DS quite likes it when he can see his mouth so you could try it in front of a mirror.

[notnowbernard]

2 brushes a good idea

She only has water or milk

She doesn't mind the toothpaste, it's anyone else trying to brush that's the problem

She is often "treated" by well-meaning relatives who feel they can't leave her out of dd1's choc-fests

This probably needs to stop until normal brushing resumes, but how I will manage that scenario I don't know!

[glazedkremedonuts]

My ds is the same. I lie him down across my legs, get dd to hold his legs and pin his arms with one hand while I brush with the other. Once restrained he doesnt struggle and just bites the brush to stop me brushing but pretty much gives us. I dont like doing it, but dont cause him any pain, but I dont want him to suffer with pain at the dentist having teeth pulled and drilled.

Cant give mine the toothbrush as he tries to run off with it in hhis mouth. Cue images in my mind of him falling over and impaling himself on it.

dd just opened up and let me do it. Funny how different kids are!

[duomonstermum]

seriously though. my sister and i were the fighters and refused to let my mum brush our teeth. the more she pinned us down the less we cooperated till one day she let us get on with it. we got the works at the dentist then were shown all the decay pics.... uuuurrrggh brushed my teeth after that! my dentist (peds speciality) says that most of the kids she treats who hate the dentist don't associate tooth brushing with anything good so becomes a vicious cycle. the best thing you can do is try and make tooth brushing fun so that they'll enjoy it. and pinning them down def is not fun for anybody

[duomonstermum]

btw all my sibs and i have great teeth as does DS.

[sherby]

pretend to chase something round her mouth with the brush, DD loves faires or a crocodile

[glazedkremedonuts]

Not fun, but despite the stickers and the flashing toothbrushes, ,and choosing his own brush, the disney on the tv, the games and any efforts at all my 2 year old ds will scream and refuse and fight the toothbrush off and get himself very upset.

I feel he would be more upset if he had to have all his teeth pulled.

In an ideal world, yes pinning down a child to brush isnt nice. But pictures of decay mean nothing to an 18 month/two year old. And I am not willing to let their teeth go even slightly dirty. I wouldnt leave mine in that mess!

[notnowbernard]

There are some great ideas here, but she's 18m...

She wouldn't know what a fairy was if it came and bit her on the bum

[redadmiral]

Take your point Duo. I was just getting nowhere with any 'fun' options. Think the wrestling may not work for all children. Luckily my two are quite happy to brush their teeth now. (Though I still do DD1's after her attempt and she's nearly 9.)

Most of my teeth had fillings before I left home, due to sugary 70's diet, parents leaving me to brush my own teeth and enthusiastic school dentists, so I'm determined that I don't want that for my 2.

They have been to several different dentists and they are always surprised how clean their teeth are, even though I don't think I brush them amazingly well!

[saltire]

Well my DSes are 10 and 8 and it's still a battle to get them to clean their teeth!

[BoysOnToast]

ive had this with all of mine (4, 3 and 2 now)... was all gentle and persuasive with the PFB... got me no-where fast lol.
in the end there was an element of force im afraid...
currently, the 4yo opens up and is v good about it, the 3yo mostly like that, but sometimes more reluctant, and the 2yo is a bit screamy about it most of the time. thankfully we have had our first couple of brushes without drama in the last week - hurrah!

[peasoup]

Have you noticed that the Tombliboos (characters in the TV show "In the Night Garden") sometimes dance around brushing their teeth? My DS is obsessed with the show, as most toddlers are if they've seen it. I couldn't believe my luck when he came running into the kitchen yelling "Quick, Mummy, my toothbrush!". The tombliboos were dancing around brushing their teeth with their big pink and brown (or lime green and red or mauve and yellow-you can tell I'm a fan) toothbrushes and he wanted to join in. It's on every night at 6:25 so it's perfect fro teeth brushing but unfortunatelty the Tombliboos don't always brush their teeth in every episode (naughty Tombliboos!), so I'm kind of thinking I should get a DVD and play that little bit of the show every night. Apart from that, yes, we do alot of wrestling and pinning down. It also helps if Dh is there or Grandma or pa as I can tell him to show DH (or Gma or Gpa) how well he can brush his teeth and he runs off to show them. Hasn't quite got the hang of spitting the froth out yet though; does that matter? Not sure.

[BoysOnToast]

on last point, no i dont think it does peasoup. toothpaste esp for this age is specifically made so it doesnt matter if they eat the lot (the blob youre using, not the whole tube!) just keep encouraging the spitting and they'll catch on eventually.

[notnowbernard]

lol, have already reinacted the Tombliboos Teeth-brushing Dance many times, with VERY limited success! (Glad others are thinking along the same lines, though!)

Took the 2-man approach today

Dp arm-locking cuddling and me getting a good old brushing in by way of dd2's wailing

Have decided it's the way to go (esp considering this W/E sugar count)

[mamabear2b]

Had same fun and games with my LO.
I found if we had a toothbrush each and took it in turns to brush each other's teeth it became a great game

Needless to say my teeth have never been cleaner!