To stop brushing 18 month olds teeth

we told him from the beginning this will happen 2x a day no matter what

easy way or hard way

and the hard way is being held down by both parents and having it done to him

now we do his turn and a grown up takes a turn

Also use a cool electric toothbrush and a really, really cool back up manual one

This will depend on his understanding, but I used to brush various animals and characters out of my children's mouths. No idea how it started or why they found it so funny, but lots of incredulous 'Oh my goodness, is that a lion in your mouth!? Let me have a look, oh no, we can't have a lion in your mouth! and chasing the lion or whatever it was that day around their mouths until it finally jumped out. As they started talking more, they used to tell me what was in their mouth that day.

Why can't you do yours too and make it into a game - it's possibly too late now but most toddlers want to copy their parents?

This. Keep trying different approaches like the suggestions here but ultimately carry on as hon need to so they get a half decent brush

Of course you can't let his teeth rot! (Hoping you're being sarcastic there) it's neglect, however exasperating it is.

How about brushing the 'teeth' of a soft toy alongside his? At the same time? Singing a song together whilst doing it eg; teddy and (child's name) are brushing their teeth, brushing their teeth, brushing their teeth, Teddy and (child's name are brushing their teeth, til they're nice and clean) to the tune of here we go round the mulberry bush.
He's too little to understand dental hygiene, so all you can do other than pinning him down to do it, is try and make the activity as fun as possible and try different ways to do so.

I would also recommend you read how to talk so little kids will listen, great book for any new parent

• let him play with the toothbrush and do it himself to get used to it again, don’t force it as he will have negative associations with it now
• get a puppet or teddy and do a silly voice and get teddy to brush everyone’s teeth, yours, your partners and he might think it’s cute and allow teddy to brush his

When my sons resisted we've let him do it/had him brush ours while we brush his, changed his tooth brush to a thomas the tank engine one, let him see himself in a mirror while we brush his teeth etc.

It's none negotiable to brush their teeth twice a day, doesn't take much for milk teeth to start to decay and although they fall out, it doesn't look good and teaching him.now means oral hygiene remains good hopefully all his life especially when permanent teeth come in.

I had the same when my child was younger. I continued to brush his teeth and since about 3 he was tolerate of it and now at 5 he seems to actually enjoy it. Wrap in a blanket, lay him so his arms / legs can be held by your legs and face his head towards you and do it, when not actually brushing his teeth give him a toothbrush to practice using on his own, let him see you brushing your teeth first. Not brushing his teeth will mean pain and multiple dentist appointments which will be more of a struggle than brushing his teeth.

My DC had lots of sensory issues with tooth brushing. I got rid of all minty toothpastes and bought a variety of flavours from brushbaby which went down much much better. As my DC took a dislike to toothbrushes I bought a silicone chewable brush on which I put some blueberry toothpaste and put it beside my DC in different settings. It took a while but once we had got into using a toothpaste tasted ok and the chewable toothbrushes we moved to proper toothbrushes. Take it in stages and know you will get there.

Playing this on the phone, and the burrito wrap method worked for us.

There are plenty of other songs to choose from.

We never allowed them to 'win' this one battle.

Try getting him to do teeth on a morning whilst you are doing yours, make a game of who can make the most foam with toothpaste x

This is exactly what Dr Barman’s 3 sided toothbrushes are for - very quick brushing for children who hate tooth brushing! Even if they do 5 seconds with one of those it’s better than nothing. Also fruity toothpaste that isn’t minty at all is good.

I tried pinning mine down to brush teeth and it was honestly horrific, I’d do anything to avoid that like little brushes between tickles to get them opening their mouth, playing silly games, stupid songs, rewards for doing it themselves… it does get better.

Not sure if it’s mentioned but we were adviced by community dentist (asd child) the most important thing is getting the toothpaste on the teeth and not washing the toothpaste off. You can use your finger or the little toothbrush you put on your finger. We then slowly built up the brushing. We would give ds the brush to chew on. We used to pin him down but this actually works so much better plus he’s teeth are doing better for it. I also know this is the current advice health visitor have started to share.

It doesn’t matter if you have to pin him down. You must brush his teeth morning and night.

I just tried the Pokemon app someone recommended here, it’s brilliant

I think it's normal to get resistance at that age and still too young to expect them understand (or care) about the consequences of not tooth brushing.

When they bite down on the toothbrush tickle them until they release it.

Does DC watch you brushing your own teeth? Maybe they'd like to have a go at brushing yours for you? TBH though we used a combination of the Hey Duggee song and pinning them down at that age.

Well it was my niece and I took my sister and her husband to go do it. I said friend not to be outing incase the title of this post peaked her interest as she's on here sometimes too. Nope not just sweets regular about of sweets and food as well and no brushing. She didn't like her teeth brushed. It takes ages for adult teeth to come in and she looked awful not to mention how hard it was to eat as well. Damage also can go under the gum line as well. Seens i touched a nerve...lol. I wish it was a fake story but you have a wonderful day and remember to brush 3 times a day!

Maybe also take him to the dentist make it a nice experience. Brushing your teeth and personal hygiene is non negotiable in my book.

Mine are autistic with sensory difficulties. I’ve tried all the toothpastes, different brushes, bribes, distraction etc for years and years. It is non negotiable though and they know it. It’s difficult to do a very good clean every time but we haven’t needed any fillings yet.
What works changes over time so just keep trying things.
I know having dental treatment would be far more traumatic for them and cause more issues down the line.

Paeds anaesthetist I've done many a dental clearance (all removed) at age 5-6 so wouldn't say it isn't true

Won't give any more tips as you've got loads but as a paeds anaesthetist, you need to do it, we do tons of dental clearances removing multiple teeth and ove been told they get a social services referral for possible neglect if not an underlying reason like enamel

Mine hated it too until we gave her the toothbrush to (basically) chew on while we all brushed our teeth. Very soon she was brushing a bit and letting me do a "final polish".
If he isn't eating sweets etc then a few days of inadequate brushing won't rot all his teeth.

He may be too young but there are a couple of good free apps for teeth brushing

Magic timer - you choose a Disney character, whilst brushing it slowly reveals a picture behind some bubbles and then you get points and virtual stickers.

Pokemon smile - this one you do with the phone camera and it knows when your brushing and you have to brush away the germs that are on the screen - is also take 4 random photos while brushing and you choose one to decorate with the stickers you collect

Obviously these can be a massive faff, take more time and the novelty will wear off but I wanted to avoid the having to pin down etc !