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Parenting

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Original poster

Cleaning 1yo teeth.

95 replies

mrsleomcgary · 18/01/2015 12:59

DD got her first tooth pretty early (about 4 months) and since then we've been cleaning her teeth,at first with dental wipes them with a brush when she got a bit older.

Now at a year old she has 12 teeth and cleaning them is a nightmare! We do them morning and evening with a spot of paste on the brush. DH or I will TRY to actually make contact with her teeth before she grabs the brush and chews it or sucks off all the toothpaste.

I know she's only 1 and she hardly gets anything sugary,she was given some tiny chocolate Santa's at christmas she got 1 a day,and she gets the odd rich tea biscuit (usually by my nana!). Despite that i'm worried that we're storing up problems for later on,i would hate to be one of those parents that takes their kid to the dentist for the first time with a mouthful of cavities.

Any toothbrushing tips?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

findingherfeet · 18/01/2015 13:05

Um I might just be a bit wicked but before bed tooth brushing is non negotiable so I have in past pinned down...I also have sung silly teeth cleaning songs, counted teeth, exaggerate about how if DD opens her mouth really wide I can see all the food she's eaten that day oh and my DD loves her electric tooth brush and from about 2 (now 3) is fine about me doing her teeth, she'll have a go too (and attempts hers in the morning but I do one proper clean before bed)

IBakeThereforeIAm · 18/01/2015 13:56

Non negotiable here too. We have two techniques - first is we brush our teeth at the same time and get ds to copy. Then at the end after 20secs aftet dentist approved time I use a second toothbrush to do the back ones. Good luck!

wheresthelight · 18/01/2015 16:42

I let dd (17 months) brush her own teeth and then i take over to do them properly. we have also got her a cheap battery operated vibrating toothbrush as ot means she gets more clean when she is playing and that seems to have worked well so far.

I personally don't agree to pinning them down, I don't see how creating fear of having their teeth cleaned can actually be beneficial.

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1 year olds Dental health General parenting

CountingThePennies · 18/01/2015 16:46

Whats the alternative to not pinning a child down who refuses to even co operate?

I d rather pin dd down that her have rotten teeth.

wheresthelight · 18/01/2015 16:47

and what would your reaction be to someone smacking their child for not cooperating? because essentially it is the same thing

Mrscog · 18/01/2015 18:14

No it's not the same! Because smacking wouldn't guarantee you got the teeth brushed. Wheresthelight just be thankful you had a cooperative child. I pinned DS for over a year. He no longer bothers fighting me and is not fearful of tooth brushing.

wheresthelight · 18/01/2015 18:15

of course it is the same! you are using physical force to get them to so something.

UpYaKilt · 18/01/2015 18:19

We do brushing themselves (or really wafting the toothbrush round their mouth) then follow with a brush baby chewable toothbrush, which gets all the back teeth without a big fight.

forwarding · 18/01/2015 18:24

Ds gets a couple of minutes to chew the brush and suck off the paste before I get in there and give them a quick going over.

Either he cooperates, which is fine, or if not goes on his back across my knee with his arms pinned.

Either way it gets done.

I'm happy to use physical force to keep my child safe (eg stopping him running into the road) or to prevent pain and problems later (preventing rotten teeth).

findingherfeet · 18/01/2015 19:37

I don't smack DD never have...

Have you never held onto little ones ankles for sake of nappy change etc? Held them to put their clothes on? Grabbed them to prevent a fall etc?? Insisted on something despite their tears???

Blimey my kids are less obedient than yours!!

wheresthelight · 18/01/2015 19:48

there is a huge difference between grabbing a child to prevent them getting injured and using the full force of an adult weight to pin them down to clean their teeth. there are far less violent and abusive methods imo

Mrscog · 18/01/2015 19:58

Wheresthelight like I said, stop judging and be thankful that your preferred methods worked with your child. I never envisaged having to pin my child down for dressing/nappy/teeth but for a 12 month period it was the only way. I obviously tried every other method under the sun, but even with persistence and patience they were fucking useless with my 2year old.

findingherfeet · 18/01/2015 20:01

You don't have to sit on them!!

Have child on lap, one arm behind your back and hold the other.....

Absolute nonsense that I was violent and abusive!!

wheresthelight · 18/01/2015 20:01

I am not judging but I am interested to know why you don't think it is ok to smack but it is ok to pin a baby down

rallytog1 · 18/01/2015 20:13

We've never pinned down, but we have persevered. It has taken over a year, but dd (21mo) is now very happy to have her teeth brushed. She will often ask to do it at other times.

She hated it and would try to get out of it at the start (crying, screaming, hitting etc), but we'd just gently make sure she got the brush in her mouth, even if it wasn't a full clean, then gradually built up as she realised this was going to happen no matter what. We also tried to make it fun by singing tooth brushing songs, getting nice new brushes, letting her brush our teeth etc.

There were times I felt like pinning her down was the only option, but having grown up with an abject fear of dentists, I felt it was really important that children are happy about toothbrushing and doesn't see it as something to be endured or forced into. The dentist is very happy with her teeth too.

BathshebaDarkstone · 18/01/2015 20:17

DS hated this when he was 2, HV suggested giving him a toothbrush too, and doing it in front of Cbeebies. It really worked!

Mrscog · 18/01/2015 20:23

Well because smacking would presumably be accompanied with aggression/telling off. When I pinned DS down, it was preceeded with lots of warnings that if he didn't cooperate I'd have to hold him. I'd then hold him/pin him but remain reassuring and cheerful 'ok DS I know you hate it but you've got to have them done, just 30 seconds, la la la sing a song. All done!'. In fact a lot of the time he stopped protesting once pinned and actually listened to me. No agression, telling off or anything. It was basically his choice as we'd always have 5 mins of being chased/cajoled/trying to do it in front of cbeebies first.

hazeyjane · 18/01/2015 20:34

My ds has hypoplastic teeth (little to no enamel) he has sn so we see a sn dentist who showed us the best way of wrapping ds in a towel, and brushing with a special brush which is more effective than a standard brush. Ds hates having his teeth brushed, but he has to have it done - he has already had to have 4 teeth removed (he was 3), which was extremely traumatic for him. It is a lot easier to clean his teeth now, than when he was younger, he knows it has to happen.

Wheresthelight, you may think it is abusive, but honestly, having to go under general to have teeth removed, and being in pain due to decay would be a far worse state of affairs.

Lifesalemon · 18/01/2015 20:43

I've held my child firmly to brush her teeth, I've made her cry brushing knots out of her hair and I've also been known to force feed her medication. All out of necessity and for her own good. She's made it through to sixteen despite all the abuse she's received.

Original poster

mrsleomcgary · 19/01/2015 00:09

Only on mumsnet can asking for tips on toothbrushing lead to a bun fight about whether or not something is abusive.

I value all in put though. Tonight we actually tried me having a go to get the ones at the front,she then took the brush from me and 'cleaned' them and my front teeth. She laughed when I let her do it and also let me take the brush back and got in around the ones further back so think we'll persevere with this for a while. We've tried one of us holding her arms down while the other brushes but she's a stubborn little thing and just turns her head away so not exactly sucessful.

OP posts:

forwarding · 19/01/2015 02:05

wheresthelight you make a mockery of real abuse by labelling brushing a child's teeth by pinning them down abusive.

wheresthelight · 19/01/2015 09:12

and why is that? I happen to feel that it's a very fine line just because you feel differently does not mean I am making a mockery

hazeyjane · 19/01/2015 09:20

It is also incredibly insulting to state that parents who have to hold down their child to brush teeth (and who may have to do the same to give medication and administer medical treatment) are committing abuse. When my ds had to gave a general anaesthetic to have his decayed teeth removed, the nurses had to help me hold him down in order to administer the anaesthetic - I guess they are my accomplices in the abuse of my child.

Redcagoule · 19/01/2015 10:11

Dear OP. Our dentist said at this age (my DS is 21 months) it's really just about dislodging any stuck food and that they don't get plaque. I don't know when this changes. My LO loves a toothbrush and toothpaste but can take a lot of persuasion/bribery to let me give his teeth a proper clean. He usually just likes to suck the brush. However, with a mixture of me using the brush in his mouth (I find an adult electric brush, as they have a small head, is the most effective and the dentist said this is fine) and doing our teeth together in the mirror and him cleaning my teeth, we are slowly, slowing making progress in getting his teeth cleaned well. Perhaps I should be more forceful/determind but I'm trying to do it with his full co-operation.

I don't rule more coercive methods if he really won't go along with it though.

One of many, many challenges with a toddler eh?

wheresthelight · 19/01/2015 11:44

hazeyjane I can't help but feel that you finding something to be insulted about says more about you and your actions that about my query over why this form of corporal intervention is acceptable but smacking isn't

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