Baby fights having his teeth brushed!

[Bethan2]

Hi all. My 10 month old son always goes bananas whenever we try and do anything to his face, eg clean it, administer Calpol etc. So now he has 6 teeth I have to try and clean them every night and it is a complete nightmare! He just goes ballistic and pushes my hands away. My DH is rarely around to help and short of growing another arm, I can't think of how to get it done. It's making me really stressed out at bedtime. Would really appreciate any ideas or stories of people who have been through this and come out the other side 😣. Thanks! X

Buy three toothbrushes - one for each of baby's hands and one for you to use.

I had this and my dentist just told me not to worry, do my best and try and get some fluoride onto DS's teeth if nothing else.

He's four now and he finally brushes his own teeth quite well on his own

Thanks so much Fate and Mouse! X

We've incorporated teeth brushing into the bedtime ritual from around 11/12 months and basically let him brush his own teeth (with a bit of guidance or mimicking from us), stick the toothbrush under the running tap (he loves seeing the water run over the toothbrush), and then place it himself into the toothbrush holder. He then gets a high five at the end of it. We try to make it seem like a fun happy ritual. HTH!

With DD we stand in front of the mirror and I sing "this is the way we brush your teeth" in the tune of "here we go round the mulberry bush" which she seems to like! I then always let her have a turn, and give lots of praise throughout. I am also very routined with brushing so she knows when to expect it, and often brush my teeth with her so she sees I do it too.

Seriously, at that age, just a chew on a toothbrush with some suitable kiddy toothpaste is plenty. I had this worry with my ds. He's 21mo and still has a complete meltdown if I try and brush his teeth but our dentist doesn't have any worries about his teeth.

I have been known to swaddle my DS up in a towel to stop him obstucting teeth brushing. It's something my parents were lax on though & as I result I have awful teeth, so I see it as a non-negotiable.
(I do all the letting him do some, silly songs etc first though - the towel is the last resort!)

We were having screaming fits until we switched toothpaste. It has been amazing the change after just a week, he now looks forward to teeth brushing! Maybe your little one doesn't like the taste?

Thanks so much for all your replies! We now have a finger toothbrush (thanks Sainsburys!!) plus on bath nights I use the towel to pin down his arms 😐. I know it's horrible! But I tell myself it's for his own good 👍x

Spooky do you mind me asking what toothpaste was a success? I could open a shop with all the rejected tubes in our bathroom drawer x

We still use mild mint! Have looked in several supermarkets but not found another flavour yet 😮