Toothbrushing.... How on earth?!

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Do you manage with your babies? If so, how?!

I give my 8 month old baby (4 teeth) his brush to play with, which he chews. I dot him in front of a mirror, I show him me brushing my teeth.

But the second I try to do any kind of gentle directing of the brush in his mouth, the lips clamp shut and his hands bat me away.

He's a great baby, but very very stubborn (in other ways).

Should I just keep going? I know getting him used to the routine should help but it's just so annoying and seemingly futile.

Does anyone else manage successfully?

Or am I getting stressed too soon, while others are sitting back and waiting for their babies to get a little older first?

Sorry for typos

I think the NHS video has frustrated me, the baby just sits there while he teeth are brushed relatively successfully

I'd stop trying so hard. Chewing the brush will do a fair bit. I also used to rub their teeth with a flannel at bathtime at this age.

Mind you I'm no model to follow since both mine went through extended toothbrush refusal phases at about 18 months... at that age I adopted the pin them down and brush as they yell approach but 8 months seems a bit small for that.

Establishing the routine is most important.

Give the toothbrush and let him chew on it. Brush your teeth in front of him.

If he won't let you do it, don't stress, stay calm and leave him to it. As he gets older and understands more you can start to be a bit firmer.

I heard the main thing is getting fluoride on their teeth for now which hopefully is happening if he is chomping on his brush with a tiny fit of paste? Do you use one of the silicone brush baby brushes?

I let mine do that until roughly a year old and then I had to just tough out the screaming and flailing unfortunately!! Must admit, getting the tooth cleaning down has been one of my least favourite battles!

Now at 2 & 3 they sit nicely while I brush them. I say 'crocodile' and they go eeeeeee! So I can clean the front of them all. Then I say 'lion' and they go aaaaaaah! Mouth wide open so I can get the inside and biting surface. Try and make it fun I'd say

Have you tried a finger brush? They are designed for younger babies but it might be easier to get our finger in his mouth and give them a quick scrub, then give him the brush to chew.

Just keep going. once my DC knew the routine it got easier. I used to wrap them in a towel after bath and brush their teeth whilst they were laid on the bed. Then once they got the hang of it I'd then

sit them on my knee (still wrapped in a towel) and they'd get cuddles whilst having teeth done.

You could try a finger brush and bug brush (Amazon).

Thanks everyone! This is super helpful. I'll keep letting him chew it for now. Very prepared for the pin him down technique in the near future (Im a vet so I have the skill set )

at your vet comment!

DD hated it too. In hindsight, we should have started before she got teeth. The wrapped in a towel technique worked for us, although I don't know how well her teeth ever got brushed. She's now 18 months and much better. The health visitor said sit on her if you have to (not sure that's helpful, sorry!)

I put my 13 month old in her high chair and do it very quickly whilst she yells about it. She absolutely hates it. If she isn’t in the chair she just throws herself around. She got her first tooth at 11 months.

@Mybabystolemysanity sit on her has made me actually laugh out loud! I'm sure my neighbours thought I was murdering mine the bloody fuss they make, arms and legs pinned, toothbrush in. They'll thank me when their teeth are great nick!

I let DS use the brush on me as well, we say 'aaaaah', look in the mirror

Basically anything that gets a bit of the paste somewhere in the mouth