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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

Help! My 19mo won't let me brush her teeth

35 replies

Queazy · 22/04/2015 20:18

It's driving me nuts. I've tried brushing 'with' her, all sorts of brushes, being calm and literally struggling with her. Nothing works. I'm worried her teeth are going to rot Sorry, I know people have bigger stuff going on in this forum, but any advice or things that have worked for you would be gratefully received.

Thanks again

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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hazeyjane · 23/04/2015 16:18

Thats funny Norah, I had forgotten that one of the ways we used to do it was lying ds upside down on my lap whilst dh brushed. We have also done this at the dentist, so the dentist could look in his mouth!

Op, just to reassure, it has taken a long time with ds, but he has not been put off brushing or traumatised by the way we cleaned his teeth!

jellyspoons · 23/04/2015 19:22

We brush our 18mo dd teeth whilst singing Old Macdonald - she gets to choose each verse what animal / person he has on his farm. What seems to work is removing the toothbrush from her mouth whilst asking - what did he have on his farm now? Which gives her a few seconds to chill out and stops her getting too stressed out by the brushing.

The singing seems to keep her entertained enough most nights. The odd time she has a melt down and refuses we pin her down and get on with it.

After we've done her teeth we then let her brush her own teeth whilst either I brush my own teeth (morning) or do flossing with those flosspicks (evening). I've flossed my teeth way more in the last 4 months than my whole life before that!

Good luck with it, OP.

Original poster

Queazy · 23/04/2015 20:20

jellyspoons that is a brilliant idea I'm going to try it in the morning. Thank you!

OP posts:

jellyspoons · 23/04/2015 20:36

No worries Queazy! Hope it works, would love a progress report tomorrow!

DD's favourite bit is me rinsing and spitting out water, gets her in hysterics every time. Especially when I ham act it up with silly faces and fish gargles She loves to try but can't manage to spit out, very cute watching her try though. (this is from flossing by the way, I know you're not meant to rinse after teeth brushing these days!)

plentyofshoes · 27/04/2015 06:34

I got an electric toothbrush from jojo mama bebe. It was the best Â£10 I have spent. Dd is 18 months and now does it herself (sort of) Worth a try?

PinkParsnips · 27/04/2015 10:10

My DD 17 months was exactly the same in fact I had an identical thread recently and like you had tried every brush, toothpaste flavour, teeth brushing video etc etc it was a nightmare and I was so worried about her teeth too.

I'd say just keep trying different ways and eventually you'll find the thing that works - ours has been laying her on the change mat with peppa on and all of a sudden she's accepted it and let's us do it! She then takes the brush and does it herself for a good ten mins. I bought her an electric brush as well which she now finds funny when it vibrates and at least it's doing a bit of the work too if she's just holding the brush against her teeth.

Good luck!!

Mopmay · 27/04/2015 10:19

We had to of both down at that age. By 3 they did their own !!

Orrery · 19/06/2015 12:08

Teeth brushing is a faff and a half - along with most other daily activities of 1-2 year olds it seems!!

My DS is 16 months and each night I stand in the bathroom with one foot balanced up on the toilet lid with DS on my knee, then I use my free hand to sort out his brush with a bit of toothpaste and then put it in his mouth, then I grab my toothbrush to give to him, and we brush each other's teeth!! Or rather I try and get him to stop chewing his toothbrush while trying not to gag on my toothbrush being rammed down my throat. But he seems to giggle and laugh a lot giving me valuable microseconds to get in there and do a quick scrape.

I try not to give in at the first protest, but after a minute or so of faffing about I do tend to just hope the toothpaste in his mouth is enough :(

LottyLikesWindows · 20/06/2015 13:34

I brush my 17 month old's teeth in the bath. She lies down, supported by my arm and I sing her a song I half made up called 'This is the way we brush our teeth'. When I'm done, she has a go brushing on her own. We've been doing this since the first tooth appeared at 7 m, so she's quite used to it by now and gets ready as soon I mention the toothbrush.

However, as pliant as she is, during teething she won't let me go near her gums. I can imagine how sore it must be then.

ShipShapeAhoy · 20/06/2015 13:39

Dd, who is 10months, brushes hers herself but not very well (mostly she eats the toothpaste). She won't let me near!

I recently got her one of these from Boots. She's happy to chew on it a lot of the time and it reassures me her teeth are getting a bit more of a clean. I still give her her toothbrush as well in the mornings to get her used to it.

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