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Parenting

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Original poster

Teeth cleaning: any suggestions?

27 replies

PlateSpinningAtAllTimes · 10/01/2011 19:29

DS (18mo) hates having his teeth cleaned- we've tried various toothbrushes/pastes, modelling, praise, letting him do it himself, doing it by force....all to no avail! Any tips?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Seona1973 · 10/01/2011 19:54

electric toothbrush?

Original poster

PlateSpinningAtAllTimes · 11/01/2011 17:39

Thanks- tried that too!

Does anyone else have this problem?

OP posts:

knackered76 · 11/01/2011 17:48

The only way I could get either of mine to do it when younger was to have their favourite toy do it! Would have been totally lost without a monkey and igglepiggle

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Dental health General parenting

nikki1978 · 11/01/2011 18:04

I just did the best I could. The dentist said to me at this age as long as you can go over the lot even 30 secs is good enough and a lot of it is getting them into the routine of doing it. I wouldn't let him do it by himself as he won't be able to do all the teeth. By all means let him have a go first then take over. If mine ever got too stubborn about it I just did it by force. It hasn't scarred them for life or anything!

christmasrocks · 11/01/2011 18:23

Try two toothbrushes, one for DS and one foryou, let him start of with his and then follow in, dentist gave us this trick and it works really well, make sure the toothbrush he uses is a really soft one tho.

chocolatepuff · 11/01/2011 20:49

i also have this problem with my 17mo dd, have tried many things, including letting her brush mine (she's not interested) trying to get her to brush her dolls/teddies teeth (again, not interested!) i usually end up scrubbing a bit of tooth[paste on them with my finger for the few seconds that she lets me, and that with me holding her head and forcing it!!

will be watching this thread...

Original poster

PlateSpinningAtAllTimes · 11/01/2011 21:48

Thanks for responses. Knackered- haven't tried that, will give it a go! Nikki- see, that worries me. I consider it a job well done if I manage to brush any teeth at all! Glad forcing it hasn't left lasting ishoos though :o

christmasrocks (puzzlerocks?)- that's a good idea, shall try it.

Chocolatepuff- glad I'm not the only one! Am wondering if I've been too soft and fluffy about this....

OP posts:

berri · 12/01/2011 11:08

Gosh 30 seconds - I'm lucky if DS lets me do it for 10 seconds a day! Watching this thread too....

13lucky · 12/01/2011 13:18

I was just saying to my dh last night how strange it is that some things are huge issues which you think will last forever...and then the next day, they change but you almost don't realise they have. That's all a bit cryptic. Basically both my dc hated having their teeth brushed, would clamp their mouths shut, there'd be no end of song and dance about it, screaming etc etc. We tried everything too...but then one day they just let us do it! Weird things, these little people. I would say persevere and it will get better. Now my ds wants to brush his teeth all the time!!! I reckon he was a bit older than your ds when he started letting me do it. He's 2.3 now and is fine with it so don't panic.

Beesmummy · 12/01/2011 15:06

this is embarrassing, but the lengths you go to....
I used to sing a silly song to every tooth!!
Well she thought it was every tooth, but every few teeth anyway -- probably about seven stoopid songs each based on a word she would give me.

When I was growing up my mum used to put on the radio in the bathroom and we had to brush our teeth for the length of an entire song! Don't know whether songs were shorter in the early 80s, but there is no way I could get mine to do it for that long! Perhaps when they are older...

ommmward · 12/01/2011 17:43

raw carrot is a really good tooth cleaner - not sugary, and helps get other stuff off the teeth.

Hard cheese (like cheddar) is also fab.

wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/03/reversing-tooth-decay.html
grainfree diet and vitamin D can reduce and reverse tooth decay.

(the idea that we HAVE to clean our teeth with flouride toothpaste to avoid tooth decay is a cultural one - there are alternatives)

AppleAndBlackberry · 13/01/2011 14:51

My DD hates it too, we are just doing it by force, holding her head from behind and hoping she gets used to it.

Secretwishescometrue · 13/01/2011 15:54

Does he like lazytown? My ds1 adores sportacus and he does a tooth brushing song we used to sing to do his teeth. Ds2 loves Bear in the big blue house and he also has one which got him brushing :) I would not force it personally you are making it a big scary horrible thing holding their head etc make it fun if possible... I know I know perfect world etc but they are very little and I doubt eat huge amounts of cavity causing foods and I do realise milk teeth are important but my dentist said to me please not to ever make an issue out of it cause they will get over it and not end up like Shane Magowen (sorry if iv spelt that wrong) she swore it to me!

Original poster

PlateSpinningAtAllTimes · 13/01/2011 20:32

Thanks for the variety of strategies and the reassurance! Raw carrot and hard cheese- that's worth remembering.

Must also investigate tv programs/songs....

I think we need to really focus on the routine and not worry too much if we fail each time- at the moment I must admit we are a bit sporadic about the whole thing as it's all such a trauma.

Out of interest- when should they start going to the dentist? Mine won't take them until they're 3. This seems late as he'll have had some teeth for 2.5 years by that point

OP posts:

mum295 · 14/01/2011 16:59

My dentist advised bringing DD as soon as she had teeth, and I have my check-ups at the same time. Her appointments last a few minutes only and dentist says it's to get her into the habit of seeing a dentist and not be afraid.

Her appointments are free on NHS and I am a private patient.

What dentist told me about teeth brushing in very young children is that it's about habit creation rather than teeth cleaning, as they don't get that dirty.

DD used to hate cleaning her teeth but it was just a phase, as others have said. She now loves it and I have to wrestle toothbrush off her...

DitaVonCheese · 15/01/2011 15:41

The following have worked for us at different times:

getting a finger puppet to do it
spotting different foods she'd eaten during the course of the day and chasing them out
getting the toothbrush to talk to her and ask if it could clean her teeth
(weirdly the most successful one) telling her we are just going to do it for a (slow) count of 20 then letting her have a go

We also have strawberry toothpaste, which she prefers to mint. We do it in the evening and she does it () in the morning.

DD is just over two and hasn't actually been to the dentist yet, though is booked in for a few weeks' time. I am worried that it's a bit late (I've read you should have six monthly checks after they get their first tooth)

notevenamousie · 15/01/2011 15:49

Doing it in the bath worked for us at that age - took the pressure off and she could just do it as part of playing. I made DD do it if she wouldn't though, and she wasn't scarred. Now, hairwashing we still have a fight over!!

BonzoDooDah · 15/01/2011 23:00

My DS screamed and screamed at having his teeth cleaned. I started as soon as teeth appeared (~7 months) and for 10 months we had battles every night. I'd end up pretending to put his dummy in then shoving the toothbrush in and having a quick random scrub. He'd be in tears Howling. I'd be stressing about his teeth falling out

One day ... he just let me do it

NO IDEA WHY. He was 17 months old and just let me do it. I think it was pretty much the same for DD - and the same age approx that she just let me. I'd tried all sorts of toothpastes etc and mine really like the apple flavour one from Lidl. DD (now 3) says the others are too spicy (minty). I think the apple one isn't zingy on their tongue (but I'd used that one for months before they let me do it).

Dentists usually say take them along for your appointment so they can just check their teeth coming through - plus it normalises the visits so they are less likely to get hang-ups.

cece · 15/01/2011 23:03

My 19 month old doesn't like it. I do an ahhhhh sound and he copies me. His mouth is then open enough for me to clean his teeth.

Original poster

PlateSpinningAtAllTimes · 16/01/2011 16:26

Sorry- didn't realise this thread was still going! Thanks for all suggestions - we are currently tackling the night feeds so sorting teeth cleaning is next on the list! Will systematically work through this thread and hope something works!

Bit worried about the dentist thing. Our dental surgery is a bit shit though. All others nearby are fully subscribed or whatever the term is.

OP posts:

Learner1 · 15/04/2011 18:32

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by Mumsnet.

jaggythistle · 18/04/2011 21:45

I have been singing too to my 18mo DS. I ask him what song he wants and he always picks Postman Pat. So I now get to brush for the duration of me singing the whole postman pat theme tune. He sucks the brush so I guess he likes the minty taste.

I worry I'm not doing a good enough ob, I manage to get a brush over the whole mouth but he gets fed up eventually. He also likes using my brush to poke me in the eye brush my teeth.

BreastmilkDoesAFabLatte · 20/04/2011 17:03

I do the singing thing, too. Old MacDonald has a toothbrush. Baa Baa Toothpaste. Hickory Dickory Scrub. Etc...

AngelDog · 20/04/2011 21:29

Brush Baby chewable toothbrush is good - 15 m.o. DS loves chewing on it when I've finished trying to clean his teeth and it cleans the teeth as they chew.

I sing. The song constantly changes. The trick is to pick a song / sound which he likes or thinks is funny, and use that. As soon as it stops working, try something else. If DS doesn't want me to do it, I have a quick attempt but then stop. After a couple of days he's usually happy for me to start doing it again.

My dentist advised the first dentist's visit should be at 18 months (this was after DS had got his first tooth at 5 months), and said that that was really only about starting off the habit.

AngelDog · 20/04/2011 21:30

DS does enjoy having 2 toddler toothbrushes and an adult one to play with while I clean my teeth though. That helped him be more co-operative, although he still covets DH's brush...

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