Teeth brushing - 12 months old

[DeepDeepFlavours]

Hello - my DS is 12 months old and lately I've realised that I should be brushing his teeth. The only trouble is that he hates it. I can normally get the brush on his top teeth for about 2 seconds before the mouth clamps shut and no amount of enticing will open it again. He is happy to gum the toothbrush on his own (normally the handle end and not the brush end) but will not let me brush his 7 teeth for more than the above 2 second. Does anyone have any advice? Many thanks

Brush your teeth at the same time and let him have a go at yours. Also use a wet flannel to wipe the teeth gently (if he doesn't have molars this will be enough for now)

We sing to DS and show him how to open his mouth in front of a mirror. Try not to push the brush too far in - can make them gag and put them off!

We bought a rubbery weird toothbrush (99p in Home Bargains!) that DD is happy to chew on for ages. It looks like this - www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?q=baby+toothbrush&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=ivns&resnum=2&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1267&bih=664&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=215427491754694009&sa=X&ei=J4ZbTt3eMImo8APasum9DA&ved=0CFUQ8wIwAA#ps-sellers

I smear a bit of toothpaste in each bristled ridge and she chews it while she's in the bath.

wrap him up in a towel and brush them. My dentist said dont give them a choice and one day they will thankyou for lovely healthy teeth

When DS was difficult like this I held him on my lap with his back to me. I clamped his arms down with my left upper arm and squeezed his cheeks with my left hand till he opened his mouth. then brushed quickly! Now we do it with him on my lap held as if he is having a bottle and he really likes it. Sometimes he does mine while I do his, and occasionally he uses my electric tooth brush.

My DS is also 12 months and my health visitor said that if they don't like teeth brushing put a bit of toothpaste in their mouths and it cleans them - I don't know how well this works as luckily my DS isn't too bad with teeth brushing but maybe worth a try as they get used to the flavour of toothpaste!

I literally had to pin my DS down so I could get more than 2 seconds brushing in. It wasn't nice clamping his arms down, and I used to dread it, but after a few (12) months of doing that, he now happily lets me brush his teeth. I tried everything, silly songs, letting him do it (pointless), brushing together (again pointless), but the pin down method was the only one that worked! I think he must have just given in one day and thought, sod this, she is going to do it anyway. Now it's a pleasure to brush his teeth.

Me and my two DD's (16 months and nearly 7) brush our teeth together, DD2 hates it also and clamps her mouth shut. I normally manage a quick scrub on the bottom ones but that's it! I then give her the toothbrush and she chews it. She has 14 plus teeth though so I'm getting worried about the molars not being cleaned properly!

LO hates it Ive always let her do her own teeth and then finish them off if she lets me (keeping in mind their still teething, I know I wouldnt have let anyone else near my teeth when getting my wisdom). Stickers work well. Or if I say if I brush them shell have shiny teeth like a shark lol.

If they dont let you brush them then really cut down on anything sugary, juice drinks, sweets if you give them etc

You need a Brush baby

I asked this not long ago and got some good ideas. What's worked for us is doing it twice a day without fail, making a huge fuss and clapping, cheering etc when she lets us anywhere near her, letting her brush our teeth (and all brushing our teeth together, a lot) and going "ARRRGH" to do it. We did pin her down a few times, but the screaming did stop after a few attempts when she saw how much we were clapping/cheering etc.

Good luck!