Teeth cleaning 18m - Hands up I haven't got a clue..

[Whiteybaby]

DD is 18m. SHe has a good set of teeth, all front, canines and i think first molars. Our problem is cleaning them! We have used a toothbrush from pretty early on and she has always held it herself and had a chew on it. However I am aware that this isnt enough. If I clean them for her I have to literally pin her down and she goes mad. Its dreadful to do, dh will do anything to avoid it but we are both paranoid about her having later probs. My teeth are dreadful and I would be devastated if she ended up having work done young. I have tried singing, playing, giving toys but she goes beserk and its harrowing for all involved. Should just say once its done she is fine but it still doesnt feel like its getting the job done as usually so rushed.. Sorry, a bit rambling this but any ideas...

Carry on letting her chew the brush - otherwise it will become a huge issue later on. Presumably she is not having sugary drinks etc anyway.

Maybe do it when she is in the bath in the evenings so there are other distractions.

My dentist says that for milk teeth, two small applications of flouride (age appropriate toothpaste - not for adults) is fine. Chewing brush is OK. Try and get them to spit out the remnants. No sugary drinks or snacks outside mealtimes. Good habits and a bit of flouride twice a day is what you are teaching. Pinning them down is not going to make them enjoy teeth cleaning. As long as they have good brushing habits by the time their adult teeth come through that is fine.

(I don't know if I should confess this but I have a toothbrushing song based on the Timewarp (Rocky horror) )

Also start getting her to a dentist every 6 months so she gets accustomed to it and the first time is not when she is in agonising pain.

Two small applications of flouride per day I mean. Also teeth-cleaning should be done first thing before breakfast - not after - and last thing at night.

thanks all. She has the usual smear of childrens paste on the toothbrush. She only drinks water through the day. She still has a bottle of milk first and before her evening bath but has teeth cleaned afterwards both times.

Thats really interesting that just chewing should be ok. I completely agree I def dont want bad associations. She has her toothbrush in the bath already.

Tondelayo I didnt know about teeth cleaning before breakfast? Sorry if dim but why is that? Also re snacks she has regular snacks through the day at mid points between meals else would be a hungry demon child. Usually healthy but has a complete addiction to raisins. Again I'm a bit worried about the sugar content but can't see how to cut snacks back.

Cheers for responses.. v helpful

You should brush before eating first thing because it protects your teeth and brushing within an hour after a meal can be damaging especially if you have eaten sugary or sticky foods. I always used to brush first thing and then when living with others noticed they did their teeth after breakfast but this is not what is recommended (I love being right ).

Here's the official advice

My child also has snacks between meals (sugary ones too) and drinks - what can I say - nobody's perfect. I think the idea is to keep sugary stuff for meal times and snack on less sugary stuff between meals. In an ideal world [smil]

What do you do for brushing with a 13 month old that is still BFing? He feeds last thing at night and first thing in the morning (and sometimes sleeps again between the morning feed and breakfast). At night, he doesn't fall asleep feeding so I'm not worried about it pooling in his mouth, but he does go to bed straight after.

Any ideas?

My DD used to brush my teeth whilst I brushed hers. Sometimes I find with my second child though that if he has a brush to chew on and I also have a brush to use at the same time I can sneak round what he's doing and do an extra little brush, if any of that makes sense at all

Yank I would clean your dc's teeth when he is up in the morning and maybe at bathtime? You could just try after his last bf if he will let you. This is what a friend of mine does.

Trick I have tried that but as soon as she feels any pressure she goes mad.

I have just let her chew away tonight. Will just hope thats going to be enough..

Used to role play. Her fave story was about characters getting on a bus, so we used to sit backwards on the toilet with her in front of me. I'd clean her teeth while we talked about being on the bus and who would be at the next bus stop.

Looks mad written down, but it really helped.

We have a set 'routine' for teeth brushing.

Smile like a tiger (teeth together, grimace), then general clean. This opens up their cheeks, so you can quickly get around the outside of all the teeth.

Roar like a lion. This makes them open their mouth, so you can have a quick scoot around the inside of the teeth.

We also use "my turn, then your turn". If they let us clean their teeth, then they get to have a turn themselves. If not, they don't.

Ours are 4.9, 3.2 & 18 months.