14 mth old doesn't like having her teeth brushed

[CJ2010]

She used to be fine but now gets upset and keeps her mouth firmly shut. I don't brush her teeth when she is cutting a tooth as I don't want to hurt her and put her off brushing, but she isn't teething at the moment and wont let me clean her teeth.

I tried making it fun and have given her toys to distract her and that worked for a while but she has sussed out what im doing now.

I am worried that she will start to get tooth decay if I can't clean her teeth. She has got 10 teeth now. I can sometimes get the brush in her mouth to clean the top set but I can't get near the bottom set as she puts her tongue over them ( I think thats a reflex thing anyway, as the dentist always tells me off for doing that when I go for a check up)

Any tips please?

stop being nice about it and get a bit mean. There was a thread about something very similar recently the general consensus was if they won't let you do it then you have to force them to do it , ion my case we pin then down on the floor and clean teeth. They get offered the nice way first then it's the floor. have been doing this since dd1 (nearly 6) was a toddler she and dd2 (3) very very rarely object to teeth brushing now and it's just dd3 (22m) who needs more persuasion.

Sorry I know that's not what you want to hear but if you've done the nicey nicey stuff already it really is time to get tough, she won't thank you now but will be eternally grateful sat in the dentists chair in a few years time!

Agree with DonrisIS - you are the parent, there should be ultimately no real cholice.

Ahhh, I don't think I can be mean!! I hate seeing her upset, however it would be more painful for me to see her with rotten teeth and gum disease.

Thanks for your posts. x

At 14 months she won't be having loads of sugary stuff I bet, so her teeth aren't going to rot away if you can't give them a thorough brushing twice a day. I would deal with this gently and keep doing your best to get her to open her mouth so you can do a quick brush. Lots of praise for when she does let you brush them even a little.

I know I am in a minority and most people go for forcing them.

Let her brush your teeth to encourage her. Personally if someone pinned me down and shoved a toothbrush in my mouth I'd be angry and upset and there's no reason a toddler won't feel that way too.

sorry hans but childrens teeth decay faster than adult teeth as enamel much thinner its only 1.5mm to nerve inside and in my experience most 14 month olds have quite a lot of sugary foods as the start to refuse certain foodslike veggies and only eat what they want and spit rest out, I do understand that it is hard to get them to eat right i sometimes struggle with my 16 month old DD she used to eat everything now is fussy and used to let me clean teeth now she has to be forced but that's just how it is

I have had to take teeth out of 2-4 year old children with GA not nice for them or their parents though they always blame the nasty dentist not themselves for wrong diet no toothbrushing!!

So OP you must be mean and force her at least once a day preferably twice she does then first then you, once she knows it is going to happen whether the hard or the eay way hopefully the battles will get less, the only time I would say dont is if she is really ill if gums really sore as when teething or swollen use a bit of toothpaste on your finger

remember nothing but milk or water in a bottle and dont leave her with it and no juice beside her bed only water

eating tiny cube of cheese after meals does neutralise acids that cause decay but does not clean teeth

of course she is angry that you force her but you would force her to have insulin injections if diabetic in some cases parents just do know best and it has to happen. also no child can clean all teeth properly before 6-7 so they do need supervision and children under 4 definitely need you to clean the back teeth

Sorry to hear about your troubles. We still have to force 3 yr old on some days.

On a good day a nice electric toothbrush seems to make it easier. They do lots of character ones etc. Maybe she is too young but when she isn't, it might help.

Good luck.

Tried using a BrushBaby?My 15mo DD loves them. They clean the teeth and are also brilliant when babies are teething - my DD is cutting two molars at the moment as loves to chew the BrushBaby all the time.

My 21 month old eats a lot of fruit and natural sugars etc and I'm afraid it takes both me and DH (one to brush, one to hold flailing arms and legs!). Quite a workout for all of us!

With my DS, who is 18mo, I've started doing one minute in the timeout corner when he refuses to let me clean his teeth, I physically can't force him (I'm pregnant and he's big!). It seems to be working, I'm touching lots of wood obviously...

We also use brushbaby, sometimes if I give him the choice of that or his toothbrush he'll choose bushbaby and give it a good old chew instead of refusing outright, which makes life easier.

This might be a little weird, but it works with my DD. We both clean our teeth together and infront of a mirror (although this does involve me sitting on the floor at her level!) So far it's worked like a charm; but just might be down to her fascination with her reflection! By making lots of silly noises and faces during the teeth brushing it encourages her to copy me. Also sometimes she brushes mine and I brush hers!