ok so we've been brushing DS teeth since he got them at about 6months but lately (last week or so) he won't let me brush them, he will let DH do it but unfortunately he's away for 2 weeks. I've tried making him laugh, his mouth will shut as soon as the brush approaches, making aahhhh noises, doing it while he's in the bath holding another tooth brush, while he's lying down. etc, nothing seems to be working. I can even use a damp face cloth to wipe them as he shuts his mouth and turns his head.
Does anyone have any tips? I don't want him to start associating it with something bad so I don't want to force him IYKWIM.
or should I just not stress and just keep trying each day.
oh he drinks water after each meal too so his mouth is getting a rinse then

thanks

When we had trouble with our daughter we sang 'toothbrush' songs. there's a playschool one that says

"when you wake up in the morning at a quarter to 2
and you can't go back to sleep but you don't know what to do,
you brush your teeth - chchchch (brushing teeth)"

it has several verses
we didn't brush until the brushing bit in the song in each verse- so she knew when the brushing bit was comming and how long we would brush for.

Worked Really well!

I wouldn't stress too much about it though- just do the best you can. smile

When we had trouble with our daughter we sang 'toothbrush' songs. there's a playschool one that says

"when you wake up in the morning at a quarter to 2
and you can't go back to sleep but you don't know what to do,
you brush your teeth - chchchch (brushing teeth)"

it has several verses
we didn't brush until the brushing bit in the song in each verse- so she knew when the brushing bit was comming and how long we would brush for.

Worked Really well!

I wouldn't stress too much about it though- just do the best you can. smile

thats pretty clever lol

but i dont really have much advice to offer maybe you could do it while he is asleep if you dont use tooth paste lol (probably not a good idea) with ds he likes to do it himself first then he'll let or df do it smile

ok so we've been brushing DS teeth since he got them at about 6months but lately (last week or so) he won't let me brush them, he will let DH do it but unfortunately he's away for 2 weeks. I've tried making him laugh, his mouth will shut as soon as the brush approaches, making aahhhh noises, doing it while he's in the bath holding another tooth brush, while he's lying down. etc, nothing seems to be working. I can even use a damp face cloth to wipe them as he shuts his mouth and turns his head.
Does anyone have any tips? I don't want him to start associating it with something bad so I don't want to force him IYKWIM.
or should I just not stress and just keep trying each day.
oh he drinks water after each meal too so his mouth is getting a rinse then

thanks

There's some things that are not negotiable and teeth brushing is one of them, it has to be done and its for the greater good so I'd be holding him down and doing it regardless of any tantrums. When we started out with teeth brushing my kids didnt like it, but it only took a matter of days before they realised I was going to brush their teeth no matter what - because you have to, tooth decay is rapid and whats worse, a few tears or having to take them to the dentist to get fillings or worst case scenario a tooth pulled.

We sat on the lounge with kid on lap and head resting on the arm of the chair, you can get a little finger in the side of their mouth to open it and get the toothbrush in there (much easier if you use an electric one) and while they are screaming you brush, then say brightly "all done, good boy" and go about your business. It has to be part of their routine and they have to know its going to be done twice a day every day no matter what.

Might sound hard but its for their own good.

There's some things that are not negotiable and teeth brushing is one of them, it has to be done and its for the greater good so I'd be holding him down and doing it regardless of any tantrums. When we started out with teeth brushing my kids didnt like it, but it only took a matter of days before they realised I was going to brush their teeth no matter what - because you have to, tooth decay is rapid and whats worse, a few tears or having to take them to the dentist to get fillings or worst case scenario a tooth pulled.

We sat on the lounge with kid on lap and head resting on the arm of the chair, you can get a little finger in the side of their mouth to open it and get the toothbrush in there (much easier if you use an electric one) and while they are screaming you brush, then say brightly "all done, good boy" and go about your business. It has to be part of their routine and they have to know its going to be done twice a day every day no matter what.

Might sound hard but its for their own good.

I am aware that it needs to be done and how bad tooth decay can be (my aunty is a dentist) which is why I'm still being persistent, I just don't know why he all of a sudden doesn't like it.

he does seem to like my electric tooth brush, is ok to use one on a 10month old or will it wear out the enamel?

I am aware that it needs to be done and how bad tooth decay can be (my aunty is a dentist) which is why I'm still being persistent, I just don't know why he all of a sudden doesn't like it.

he does seem to like my electric tooth brush, is ok to use one on a 10month old or will it wear out the enamel?

Maybe he's getting some more teeth and his gums hurt, maybe some bonjela before you brush?

I've used an electric toothbrush for my kids since about 12 months, with the dentists ok - my eldest is now 5 1/2 and she had a check up recently, all is good and dentist said her teeth are really clean.

I do think that teeth brushing is important but I don't think you should be forcing it on him. I let my DS play with the brush and copy me when I brush mine. Then I give his teeth a brush afterwards. Maybe just let your baby play with the brush and he will probably put it in his mouth. After a couple days, when he is more relaxed, he may let you brush his teeth.

Don't think his teeth are going to fall out if you miss a couple of days doing it properly wink

I do think that teeth brushing is important but I don't think you should be forcing it on him. I let my DS play with the brush and copy me when I brush mine. Then I give his teeth a brush afterwards. Maybe just let your baby play with the brush and he will probably put it in his mouth. After a couple days, when he is more relaxed, he may let you brush his teeth.

Don't think his teeth are going to fall out if you miss a couple of days doing it properly wink

There's some things as a parent you have to do and caring for your childs teeth is one of them, there's going to be numerous things that arise that they dont like or wont want to do, that doesnt mean you shouldnt do them.

Not brushing their teeth for a couple of days wont result in their teeth falling out, it is however enough time for plaque to form and harden so that when you do brush properly it wont be removed. Plaque leads to tartar which leads to decay.

Its not something you can just leave till they feel like letting you do it. Baby teeth are no different to adult teeth, they need to be brushed properly twice daily.

I had the same problem with my son, some times he would be fine with it then he would go through stages where he HATED it. I dont like to admit it but we did just hold him down and force it, because otherwise it would have been weeks without brushing and i was getting too worried. It felt terrible to do that to him but i couldnt see any other way around it and hoped he would get over it, which he always has. We are going through another stage of not wanting to brush at the moment.

One thing i found has worked wonderfully is if i let him brush my teeth while i brush his. It doesnt work anymore but he is 2 so i got a lot of good use out of that one.

Or my friend makes funny noises with her son so that he opens his mouth, makes it a fun thing. Like arghhh and roarrrr etc. Doesnt seem to work with my DS though! smile

I love Penny's idea and i will be trying that one for sure!

Good luck Nadz

I totally agree with you. Nowadays many parents neglect their child, whether they brush regularly or not! If its happen, your child always suffering from tooth decay and many teeth problems. So be a good parent and make your child brush everyday.