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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

BRUSHING TEETH NIGHTMARE

14 replies

paulapell · 13/09/2005 20:46

Anyone else's DS or DD fight like wild cats when you're trying to brush their teeth?

We done the sticker rewards till he got bored of that - letting him do it himself, but it doesn't get done properly - stopping sweets unless he has his teeth brushed - fights like mad...

Anyone got any ideas?

He's 3.5 by the way

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

kid · 13/09/2005 20:51

I always brush DS's (3.5) teeth first and then give him the tooth brush to finish them. That way, I know they have been done properly and he still gets to brush his own teeth.

Empress · 13/09/2005 21:06

plaque revealing tablets - great fun & they can see what they've got to brush off. Not sure how old child has to be before using them, though, maybe bit older than yours.

mckenzie · 13/09/2005 21:08

we got DS a battery operated racing car shaped toothbrush (from Asda)and as we clean his teeth we talk about going along the straight, round the hairpin ben, into the Chicane etc etc. He now thinks it's great fun.

edgetop · 13/09/2005 21:14

i had this probelm wiht my ds so i got a fire engine toothbrush also i got a brush for his pals ( soft toys ) i did his teeth to start with then he took over & did the rest, he loved it then. i think you need something to get them interested & make it fun.

cinderelly · 13/09/2005 21:49

my dd was the same, tried all the novelty toothbrushes, waste of time! But have found the solution. An electric toothbrush! Worked wonders and she loves me brushing her teeth now. Great coz she lets me do them for her PROPERLY! It was only #2.99 from tesco. Still find it difficult before bedtime though, so I cut an apple up before bedtime and she eats it in bed. Its supposed to be good for cleaning teeth. Hope this helps.

Caththerese1973 · 14/09/2005 05:46

I worry about this too. Until recently I was still rubbing my dd's teeth with a cloth (she is 2.6) as she would not let me near her with a toothbrush. But then I said:"I'll brush them first, and then you can polish them and rinse and spit water into the bath!' So far she seems to accept this. She does still insist on drinking quite a lot of milk from a sippy as she is dropping off to sleep, though, so I feel like her teeth don't get to stay clean for very long.

bobbybob · 14/09/2005 08:11

She's just bathing them in calcium

Original poster

paulapell · 14/09/2005 20:32

DS is scared to death of the elec. toothbrush we got him (tesco's bargain)so it sits unused next to the rest of the brushes in the hope that one day it'll get used.

He just seems to hate it, I've tried saying that I'll just start if off for you then you can finish them to make sure they're nice and clean but he just kicks off and screams the house down. There's only so long you can leave him to do them himself (sucking / chewing the brush) before theyb start looking nasty and you know you've got to do it for him....

I'll have a look at those plaque revealing things to see how old they have to be - then do it on a Friday night so I've got the whole weekend to get the red stuff off before he goes to playschool on the Monday.

OP posts:

ruty · 15/09/2005 10:52

not sure if an apple is the best thing before bed. the acid attacks the enamel.

cinderelly · 15/09/2005 20:51

uhoh! Ive been doing this for about 3 weeks! Are you sure?

Original poster

paulapell · 16/09/2005 15:18

I've heard the only thing they should have for about 20mins after brushing is water as loads of things contain chemicals etc that react with the toothpaste to cause decay!!!! Some suprising things if I remember, not that I have this problem, he's usually too worn out fighting not to have his teeth cleaned & sulks for about an hour before he'll even bother asking for something......

OP posts:

scotlou · 16/09/2005 15:35

Mine went through this phase when he was about 4 1/2 - and just grew out of it! We had had every toothbrush imaginable - would work briefly then it was major tantrums every night. Ended up having to put him in an arm lock and force the brush into his mouth as he refused to do it himself. At some point he just stopped the fights and now does it himself with no problems.

loulounz · 16/09/2005 21:56

My dd (3) hates having her teeth done, closes her mouth, puts her tongue in the way etc.

No advice really, but remember listening to a talk by someone from british dental society about under 7's shouldn't use electric toothbrushes?????!!!! Sorry, can't remember reason why though.

Mandymoo · 16/09/2005 22:01

We let dd (2.8) stand infront of a mirror so that she can see whats going on. She'll clean her teeth herself first and then she'll say "your turn mummy" and i will finish it off. The fact that she can see her mouth and what we're doing with the brush seems to help her. HTH X

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