Toddler and teeth brushing

Agree with other PP's about gentle force if necessary. DS used to hate brushing his teeth so I would gently do it for him, he's nearly 7 now and brags about how nice his teeth are from keeping them clean 😅

I know someone whose 3 year old has black front teeth because he refuses to brush and she wont make him. Its vile and I judge her harshly for it.

I cant think of the name but you can buy tablets that turn your teeth pink from all the nasty on them and mine absolutely love brushing away all the germs

I also used to let the kids come downstairs and watch TV whilst brushing their teeth, ended up taking a lot longer as theyd be distracted but it got the job done and they felt like they got a good deal because they got to stay up an extra 10 mins or so

There's lots of 2 minute long clips of Duggee on YouTube, so when the toothbrush song stopped working we switched to choosing one of those each time. If they (3 and nearly 5 year old)refuse to hold still for that then it's hold down and brush. Carrot and stick both.

Light up toothbrush, brush teeth in the dark and in front of a mirror.

Lots of "say ahhhhh" "what do you say if you see a crocodile?" then scream ahhhh together, over and over and over.

You need to start being consistent with it now or it will just get harder. Even at 18 months they can generally understand many things, so if they don't brush their teeth properly they only get one book before bed not two.

Teeth brushing is a non negotiable for us. Each of our three children hated it as toddlers but they soon got used to it.

To avoid the skirming and then trying to rip the toothbrush away, we sit on the toilet with a child on our lap facing sideways. I tuck their arm closest to me behind my back and use my left arm to hold their left arm back. Then I brush their teeth while pulling faces and chatting to them.

Yes it's restraint, but oral hygiene is very important and I know they'll thank me for their nice teeth later in life. I try to keep it happy and positive rather than "mean". It's tough but if you don't do it, they'll suffer in worse ways.

We had this. DH I corporates a tickle brush. So make Ds laugh and DH scrubs..

I just lead by example and brush my teeth and ask Ds if he can too. He's definitely getting better.

Also he hates the minty one so I swapped for strawberry. And another fruit one. But you need to buy the correct brands to make sure there's fluoride in.

Not helpful now, but for anyone else: start when they are only a couple of months old, with a very soft toothbrush, no toothpaste and loads of cuddles. They get so used to it that it just becomes part of the routine.

So my DH goes for the pin down 90 seconds lots of screaming and it's done method.

I go for the hey dugee toothbrush song and let her lead brushing and leave lots of time /have lots of patience.

I get her up by the sink and let her play with the water using small cups while I help her brush sometimes she goes along with it more than others.

We also use punch and Judy toothpaste. She lovessss the taste

I had the same problem with my kids. They hated brushing their teeth, so I came up with a story about a boy who wouldn't brush his teeth until he met a pirate called Black Tooth Bob and that once he saw the pirate's teeth and the smell from his breath, he started brushing. Anyway, it worked. They loved the story, and it took their mind off the brushing. So successful was it that beginning of November (2023) I will publish the book on Amazon. It's a rhyming picture book called "Toothbrush Tantrum" by Mark Powell. Look it up when it comes out. It may help with getting them to brush their teeth. 😃

The Hey Duggee toothbrushing song on YouTube distracts DS enough for us to do a bit of brushing and encourages him to try himself beyond just chewing the brush. He is a little bit older though, and really even just chewing the brush is better than nothing! I doubt there are many 18mo out there meekly opening their mouth and tolerating a proper toothbrushing session, but they all get there in the end.

We used to sing to DS, 20 months - "this is the way you brush your teeth, brush your teeth, brush your teeth..." but now we've had to go on to something else as that's worn off! Someone may have already suggested as it's what was suggested to me and seems to work well with many toddlers- search for Hey Duggee Toothbrush song on YouTube. Our LB is letting us brush again as he watches it.. for now! After we've brushed we always let him to some brushing himself at the end too.

Something that really helped us which hasn't been suggested yet is getting her too brush the teeth of a toy while you brush her teeth. Really helped my son.

Both my kids had short periods of teeth brushing refusal. It is one of the few non negotiables in this house so they were offered the chance to let me do it, otherwise they were wrapped in a towel over my knee and I'd brush as they screamed. The phase passed quickly with both of them once they realised it was easier to just let me do it.

Cut sugar out of diet

my niece was the same and ended up having to have a filling at 4 which was extremely traumatic for everyone

My sister (who is an excellent parent) now wishes she’d made it a non negotiable and gone in with ‘gentle force’ not saying this will be the case for your LO at all but worth thinking through the consequence of each option

If the bribery works to get past this stage without causing traumatic memories of being restrained and forcibly brushed... then I'd do whatever works.

It won't need to be forever, maybe a few days of "when mum brushes your teeth, you'll get X" and then taper it off, should be sorted to the point of compliance within a week

Find a jolly toothbrush timer?

I used to have to physically wrestle DS. When I was pregnant with DD, I couldn't do it as I was wiped out in bed with hyperemesis gravidarum for months. DH didn't have the wherewithal for the fight and as he was basically solely in charge of DS he gave him loads of cake bars, biscuits etc for an easy life.

It only took a few months of no teeth brushing and lots of sugary snacks before DS's teeth had started turning brown. I was concerned from the get-go but the first dentist we saw said it was discolouration. Obviously I started brushing his teeth again as soon as I could, but the damage had been done.

It took a year and a different dentist for anyone to take this seriously, by which point the NHS said he needed most of teeth out and it cost us thousands of pounds and multiple trips to London to save his teeth privately. All because DH was too floppy to make the child brush his teeth.

Please take this as a cautionary tale and keep fighting the good fight. It doesn't take much for the decay to set in. I'd also recommend (if you haven't already) cutting out every last little bit of sugar until this is resolved. We don't even buy normal yoghurts, just sugar free ones now.

DD was like this and it was very frustrating.
There's quite a few teeth brushing kids songs on YouTube that DD liked, I also used to brush my teeth and she then wanted to copy.
She's just over 2 now and likes to brush her own, she's not great at it but she starts off and then she lets me or DH brush them after she's done.
I found that wrestling her to have them brushed made her worse and she wouldn't want them done at all. You don't need to scare them into it, I personally don't think that's a good idea. My mum did that with me and I hated brushing my teeth.
It's about giving it positive associations rather than negative ones.

You'll find something that works for you!

That'll work for lots of children but not all. I'm sure OP has tried being gentle and talking her child through what's happening.

My eldest brushed his teeth no problem. My youngest hates it. We have tried various things and all work for a little while (she has just turned 2). We sing a song while doing it, I ask her to make animal noises then brush when mouth is open, we have 2 brushes so she can hold and brush (chew) with one and one I can use to actually brush properly. At the moment she likes to tell me what she ate for breakfast or dinner and I brush each food away individually...."oh you have weetabix, let's get that weetabix off your teeth", followed by a few quick brushes. By time she has told me about having milk and some fruit, toast etc I can usually get her full mouth brushed. There have been times that I've had to hold her down and do it. In the mornings she likes climbing up to sit on the toilet seat to get them brushed and she has recently discovered how to spit so that's a bit of a motivator too cause I only let her spit after doing her teeth.

By keeping calm and wriggling the toothbrush in gently but not stabbing it into their mouth.
By holding them down to limit movement but not using cable ties.
By talking to them about what you're going to do to prepare them and seeing it through.

Initially, it only has to be a show of it being non-negotiable not the quality of the brushing. that will come with time.

Non negotiable here too, but we had similar upset with eldest at a slightly younger age. We swapped to the toothbrush they chew for a little bit, still twice a day, to break the association a bit. Then a trip to the shop to pick a new toothbrush and it was a bit easier.

https://www.jojomamanbebe.com/ie/en/style/ST519132/535985?gclsrc=ds#535985

Not everyone would be comfortable with that though so it's up to you. She's 5 now and her teeth are fine.

Non negotiable in our house and done with gentle force if needed.

Another vote for holding child and brushing their teeth even if refusing. One of my friends let her child "brush" her own teeth at that age as she was refusing to let her parents brush her teeth, ended up with some cavities. 😬