Tips on brushing teeth please?

[MammyShirl]

I find it impossible to brush my dd two teeth she is 9 mths. I have tried letting her play a toothbrush but she wont let me near her teeth.

Have you tried brushing yours and letting her watch? It works sometimes with my dd (now nearly 18 months). Another trick that sometimes works is that she sits on dh's lap, while I sit opposite her making "oooh, aaah" singing noises with my mouth wide open. When she starts to copy me, I pop the toothbrush in and she doesn't seem to notice! We have good and bad days with teeth brushing, but I reckon that as long as we try twice a day, some good will get done. Good luck...

I should be able to help, because at first ds clamped his mouth shut and was having none of it, and now he dutifully opens his mouth up (although you only get one chance - if you acidentally take the brush out, it's not allowed back!). However, I can't remember how we got from refusal to this happy state!

Maybe it just gradally came with perseverence.

I will describe what how and when we brush - but I really don't know whether that is why it works now. We get ds (who's nearly 1) all ready for bed (bath, nappy & pjs on, read a book). Then we switch the lights down and he cuddles up for his bottle. Then we pop him into bed, tuck him in, give him his teddy etc. Then we brush. We get the brush already after the bath, so it is sitting there ready. And of course he is in a wonderfully relaxed mood after all the pampering and feeding.

But as I say, I have no idea what brought about his change of heart!

Good luck.

It is exactly the same with my DS who is now 21 mths, it always has been a struggle since his teeth through. It got to the point where i took him to the dentist, because i was worried his teeth were going to rot!! He told me the louder they scream, the more they open their mouth, and this is what he does with his DD.
We have found out, that for some strange reason, DS2 will let DS1, who is nearly eight, brush his teeth. Hey, as long as they are getting brushed.....

While we're on the subject, can I ask a question? MY ds is 1 and we've just started using a smear of toothpaste and my dh is horrified that he doesn't spit it out or rinse his mouth out. Is it OK to swallow, and does he need to rinse and spit (brushing is a bit of a touch and go battle, and I've no idea how I persuade him to spit) I could just go back to plain water, but actually he is more co-operative with the toothpaste, I think he likes the taste!

i have a real struggle with dd, 28 months. She wants to everything by herself and copies her brother. He has an Oral b powered brush but obviously she is too young. I try to get a chance to give hers a brush around whilst she is washing her face, after her "go" but she really squirms and goes rigid, so I end up supporting her weight by the jaw.

Neither of mine successfully spit out afterwards but I think that is fairly common and hope that baby toothpaste is sufficiently mild that it is not a problem - what would be the signs ?

I had the same problem with tooth brushing refusal with my dd a few months ago, and someone on mumsnet (can't remember who but thank you!)suggested making the toothbrush "talk". It works! It also works with the flannel to wash her face, etc. As for the rinsing, I seem to remember it's better not to rinse, so as to maximise the contact between the toothpaste and the teeth. My dd (34 months) has only just got the hang of spitting out. If you only use a tiny bit of toothpaste I don't think it's a problem. That's been discussed on mumsnet before, if you do a search you'll find a few threads on this subject. HTH