help with teethbrushing a 18month old

[lizandlulu]

my dd is 18 months and wont let me brush her teeth anymore. she used to be fairly good about it and suck the brush, then i would do it after. now for no apparent reason, she wont even suck the brush anymore. i have tried using a diff brush, and trying strawberry flavour toothpaste, but she just wont let me get in her mouth. i dont want to force her,cause i dont want her to feel its something bad that mummy does, iyknim. but i cant let her not brush her teeth! any advice or just hearing other peoples experiences that might help would be greatly appreciated. im going off line now but will be back soon. thank you.

I do understand about not wanting to force her to do anything, but after grappling with this myself in the end I followed advice to do it, on the grounds that being pinned down by someone who loves you is better than having to undergo potentially very frightening dental treatment.

Dp and I did it kindly but very firmly each night and we made sure that it was as quick and as gentle as we could make it, but we did pin him. One of us would hold him from behind with his head in our lap and the other would quickly do the brushing. It only actually took a short time of this before he co-operated again. Not our finest hour but I still think on balance the best choice for us - ds loved fruit and was breastfed frequently including at night - he really needed his teeth brushed regularly.

I gave ds an old electric toothbrush with an child's oral b attachment, I put a smudge of toothpaste on it for taste and let him wet it under the tap and then allow him to switch it on, he occasionally put it in his mouth, but while it distracts him I brush his teeth with a regular toothbrush. He seemed to refuse the brush when his canines were coming in, so after a week that was the only solution that worked for us, as I'm usually alone with him come time to brush his teeth the pinning down thing was difficult, but I've heard it can be done. Someone else also mentioned putting them on your lap and tickling them and getting in with the brush when they laugh, but I can't imagine that!

We used out and out bribery. Took dd to Boots and let her choose whatever toothbrush she wanted and new pjs. The new toothbrush was hers alone and we used a different one and the pjs weer just a reward for letting us brush ehr teeth.

Space Puppy might have hit the nail on the head - could she have big teeth coming?

Dd used to like her "people" (any random small toy/stuffed animal) brushing her teeth, or the cat- I'd have to hold a struggling cat under one arm while trying to brush her teeth making it look like the cat was doing it!
At the moment I'm going through a pinning her down phase (and tickling to get her mouth open..)

She is almost 2 btw

we used to brush DS's teeth in the bath and at about 18 months he wouldn't have anything to do with it, we then started brushing them while he looked at himself in the mirror when he got out of the bath, he liked watching the baby in mirror brushing and it seemed to distract him. Also being wrapped up in a towel prevented a big struggle.

My DS is a nightmare and I mostly let him chew the brush himself (he is only 13 months though, so a bit younger than your DD).

If it is any comfort my very old-school dentist told me there is no need to worry about brushing a child's teeth until they are THREE!? Needless to say I still brush DS's - or at least try to.

His major point, however, was that avoiding too much sugary crap was more important in preventing infant decay than brushing.

thanks for all of that. there are some ideas i will def try. i dont have good teeth so im quite strict about it and feel awful if a night goes by that she doesnt do it. she does eat sweets and loads of fruit though so something def has to be done. i usually bath her on my own so it is really hard to try to pin her down, and was scared of her becoming negative about teeth brushing, and seeing it as a bad thing. kind of like, if you try to force a child to eat sprouts then they get a dislike for them for life!! i hope my situation improves soon!

dont bother
give them it in the bath to play wiht
go i never took totth brushign seriously till they wer logical

kids teeht fantastic

I always brush my teeth with my dd, so we stand at the sink together and go aaaa and eeee, she does her teeth herself and then lets me finish (sometimes).
L

youare too strict imo

.........you PIN HER DOWN??
ooh lala
mine goe fo dasy somettimes

dentist swoons at theri teeth

I pinned cod

night time breastfeeding + fruit freak + no teeth brushing = bad

ah
well you nee to take a leaff out of our bok
she sighs in admiration at our teeth

I think ours are good so far, but I didn't feel comfortable with no brushing

there's a BIG thing about dental decay with co-sleeping and all night breastfeeding

TBH I gave up on the pinning down thing and have just waited until I could explain that daddy's black/missing teeth were because he didn't clean them when he was little.

Also disney princess tothpaste and barbie toothbrushes are unlikely to impress her for at least a few more months

there a big hting iwht all night breateeing
you freak

I too would have a real issue with not brushing dd teeth either if teeth are good, gum disease can be bad. I always think if i let my dd get away with little things like brushing teeth, i would find it harder to get her to follow more important rules. Does that make sense?
L

no
sh eiwll not rememeb last tuesdya she forgot

When on own - wrap in towel - wait for howling. Brush.

Have now progressed to singing in operatic style (LAAAAA, LAAAAA ad infinitum) which allows brushing without screaming. Have also found baaaing like intoxicated sheep to work quite well.

Tis just a phase...

LOL my DD remembers so much more than i exspect, holidays taken 2 years ago, car crash last july, toys she lost ect

no
chillax

But I think there is brushing and brushing - I agree it's important to introduce it as part of the routine, but I don't think you need get too hung up on doing every last crevice. Most infant decay is caused by baby-bottle-mouth, not brushing (or rather the lack of it).

i am stunned you lto pin screamign kids donw

i didnt have to pin my dd down, thank goodness, but dont know if i could

i havent pinned her down....yet!