How do I clean my 10m olds teeth?

[Anticyclone]

10 mo DS has 6 teeth in various states of emergence that have appeared over the last month.

Started trying clean them but he is having absolutely none of it. He's had his toothbrush for a while now and is happy to play with it and chew it. But as soon as I try and put it in his mouth, he clamps it shut and turns his head away, and if I try and persist it ends up in a bit of a meltdown.

It bit of me is wondering if this is being made harder by the fact we don't spoon feed him, and now he won't tolerate anything heading towards his mouth that he's not in control of.

I've tried brushing my own teeth too, to try and make him want to copy, but that doesn't help.

I'm not even attempting toothpaste yet as I tried that once with an even worse reaction!

Any ideas? How important is it to clean their emergent teeth at this age?

[RobotHamster]

He'll get better. Brushing your teeth at the same time will make him want to copy you at some point.

My dentist said it's important to get fluoride on their teeth, so even rubbing teeth with your finger, or letting him to chew his toothbrush with some toothpaste on is fine at this age I think.

[RobotHamster]

Try different toothpaste too. The milder applemint or fruit flavours might go down a bit better

[MadgeMak]

My dentist told me that so long as they don't eat lots of sugary food then teeth cleaning is less important. Just let him chew on it and keep periodically trying to clean them.

[teacupnic]

What kind of toothbrush are you using? My son hated one that we bought but tolerated the type that goes over a parent's finger. Agree with the suggestion of different toothpaste too DS likes a banana flavoured one. Ugh!

[Anticyclone]

Thanks, I'll def try a new toothpaste. Also we don't give him anything sugary and he's BF. Hopefully that meets we don't need to overly worry about getting too regimented about teeth cleaning just yet.

[RowRowRowCrocodileScream]

We found this (m.boots.com/h5/cat_hub?unCountry=uk&path=/en/Brush-Baby-Soft-Chewable-Toothbrush-10-36-Months-_1305081/) chewable toothbrush really good for our DS when he was (and still is!) being uncooperative about tooth brushing. It's more about getting a routine o brushing established. IME success is hit and miss at this stage.

[hazeyjane]

My dentist told me that so long as they don't eat lots of sugary food then teeth cleaning is less important. Just let him chew on it and keep periodically trying to clean them.

I find this bizarre - it goes against the advice of both of our dentists, who say that as soon as they have teeth they need to be brushed.

Ds was very difficult with tooth brushing, I used to wrap him in a towel and lay him across my lap, to brush. It was and is non negotiable.

[Buglife]

I have a 10 month old too, we clean his two teeth with a small silicone finger brush that goes on my finger, and I do it in the bath or when he's getting dressed for bed. I just started with the opinion that cleaning teeth is non negatiobke and important so it's getting done. Fruit is very sugary so although I don't give him sugary things he eats loads of fruit. I'd look at ways of getting it done rather than just think you don't have to, because you'll have to very soon anyway. I do a whole "what's in your mouth? Beep beep let me look" ridiculous show to get in his mouth :) he loves to chew though so he likes to chew and then I rub his bottom gum with the silicone thing. I think it must feel nice because he smiles and tolerates it for a few seconds while I scrub! He also has never let me spoon feed him and has an aversion to people putting thins in his mouth. I see it like suntan lotion application and dressing him for bed, two things he nearly always goes apeshit over but need to be done so he has to deal!

[Cuckoo82]

I try to make a game out of my little girl opening her mouth by opening mine really wide too, then I brush hers as fast as I can then give her the brush just as she's starting to get annoyed! I also try to get her to brush my teeth with her brush (not proprperly, just poking my mouth with the brush really) and basically make the whole thing as fun as possible. On the days where she's not having any of it I sometimes do resort to the towl method mentioned above! She's 14 months and it is getting a bit easier now.

[Anticyclone]

Thanks again, lots to think about. We do just use a normal toothbrush, so I'll def have a look at the chewable and finger mounted options.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

I used to wrap ds in a towel and sit him on my lap, we had various tooth brushing songs too

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Oh yes and first toothbrush was one that went over my finger.

[MadgeMak]

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/looking-after-your-infants-teeth.aspx

[squizita]

Another vote for finger toothbrush!

I am an opportunist. I pounce at some point after tea when she wants to chew a toy, and she "chews" the rubbery tooth brush into her teeth and gums.
I alternate fingers cause she has chops of steel!