tooth brushing - 20 month old just wont do it!

[bamamama]

ok, so this was a bit of a rod for own back scenario but when ds only had a few teeth I'd give them a quick brush and then he'd hold the tooth brush himself and have a go. The brushing from me got a bit lax and we're now at the stage where he's refusing to let dh or I brush his teeth and is just sucking the toothpaste off the brush. He screams blue murder if I try and brush them and if I show him how to do it he mimics me but uses the hand without the toothbrush in it!
How can I get him brushing his teeth (or let me brush them for him) He's currently seeing the whole process as an opportunity for a minty snack.

get him to brush your teeth first? sing a song as you do it? count teeth?

I brush teeth of all my children (6,3,1) 3 year old hate it, I@ve sometimes had to hold her to do it (against her will) but it's non negotiable for me!

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Could you buy a special toothbrush together/ Maybe one which makes a noise or flashes. Do you think he would be more willing to use it?

At the risk of being labelled a slatternly mother in the toothcare department...ds is 2.5 and has only just started to move from the 'minty snack' school of toothbrushing to the actually rubbing the brush against teeth stage. And I'm not really worried.
I think he is improving through watching me and his dad and also because they clean their teeth at nursery and so he sees other, older, children doing it properly.
It is also a bit of a fiddle, if you think about it, in terms of motor control, moving brush up and down and in and out etc etc...

thanks for the responses, will try holding his nose when the going gets tough! We go through the motions twice a day so it's part of his routine so perhaps I just have to start enforcing it. Can you get noisy toothbrushes for kids?

tigana - I know what you mean about motor responses although as he's demonstrating the brushing movement with his free hand I think he'd manage it! I think there may be an element of pfb chilling required here aswell...!

here
Not sure whether it's really the right sort of thing, but thought it might give you a rough idea.
I know you can get all sorts of nonsense in the local chemists these days, so may be worth a trip.

I used to name ds' teeth and say (he was into Thomas the Tank) look theres one there that looks like james, his wheels are really muddy lets give them a clean. etc etc It did work.

thelittleElf - thanks for the link - I think I must be getting old, what will they think of next etc etc...!

Oh i know

I'd never heard of them either, so i feel a tad ancient myself now