How thoroughly do you clean your toddlers teeth

[meepmoop]

DS is nearly 2 and hates having his teeth brushed but will try to do it himself

At the moment morning toothbrushing I give him the brush with toothpaste and he does a light scrub on the front of his teeth than pretty much chews it and swirls it around his mouth.

Evening me and DH take the pinning down tactic so I can give them a proper scrub but I'm still not doing it perfectly as DS doesn't really cooperate although he is getting slightly better at letting me do it.

I just worry I'm not getting every bit of his mouth. How do you find it?

You need to find a compromise. Why doesn't he like his teeth being brushed?

Flavour of toothpaste, feeling of brush, someone forcing him to do it, the fact that it is bedtime straight after?

DD used to fight because she didn't want to go to bed - we just moved toothbrushing forward half an hour and she could watch a programme on telly (storytime type thing) straight after - she didn't understand that we just put a recording on, we told her she had to be done properly and let mummy finish it up so she would not miss "her" programme.

pretty thoroughly but I am a child of a dentist and it's one thing that there is no discussion or compromise on, it's done properly, to my standard, twice a day, the end.

We went through a little phase of DS1 not wanting to clean his teeth properly..

Little things that we done to get around it was DH and I took him to the shop for him to pick which tooth brush he wanted, and which toddlers toothpaste he wanted (they have different character pictures on the front)
Those two simple things instantly got him to brush his teeth very throughly, with our help obviously! Maybe try making it more fun for your DC?

He doesn't like it as he wants to do it himself but at the moment he's to young to direct so I need to be able to do it.

you absolutely must be the one to brush his teeth, for as long as you can get away with it (I still sometime wrest the toothbrush from DD, who is 9, and do it! She just rolls her eyes at me).

I think what needs to happen is that your mindset changes to - this has to happen twice a day and I/DH am doing it and there is no discussion to be had. So - he wants to do it himself - instead of thinking, how can I help him, poor DS, he wants to do it etc etc - nope, too bad, Mum/Dad are doing it.

Also has your DC been to the dentist?
Our dentist is fantastic and when he checks DS1's teeth makes a big deal of how well he is looking after his teeth and to carry on doing an amazing job etc..my DS loves leaving the dentist and has a massive grin on his face that he has done such a good job of looking after his teeth!

How often does he go to the dentist?
No matter whether it's a check for my son or DH or me, our dentist will say 'hop in the chair, shall we have a look at your teeth?'
So he is very use to going to the dentist and loves it!

If Ds didn't cooperate then I used to wrap him in a towel to do it. Teeth were non negotiable,along with taking medicine.

I went through a stage of having to wrap DS in a bath towel so I could get the brush in. He screamed and cried but that kinda made it easier to brush them properly cos I could access his full mouth.
After a couple of weeks he realised it’s no big deal to let me do it and he now sits on my knee, with his legs pinned and I scrub his teeth for two mins twice a day. I sing songs, pull faces, and we have lots of cheering and clapping when it’s done. It’s just a non negotiable thing. I neglected my teeth in my 20’s and have a lot of fillings and I would be mortified if DS needed dental work due to my failing to brush his teeth.

Teeth brushing is non negotiable, my ds doesn't like having his teeth brushed and is rubbish at doing it himself. He can either choose the easy way of cooperating and letting me brush his teeth (I give him plenty of chances) or I pin him down which is extremely difficult as a single parent but it has to be done.

Oh yes as pp mentioned wrapping them in a towel or blanket helps with the pinning down, I know it sounds bad sorry 🙈

Could you let him pick a toothbrush? My 2 year old was like this but we bought him a singing tooth brush (it sings for 2mins) and he loves it. He can't wait to brush his teeth and we take it in turns. I do a bit then he does a bit.

It was always non negotiable when my kids were toddlers. The youngest was fine but the eldest hated it and we had to pin him down to do it. They both get perfect scores now when they visit the dentist so it was worth it.

Headlock worked for me.

Thanks everyone, we will continue to pin him down. He has been to the dentist twice and they have said no issues but I'm very conscious of his teeth as I've had issues with mine.

He's not really at the understanding yet to pick toothbrushes/toothpaste out but will try it when he's a bit older.

Haven't thought about using a towel, I usually use a towel to give the cat tablets. Guess it's almost the same

It is and always has been an ever loving nightmare to clean ds's teeth (he is nearly 9)....he has macroglossia so it is hard to get to the back teeth without him gagging, he has sensory issues so tries to keep his lips over the gum line because he doesn't like the brush touching there. He is extremely resistant to all self care routines and it is bloody exhausting. However he has always had his teeth brushed - a Collis curve brush helps as it cleans more surface area than a standard brush and when he was little wrapping him in a towel or tipping him upside down.

I had my worries about the pinning meep because of course having something you don’t want forced into your mouth is not pleasant. But I think most kids come round to it and stop objecting pretty quickly. And it’s a no brainier that it’s much better than them suffering tooth decay.

You can get those tablets which show where you have cleaned/ not cleaned. Could he chew one, then clean his own , he can then see where he has to keep going?

I'm battling with my 19 month old every day at mo, like yours she wants to chew the brush or do it herself. I did pin her down with the help of my 9yo son lol she screamed and screamed it was not pleasant but I guess it's going to have to be as I noticed she keeps getting food stuck in the bottom teeth!

Child's electric tooth brush and give each tooth a real good tickle?

"Let me help you get the ones at the back, that big one is really ticklish!"

An electric brush would have more of an effect than a manual?

I cant believe people are pinning their dc down or wrapping them in a towel to brush teeth

I have a 5 and 4 yo who brush their own teeth , maybe not as well as I would do it, but the dentist always says they have lovely teeth!

Im not surprised he doesn’t like having it done OP you are making it into a scary thing!

Mine also use a childrens mouthwash which probably helps.

We had a lot more success when we got DD age 2 an electric toothbrush - it flashes lights for 2 minutes. She seems to like it being a gadget and it means it's the toothbrush not us saying how long she has to brush for. We check afterwards and still have to pin her down for that occasionally but it has got much better.

@SkydivingKittyCat I actually say "I'm going to tickle your teeth" to my dd and she laughs and opens her mouth then at last minute turns her head/closes her mouth etc making it impossible to get in grrr! Tried strapping her in booster seat and doing it at the table/in front of tv still no!

He has an electric toothbrush with the light, loves it until I try and use it on him.

I've tried making a different animal noise on each tooth, making faces, exaggerated ahh's still not willing

@melissasummerfield if they don't let you, there's much choice.

Thats my point OP stop forcing a toothbrush into his mouth, imagine someone doing that to you!

My dentist insists we must continue brushing their teeth until they are 5 or 6. It's fine to let them have a go before them but as along as you repeat it properly afterwards.