Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Behaviour/development

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

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Brushing Teeth - any advice for a stubborn 10month old who hold her mouth firmly shut and turns her head?

37 replies

bumbleweed · 20/08/2006 19:46

Thats it really. Sorry really pathetic question

We have 2 types of toothbrush - small baby-sized normal one, and one that goes over my little finger and neither are welcome. DD just sucks of the toothpaste and then closes her mouth and turns her head from side to side and cries and fights me off.

I know that this is completely normal. I know its best to brush their teeth. I know its best to try to take the fight out of things and go with the flow.

But ... any tips?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

RuthT · 21/08/2006 22:25

I used the mimic trick. I cleaned my teeth in front of DD, who was fascinated. I then gave her my toothbrush to hold and she amaxingly lets me clean her teeth.

I don't always get a good clean but it is good enough.

Now I just give her my tooth brush and clean her teeth with the little one. If she is in a bad mood and decides she doesn't want me to do it I just give her the little toothbrush as well. Then I'll take it off her. Decided that it is not worth a fight but have to say most of the time she is fine.

It could be teething - dd always goes nuts when I try to clean her teeth and she has one coming through

sunandmoon · 22/08/2006 11:36

Since DD was 6 months old(and had already 4 teeth), I bought a baby toothbrush from Safeway(it doesn't look like a toothbrush but it is made for babies). I never tried to clean her teeth but cleaned mine in front of her. When she was about 9 months olds, I gave her a proper baby toothbrush (a mini version of mine!), and I always sat her on my lap, put some tooth paste on her toothbrush and let her do her brushing. Now at 13 months, it is a ritual am and pm, she brushes her teeth sitting on the bathroom floor.
Bumbleweed, I would say to leave your DD to do it herself, maybe her gums are sore from teething so by doing it herself it might be more fun too. Good Luck

kamillosan · 22/08/2006 12:49

i used to sit him on my lap at her age and hold his head with my arm/hand freeing up my fingers so i could push my fingerin to open his mouth and his lips up to clean the fronts and bottoms. he hated it but with a lot of positive reinforcement doent mind it one bit now. I have a stool and a mirror that he uses by the sink now. he holds his brush and puts a bit of toothpaste on it.i brush his teeth and then hes free to suck off whats left. whilst hes on the stool im holding his forhead with my palm of my hand and puttin gmy fingerin his mouth again, to clean it. like a head lock i suppose!!

my freind asked me how i did it the other week. i describedit as the same type of thing as giving a dog a tablet!lol!
i think its important because he does have treats so does eat sugar.

madchad · 22/08/2006 15:03

What you are experiencing is normal, but do persist. I'm sure you're doing a good job.
Brush in front of her to set a good example, use children's toothpaste- a very small petit pois sized amount.
It's easiest to brush teeth from behind-stand over her, tip head back and mouth will open automatically. Then yiu can see teeth easily. Perhaps sing this is the way we brush our teeth, and don't forget to brush dolly/teddie's teeth too.
If all else fails, use finger to rub toothpaste on teeth twice a day.
Watching her diet is vital if you want to reduce risk of decay-just milk or water to drink, no bottles in bed, no sugary food/drinks eg juice biscuits, sweets etc, especially within an hour of sleeptime.

angie777 · 22/08/2006 15:03

Found this tip on bbc's website. Pretend you can see lots of animals in baby's mouth. Oooh, a mouse (make mousey sounds), and a cat (miaow, miaow) etc. My girl loves it and keeps her mouth open for ages. I imagine a 10-month old might be more difficult but it's worth a try.

mosschops30 · 22/08/2006 15:05

ds wouldnt, my friend recommended a headlock!!!!!

he now loves it so persevere, she'll come round

MrsBadger · 22/08/2006 15:09

...ooh, I see no-one has mentioned the patent MrsBadger tip of wearing one of those animal washmits and getting Rabbit or similar to brush the child's teeth.

jaamy · 22/08/2006 15:22

Bumbleweed - My 10mo HATES having her teeth brushed too. Think she's far too young to hold her down though so I'm just trying to get her used to the taste and routine for now. I let her watch her big sister, DH and I but it doesn't seem to encourage her. Think will let her play with the brush a bit more, though.

pinkmagic1 · 22/08/2006 15:40

My DS age 2 has never liked having his teeth cleaned. We tried a battery operated toothbrush which was brilliant until the novelty wore off. Now I just clean them once a day because it is so traumatic. DH pins him down while I brush as best as I can! He has hi first dentist appointment on Thursday which I'm dreading!

bloomingnora · 22/08/2006 19:13

I showed DD a picture of Shane McGowan from The Pogues and told her she would end up like that if she didn't let me brush her teeth. This was after she had just got bored of the whole thing (first teeth at 16 weeks so you'd think she would be used to it). Bit mean but really worked! I also list all the food she has eaten in the last day or two and pretend I can see it in her mouth which was really good when she was younger.

Abwab · 22/08/2006 21:07

My DS was happy to have his teeth brushed if we said that teddy, Bob, the cat etc is listening for the noise. We have now moved onto the mummy's turn, your turn routine and its slowly sinking in.

mumofangs · 23/08/2006 00:06

We use normal toothpaste but a tiny amount because a lot of kids toothpaste is low fluoride and don't wet the brush or rinse her mouth so the fluoride has more time to act. I brush baby's teeth when she's in the bath so she can't escape and she's having fun anyway.

Flip

1 2