Getting a toddler to brush teeth!

[pipiandbelle]

What would you say is normal or ok re. A toddler (21 months) brushing their teeth? My little one hates it and will rarely let me do much at all. We try to make her laugh so we can quickly brush the front teeth and she is happy to sit and chew on the tooth brush while we are reading to her etc which seems to target the back teeth. It is such a nightmare very morning and night and we never really end up getting much done. I just wondered if this is 'normal' or whether most children allow their teeth to be brushed? Does anyone have any tips to help me increase the time she will let me brush? Thanks in advance.

It took DS until his 2nd birthday to really get on board with brushing teeth and even now it's not straightforward.
The things that helped the most were letting him choose his own toothbrush (he has a batman one that he loves) and watching a song about brushing teeth while he does it. He either watches the Hey Duggee toothbrush song or the Caillou one, both of which are two minutes and he copies the actions from them.
It's still a bit of a battle but those things help!

Thanks so much for your reply- I'll try the videos tonight! X

Mine never tolerated it before the age of around 18 months. I pinned them down (gently!) and brushed for at least a minute twice a day. It is really important to do it properly. Eventually once they realised it is non negotiable they stopped fussing and just let me get on with it. Also if they scream while you're doing it it is much easier to do a good job!!

Headlock - honestly the only way with my two.

Spoke to the dentist about it and he said they forget about the headlocks but don’t ever forget having to have their teeth removed because they’ve got cavities.