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Parenting

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Original poster

So... how often do you brush your childs teeth properly?

47 replies

jingleMAMADIVAsbells · 17/12/2008 09:18

I know I will probably be flamed rotten for this but just a general worry/question.

My DS is 2.5YO and he just will not let me or DP brush his teeth, he tenses up and struggles so much, shakes his head and clamps his mouth shut making it practically impossible to do.

Obviously we know we have to brush everyday twice a day but with my DS it seems to distress him more so it's easier to let it go in the end if that makes sense. I feel terrible doing this I really do but his teeth get done once every 3 days my HV said that was fine if he is getting distressed but I hate leaving it for long must be disgusting for him and cant be good for him either.

Has anyone else got experience with this and how the hell do you deal with it?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

mynewnickname · 25/12/2008 22:37

One thing that's working with ds (age 3) is to pretend we are two people or characters and one is brushing the other's teeth. So I could be Dora brushing Diego's teeth or something silly but he likes it....

fatmoo · 26/12/2008 20:05

my ds is 2.5 too, we got him a shrek electric toothbrush and it works a treat! he loves it!

choosyfloosy · 26/12/2008 20:09

try getting him to do a dinosaur roar, roaring back, and brushing just a little wiggle at a time. I would keep trying tbh. Maybe even take him to a dentist, not to tell him off, but because a good one will make him feel special for looking after his teeth?

and/or a leccy toothbrush. we've just gone back to one after a year not feeling able to afford one - absolutely great

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HollyCherry · 29/12/2008 00:00

My DD has always been like this - is a bit better now she's 4 and a bit and can mosty do it herself (only at nighttime and I try to get in there and give them a good once over 2-3 times a week).

Call me bonkers but I found singing her the 'brusha brusha brusha' song from Grease made something of a breakthrough

nappyaddict · 29/12/2008 01:01

when i remember

solo · 29/12/2008 01:19

Dd(2)is exactly the same as Ds was. Ds was terrible until he was about 4/5years. I tried everything with him including wrapping him up in a towel and laying him down and sitting on/over him. Nothing really worked and I was so stressed out over it and the worry that he'd get rotten teeth etc.
Now having the same grief with Dd, but dentist said to just brush the front teethwhich I find odd tbh. I'm just trying to be calm about it, but it's hard to do that!
I still have to remind Ds(10.4)to clean his teeth, so things don't really get better ime, just different!

Pawslikepaddington · 29/12/2008 01:25

I have had to sit on dd and physically restrain her on many occasions. Has slipped a bit over xmas as she keeps falling asleep before bedtime, but find letting them choose their toothpaste and toothbrush helps-we have a variety so she can choose a "new" one each time and is slowly getting better (at nearly 5). I like to think that at least these are practice teeth, so her life won't end if they are not brushed religiously.

BlackLetterDay · 29/12/2008 01:45

Dd brushes her own teeth aged 5 and sometimes asks me to do it for her, ds however is a nightmare, he's all about the toothpaste. I generally get him lying down then pin his arms down with a blanket then say "say ahhhh" at which he opens his mouth lol.

After I have done the best I can he then gets to chew the toothbrush for a bit. I would love to say I did this everyday, but it's more like every other

solo · 29/12/2008 01:56

Tis a nightmare isn't it?!!!

MatNanPlusTINSEL · 29/12/2008 02:40

10mo i care for loves having her teeth done, sits on my hip, mouth wide open, watching us in the mirror.

Her brother is slowly coming round to having his brushed properly then doing them himself, he gets to play with a battery brush we have as a treat if no fuss is made.

meandjoe · 29/12/2008 07:00

only once a day i'm afraid , there seems no point other than last thing at night as he is just constantly eating fruit in the day so the second i'd have done them i'd need to do it again anyway.

alittleteapot · 29/12/2008 13:13

We insist on brushing her teeth in the evening (she lets DP do it no prob but battles with me and sometimes i give up) then in the morning I give her the brush and get her to do it, and she has a bit of a go, bless her. She's 18 months. I try and make up scrubberdy scrub brushedy brush songs too...

NAB3hundredChristmaslights · 29/12/2008 13:25

Twice a day and they have to have it done.

NAB3hundredChristmaslights · 29/12/2008 13:26

What about saying no when he asks for certain things to eat as he won't clean his teeth properly and x will make them rotten?

sherby · 29/12/2008 13:29

Twice a day, we were always really strict about it, hate not cleaning teeth

Just took DD 3 yrs old to the dentist and she has two huge cavaties in her back teeth she eats a ton of fruit so I guess that must be what it is and the dentist said she has soft enamel

Still really upsetting because we do have a strict routine with teeth cleaning

hopelesshousewife · 29/12/2008 13:47

I'm not saying don't get too worked up, but I've just had to take DD to a dental consultant specialising in children's teeth, as her enamel hasn't formed properly at the back and her teeth are particularly vunerable - namely I brush her teeth twice a day, plus use high flouride tooth mousse every day and am a veritable dragon about sweets and she still has decay

He told me two interesting things...

In his view, most mainstream dentists don't know enough about childrens teeth, they just repair the damage when they get to adulthood.
Decay is 20% toothbrushing, 30% diet and 50% genetic factors such as make up of saliva and the "bugs" living in the mouth.

I'd always thought that any decay must be down to my failure as a patent and he did put my mind at rest a bit - though gawd knows what else I can do - so far we have:-
only milk and water to drink, occasionally juice but only with meals,
no fizzy drinks at all,
few snacks,
no dried fruit or sticky sweets ever
quite bland diet with few sweet things
Fanatical twice daily brushing plus application of high flouride mousse!

Has anyone else had this problem? DS is fine.

hopelesshousewife · 29/12/2008 13:49

Sorry parent not patent! Obv no good as a patent!

Sherby - hope this makes sense for you!

threestars · 29/12/2008 19:17

I used to have to resort to pinning ds down to brush his teeth. It were 'orrible.
Luckily DH has a brown tooth due to it being a bit unreachable and to all the coffee and wine he drinks. So instead of fighting, I just have to ask ds if he wants brown teeth like daddy, or to keep them lovely and white.
He can't get to his toothbrush fast enough.

Failing a dh like mine, you could point him in the direction of a photo of Shane McGowan .

mum19821985 · 12/12/2016 08:11

This is a really old thread but thought I'd comment anyway! I used to have a massive battle with my son but now we always use a "brush your teeth song" and he love sit! In fact we do everything to song such as cleaning up, getting dressed, leaving the house etc. All songs are on YouTube X

scrumptiouscrumpets · 12/12/2016 09:47

We let DS 1 who is 2 watch YouTube videos on my mobile phone, it's a treat for him and the battles Have stopped. Before that, it was a complete nightmare. Could you try that, or give him some other reward, eg a sticker chart if he's into stickers?

Sparrowlegs248 · 12/12/2016 19:23

Once or twice a day, usually twice but I've been known to forget. 16 months, I do it while he's in the highchair after breakfast and dinner. He holds the toothpaste (fascinating apparently) and likes the Minty taste now. I sing ' this is how we brush our teeth' to the tune of mulberry bush. He's not always overjoyed but we carry on. Often it's fine and he finishes off himself.

BotBotticelli · 13/12/2016 08:56

My ds (16mo) hates having his teeth brushed. I just lie him across my lap, tilt his head backwards and when he opens his mouth to roar in anger, give them a good brush!

The more he yells the better: can get the brush right in and do the back ones.

It's unpleasant for all of us but I don't have time to dick around cajoling and encouraging him in the morning when I have to get him and his brother out the door to nursery and onto the 0805 train to work.

It might sound harsh but it only lasts a minute and then it's done. As soon as I put him down the angry screeching stops.

I have a mouthful of fillings and I don't want that for him, so his discomfort/anger/annoyance twice a day for a minute really isn't my primary concern!

Also, he eats sugary shit (cakes, croissants, lots of fruit) that I probably would have withheld more with my first son at this age, but he always wants what his big brother is having and my standards have slipped (classic second child syndrome) so it's even more important that his teeth are well brushed twice a day.

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