Teeth cleaning traumas

[Nonicknamesleft]

I'm starting to worry about the state of my 19 month old's teeth. She is so awful about having them cleaned that they are starting to look a bit plaque-y and horrid. She does wield a toothbrush herself twice a day so at least the idea is being established, but I'm concerned about the way the teeth are starting to look in the meantime.

I seem to remember the eldest was a bit of a nightmare too but don't think she was as bad.

Any tips on how to make it easier, or words of reassurance about how long teeth take to go bad, would be very helpful!

DS hated having his teeth brushed so I used to pin him down and get on with it. Not pleasant but necessary IMO. Some things that helped him get used to it (he is fine now) were being persistant twice a day, letting him play with another brush, letting him brush my teeth at the same time, talking to him about all the food stuffs the brush was looking for in his mouth and singing loud songs while brushing. My DH dentist said he only needed to get used to the brush now and not worry too much so maybe that will be reassuring for you. DS only drinks water or milk, no sweets but occasional sweet food like custard, cakes etc so even if I only manage to get a brush in his mouth for 30 seconds then I don't worry too much.
Hope some of that helps.