DS aged 2 won't brush his teeth and won't let me near his mouth

[bigspender30]

Any tips or hints o wise ones?

[Legoleia]

try a hand puppet?

[cory]

I used to have to do lots of playing and silly voices at this stage. There was Big Troll who lived in the bathroom and always intervened on dd's side- he couldn't see why anyone should have to wash or brush their hair because the birds don't mind if their nest is a bit untidy. So then I'd have to explain (in my normal voice) how little girls don't have birds' nests in their hair and so on... Dd used to love him.

There was a silly dentist too, but I can't remember what he did.

And I had a washing song about a bear that I used to sing when pinning ds down in the bath.

[GordonTheGopher]

I tickle ds until he's in hysterics then shove the brush in - gets me a few seconds!

[bubblagirl]

i used to let ds brush my teeth and id do his me on my knees at his level and both brushing each others teeth he used to think it was funny

[crokky]

my 2yo is the same!

[Shoegazer]

Agree with hand puppet - Pingu brushes my 2 yo DD's teeth and the flannel monster gives her a wash. We also sing the cbeebies toothbrush song.

[2point4kids]

My ds is nearly 3 and still wont let me. I thought it was something that had to be done n matter what though - i pin him down and do it with him screaming every other day

[EBenes]

I have this problem. Was just reading another thread, about 'does 20 month old understand consequence of don't eat dinner don't get pudding' or words to that effect, and I was interested because I've been trying a 'if you don't brush your teeth you don't get story and a dummy', which has NOT been working at ALL. I shall try with a puppet - she used to do it herself.

[Rosieglow]

My dd wouldn't let me brush at all when she was 2. She's a bit better at 2.5. Now we pretend I'm the dentist, she lies down (like in a dentists chair) & I pretend to see all the things that she's eaten during the day on her teeth - I can see ...rice pops, toast, raisins etc I think she gets distracted by remembering that she has eaten those things & I get a few brushes done.

The novelty is starting to wear off though and so I need to think of something else!

[jellybrain]

If its any help my dentist told me not to worry too much about teeth cleaning at this age let them waggle the brush around their mouth but don't beat yourself up if they don't let you do it properly. Apparently its more important that they have agood diet which basically means not too much sugary stuff ,sweets, juice etc. Not sure how wise this is but, he has lovely teeth and none of mine (eldest is 11) have ever had any cavities.

[elmoandella]

we tried all sorts of games, fancy toothbrushes. nothing worked.

i resorted to pining him down and doing it.

now he's able to spit he can't wait to do it so he can spit at the end.

boys!

[Flibbertyjibbet]

DP gets ds2 in an armlock...

DS1 likes brushing his teeth. doesn't do it properly himself so we end up having to pin him down as well.

THey don't eat much sugar or sweet things but I think its important to get the message across that it has to be done and done properly, every day.

[sweetgrapes]

Pin him down and do it for a few minutes or as long as I can.
Then put some more toothpase on and let him chew brush.
So it ends happily!!

[Bronze]

DD had two brushes. I let her have one to chew on/ potter around with at bedtime. It seems to have helped make the one I wield less scary.

[fondant4000]

If we all clean our teeth together then dd2 (20 months) will often shove the brush in her own mouth. She's not keen generally tho' - won't let me near her.

If she refuses I clean her teeth with a flannel and a bit of toothpaste - as she like sucking on flannnels and I figure it's got a bit of roughness to clean a bit. My main aim is to get a bit of toothpaste washing around in there.

[EBenes]

I don't want to pin her down because I don't want to associate it with a bad thing - maybe this kind of wussiness is going to come back and haunt me when she is 10 and toothless. The way I did it tonight was come in with my own little electric toothbrush - you know, the ones that look like toothbrushes, not fancy ones with fat handles - and start brushing my own teeth. Then she demanded it, and I washed and gave it to her with her swallowable toothpaste on it. I may just have to get her her own giant toothbrush, but when she plays ball with her little one, she goes right in the back, which she won't with the giant one. So I'd rather she used her own.

[dylsmum1998]

has you r dc got all teeth, my dd,2yrs, lets me brush her teeth unless she has a tooth coming?
i also play silly games sometimes to make her laugh and open her mouth

[ExterminAitch]

i pinned dd down for a while, not nice, but necessary imo. we got her an electric toothbrush (at 2 and a bit, against maufacturer's instructions) and that helped a lot. agree spitting makes a difference, she loves that now. and pointing out horses with black teeth helps.

[Tippychick]

Keep trying. My dd aged 22 months has the beginning of caries on her front 4 teeth (others are 100% fine). She has always had a good diet and as much teeth cleaning as I could manage, it obviously wasn't good enough though. Our dentist puts the damage down to a combination of factors including diluted fruit juice in sippy cups ( not excessive amounts by any means), genetics ( her Dad has terrible teeth) and night feeds while BF but still, it upset me greatly. Since I saw the first mark I bought an electric toothbrush for kids, higher fluoride paste and if I have to have her on my knee and partly restrained then that's what I do to get them brushed properly. It's the bit right up by the gumline that is easy to miss on a cursory brush or if they do it themselves and that's where DD has the beginnings of decay.

And yes, I have brushed from aged 7 months, tried singing songs, stories, letting her brush mine etc. In fact I thought I was doing everything right until I saw those marks, not so smug now. So please, keep brushing - don't wait till they're old enough to turn it into a game or use star charts etc.

[rookiemater]

Gosh Tippychick, I must try and get into Ds mouth to check for any problems.

Like Aitch We bought DS (aged 26mths) an electric tooth brush a couple of months ago, it has helped as he tends to enjoy it and lets me get in there for the odd 5 seconds or so. Very wearing though....

[Tippychick]

It's horrible rookie and I read all the posts of people on other threads who say "oh we never brush, they're only milk teeth" or I see people giving their children fruit shoots and coke and wonder exactly what I did so wrong. And I'm serious, I always brushed even when she only had the beginnings of teeth, only a one minute flash round but still a brush. She's had juice but not in mad amounts, never had sweets, only occasional chocolate and I'm really strict on her diet.

According to the dentist it's really not uncommon even at her age to see quite advanced decay - luckily hers is only a few plaque like marks that can be corrected when she's older. And it won't affect her adult teeth - it's just cosmetic. But decay left untreated can affect the new teeth coming in, as can too much fluoride on the other end of things. So I would say that brushing by any means is the way to go.

Another dental hygienist told me though that I could have caused damage by brushing straight after juice and fruit - as I did. You should leave it an hour or give cheese or milk to stop the acid otherwise you're brushing away enamel. That's what I was told anyway, not sure of the science behind that one.

[ExterminAitch]

it's a shame, tippy... thank goodess you get a second set. i spoke to a dentist who advises the govt and he said to put them in a headlock if necessary, that people don't say 'oh i just don't want my child to associate running out in front of cars with bad feelings'. some stuff is just important.

[mammabelleboo]

My dd is 2.9 - Oh, the burden of trying to ensure your children's teeth are clean!! You know how important it is, regardless of the fact that they get a 2nd set, you don't want them to end up with any rotten teeth and it's down to you!! They are no way near responsible enough to understand the importance of cleaning their teeth so on your shoulders be it!! It's not that my dd won't let me clean her teeth - she won't open her mouth and clamps her teeth round the brush so you can't get a good brushing action going! Took her to the dentist yesterday, was worried as the top 1/4 of her front teeth are looking a bit discoloured - he confirmed this, but dismissed it as nothing to worry about ...but feel mortified that I haven't done enough to keep them clean despite mammouth efforts. It's one of the hardest things!! She won't drink water and I guess the discolouration is down to the juice she drinks, although i always dilute it, just feel sad that they aren't completely pearly white