Teeth Brushing - 21 month old

[TheNuttyNatterer]

My 21 month old just won’t have her teeth cleaned. It’s turning into a right battle where she throws her arms around and moves her head away and usually ends up crying. I just can’t get the toothbrush anywhere near enough to clean her teeth. I’m so worried about it. Any tips please?
Thank you.

We put her fav cartoon on to keep her distracted and won't give in until it's done :)

Does she like Hey Duggee? There’s a very catchy toothbrushing song.

Take turns - she brushes your teeth and you do hers?
Give her a brush to hold/have a go at her own teeth?
One of those chewy brushes?
Different toothpaste? Get her to choose in the shop? (I can’t remember whether this would appeal to a 21 month old, sorry!)
Brush them a bit when she’s asleep, if she’s a good sleeper?!

At the moment I'm putting toothpaste on the brush and giving it to my 20 month old in the bath. I let her have a go herself, but also think I need to step it up so her teeth get a good brush. So, I'm following with interest.

So far I've been thinking that I don't want to force it so she gets bad associations with tooth brushing, and instead will wait until her understanding is a bit more developed.

Also, I play the Hey Duggee toothbrush song while she's cleaning them!

Our DD hated having her teeth brushed but it was really bothering me worrying about her drinking milk and it sitting on her teeth so after a period of trying all the nice things I am afraid to say I just lay her on the bed and held her arms down and did what I needed to do to brush them. It was probably 2 or 3 days of this battle however now she will willingly say 'ahhhhh' and she brushes them and then I have a go after.

Obviously it isn't particularly nice seeing them upset however the short term pain battling with her made me feel so much better than the worry about the milk on her teeth over night thing.

My DS has the silicone brush baby toothbrush - he holds it and has a chew on it. I try to do a bit more brushing when he gets bored.

I saw a technique where you sit on the floor with your legs out straight. Lay toddler down on the floor between your legs so their head is in your crotch basically. And use your legs to pin down their arms. Because they're looking up at you their mouth is open in a good position for brushing.

I thought this looked absolutely crazy but tried it as a last resort with DD and it worked! Now when I sit down holding the brush, she comes and sits between my legs ready for brushing.

Worth a try, but if they struggle or hate it I wouldnt recommend pinning them down and persisting. I think it's only a good idea if they happen to be chill about it.

We use the Disney magic timer app. My youngest is slightly older than yours but you just never know what will work!

Seconding doing songs etc, also doing things like "roar like a lion" and seeing how loud they can be with a wide open mouth whilst you brush their teeth.
The best one was pretending the toothbrush was a car/bus/train/plane going into a tunnel!
Teeth brushing is a non-negotiable in our house morning and night, so if it meant holding them down and doing it then so be it some days!

Mine has always hated it. We used to do various YouTube tooth brushing cartoons, then after his first dentist appointment they recommended we play dentist at home to get teeth brushed. Of course, he just wants to brush ours. Most nights we bribe him. I always try for twice a day but we only get a decent brush once a day, as I usually let him do the morning one by himself which he’s happy to do.

His teeth were all healthy at his check up!

Did you manage to get anywhere? My two year old is a nightmare at this time, iv tried songs, brushing with her, special tooth brushes different toothpastes. She will bite my hand close her mouth turn her head scream cover her mouth refuse to open and if I manage to get it in get bites it so hard that I can’t brush it. I dread it I once spent nearly two hours and barely got them brushed not to a great standard and like you im so worried. I never had an issue with my ten year old she enjoyed it so I’m at a loss they say don’t force them it can make it worse but I can’t just leave her to it 🤦‍♀️