Is it a normal behaviour for babies to refuse having their teeth brushed?

[Bilin]

I have a 15m old baby that constantly refuses to have her teeth brushed. I was wondering if other mothers experience this. I'm worried that she might develop teeth decay.

yes.
persevere.

but even if she does, they'll fall out. and by then, she'll be letting you brush her teeth.

try two toothbrushes, one for you and one for her. musical ones. mirrors. distraction.

but don't sweat it.

Thanks for the advice.

Having the same problem and the following ways work most of the time:
Get your baby to brush your teeth whilst you brush hers.
Put something that she normally is not allowed to have into her hands to play with. My DS (nearly 17 months) loves playing with his tooth paste whilst I am brushing his teeth.
I have to come up with more tricks though because above ones start wearing off unfortunately..

I'm having the same problem with my 9mo so am watching with interest.

I'm gonna try letting her play with the toothpaste tonight!!

I have the same prob with my 9 mnth also. I have tried using sterile swabs (can't remember it's proper name in english...gaasje in dutch..). I have had a litttle more success with this than with t'brush, my ds clamps his mouth shut when I attempt it with t'brush. He is fascinated by the leccy t'brush,though. I think it's more a case of getting them used to the idea of t'brushing being part of daily routine.

Not sure how effective this would be for older babies but it's working well for my almost 9mo ds at the moment.

Yes. I had to use a headlock on DS to get his teeth cleaned for quite some time - I didn't start until he was 1 though (mistake on my part, I Got Told on here that I was in the wrong). I did try giving the toothbrush to him to get him started, and singing songs, anything really - he still doesn't like having them done but submits without too much pressure now.

Once I started using an electric toothbrush with an extra soft childrens head with Disney characters on it's been easier. It's over so quickly too. She stands on a stood up against the sink now while I brush and she likes to put her fingers in the water under the tap. She still has her moments but she knows what's going on now.

We also had a constant battle of dd clamping mouth shut, shaking head vigorously. It was actually better when she cried as would seize the opportunity when her mouth was open and swop in there, usually while pinning her down, would manage about 10 seconds! Sounds a bit harsh, but so is tooth decay and rotten teeth, and figured this was the lesser of the two evils. Preserverence does pay off and finally at 18 months, she opens her mouth waiting patiently for it

Hi - my dd is nearly 14mo and used to be fine about having her teeth brushed until a month or so ago. She then refused to have the toothbrush anywhere near her, so I gave in and thought that it was fine for her to just play with it for now. However, she has lots of teeth and I was getting nervous about tooth decay, so I decided that tooth brushing was one of the few non-negotiables... So for a week or so, I held her down (not as bad as it sounds - wrapped in a towel after bath!) and brushed them regardless of her screaming (which stopped instantly once finished...). After that she seemed to realise that it was going to happen whatever she did and now she opens her mouth happily for it. A few minutes of yelling is worth than the pain of tooth decay, I reckon...

I had to use a headlock on DS to get his teeth cleaned for quite some time

So did I

worth better