how do u brush a 1 yr olds teeth?!

[milkyman]

I try but he clamps shut! I give the toothbrush and he chews it so is this enough?

Keep trying! If he doesn't have all his teeth, can you get a finger in a gap so he can't clamp shut?

DD did this, you get through a lot of toothbrushes as the bristles get mangled/ useless pretty quickly.

Is he at the "I have to do it by myself" stage? DD was better if you brushed your own teeth at the same time (lets both brush our teeth...) and would at least copy- open the mouth when we did/ make the grimace to do the front teeth. It got better but I'm sure she didn't do a good job for a while.

Our dentist recommended a child's electric toothbrush. DS's has bright red cars all over it and he loves it. Quicker and all round more reliable.

I use a brush baby. It's a silicone tooth brush the baby chews. When he's finished I'll go over his teeth with either the brush baby or a normal baby toothbrush.

I would try not make a fuss about it or it will become a game for him. Chewing on it is fine and better than not brushing at all. My twins are 12 months and I sing a Brush your teeth song (which I made up) and they love it! I let them do it themselves first (which is just chewing) and sometimes they let me brush afterwards.

I think establishing a routine and good habits is more the aim at age.

I brushed at the same time, made stupid faces, really wide mouths, etc. To be honest, at that age, it's more about getting them into the habit than scrubbing their teeth. If he's chewing the brush then bristles+brush are meeting teeth, so that's a good thing, though I can understand you wanting him out of that habit.

I second the Brush Baby. We used it till he was 18 months & the dentist was perfectly happy with the results.