How on earth do I clean his teeth?

[SweetPotatoHead]

Probably been asked a million times before (sorry) but need some tips on how to get started with teeth cleaning.

We finally have a little tooth poking through so thought it was time to start brushing. Gave it a go tonight but he wouldn't let me anywhere near him with it. He either clamped his mouth shut or if I tried to stick it in there just poked it back out with his tongue.

He thought it was hilarious when I tried to show him what to do and was quite happy to poke the brush in my mouth (and eye)

I also invested in one of those little toothbrushes that you are supposed to chew on but he's not interested in it at all although does like waving it around and throwing it at the cat!

Any tips or suggestions??

Thanks!

Use a flannel to start with.

We started with sonic toothbrushes - ours liked the vibration on sore teething gums.

And you get more brushes per second so even if you only get 30 seconds before they run away you get a halfway decent brush.

This is when it doesn't matter if they cry. I often used to whip the toothbrush in if they were hollering about something.

opera singing might get him to open his mouth, or at the very leasy he'll open his mouth laughing at you .

I give my ds the toothbrush to hold when nappy changing, as it immediately gets lots of interest due to the whole 'anything is interesting if its on the changing table' thing. Then I follow it up with a quick brush at a good moment between the chewing and waving it around

ooh I have a related question, hope no one minds me asking it here...

Do you use toothpaste on very little ones? my 5 month old has 2 teeth, and feel a bit funny about putting toothpaste near him when I haven;t a chance of getting a rinse and spit thing going?!

These are pricey but very handy

AisieSusie - I spoke (at some length) to our dentist about this - yes you should use adult toothpaste particularly if you live in an area where the water is not flouridated. You have to eat a lot of toothpaste to get too much, a smear on a finger or brush will do no harm.

ah ha, thanks! And oh dear, I haven't been... I better had then, very good to know

Our ds is 17mo and a monkey about clamping his mouth shut. The current trend is to let him play with the bathroom light switch cord while we sing the tune from some space/ alien thing (maybe close encounters) we go ahh ahh ahhhh ah ahhhhhh (going up in pitch iyswim). He finds it hilarious so get his teeth done quick.

Try pretending to sneeze, fart, be sick etc while doing it - they laugh, you get the toothbrush in there and keep doing it till you are done.