20 Month Old and Teethbrushing

I'd say give it time and you could try getting her a favorite kind of toothbrush like Dora or an electric one , my kids love those now. My boys are 6 and 5 though. When they were younger they just liked the characters, elmo or dora toothbrushes. And they have toothpaste with the characters on it too and they love that. plus it tastes like bubblegum rather than toothpaste and for them they hate the taste of the toothpaste.

I have the same issues with my 20 month old. I have concluded that most likely she is going through phases where it does not feel good to have her teeth brushed due to teething - she has most her teeth but some are still growing. My take on it is that I will still go through the teeth brushing motion twice daily and some days her teeth will be brushed less thoroughly than other.

hey... we take turns. when she insists on handling the toothbrush, i say, "okay, and then it's mommy's turn" and I sing the ABC's while she brushes and then sing it again while I brush for her. it's worked, because she used to hate it.
hope that helps.
seeing your little bio - i'd love to hear some good veggie tips. we're veggie, too - though i must confess i haven't done much research on raising veggie kids. so far mine are super healthy and great weights, so there hasn't been any concern... just wondering what you might have for advice

how me and my girls go through tooth brushing. As with everything we always set a pattern and do the same routine everyday, to help combat disagreements. I walk and talk them through every step. For example ill say " ok we are going to brush teeth, this is what we do, first we wet the toothbrush" (which ill let them do) and go throughe every step, I let them brush themselves first and then say ok now it mommas turn to brush, and I brush for them, then let them brush more, and when they brush the second time, I say ok Im going to count to ten and when I get to ten its time to rinse and then we rinse and put our brushes away. It seemed to work great and never had a problem.

R. you are doing just fine as a model for your daughter. Your daughter is doing what u do. If you want to help her brush her teeth, allow her to help you brush yours. You'll be surprise to her reaction of letting you brush her teeth. Its not what u say that she will pick up from u as much as what u do. Spread the love use rewards and lots of praise. Your daughter will love u more each and everyday.

R.,

I made it a game with my son. He was the worst for not wanting to brush his teeth. There is a new product on the market that they rinse their mouth with. It's like the red tabs we took as a kid to see where we miss. Then I tell him to get all the spots off his teeth.

So far this has worked the best. Also, if you are concerned talk to your dentist. They can help.

Good luck,

L. C
Personal Nutritionist
www.herbalmom.com

Hi R.! I just took my son to the dentist and this was one of the things that came up. My baby's dentist said as long as he's getting some brushing. Really, any kid under 2 yrs. should not be using a toothpaste with flouride. The stuff for kids under 2 is more like a starter. Like practice, you know? I wouldn't be worried. Just continue what you are doing. She'll get the hang of it soon. Best Wishes, T.

One thing I do with my little girl is sit her on the sink, feet in the water usually, We brush our teeth every morning when we wake up, She knows its time cause as soon as her bottom touches the counter shes grabbing her tooth brush and toothpaste and has them both ready to go. She has a soft childs toothbrush, and stage one Oral-b baby tooth and gum cleanser toothpaste with no fluoride, saccharin, artifical colours or perservatives and is non foaming, I asked my dentist about it and he said it was great, as long as it helps her develope a healthy toothbrushing habit. I too am horrified at her being one of those silver toothed children, But more often than not, its due to excessive bottle usage. I dont let my daughter fall asleep with a bottle (infact shes been off the bottle for a month now) I never put any juice in it, and I dont let her walk around with her sippy cup (sometimes its just used as a substitute for the bottle) with milk and juice in it, though she always has one with water available. The tooth decay is due to sugars from milk and juice sitting in their mouth (Im sure you've seen those kids with the bottle hanging from their clenched teeth) A wet washcloth can be just as good if she will let you "shine her teeth", I got my 6 year old nephew Agent cool blue since he was one of those kids with 2 front silver teeth, and his permanents were starting to come in already, He loves it! One thing you could do is brush your teeth with her if you dont already, Get her a little stool, maybe let her pick it out and call it her big girl tooth brushing stool, Make a super big deal about it, I know one of my friends calls her sons mouth a house, making sure he gets the garage and upstairs and windows out front so everyone can see how beautifully clean his windows are. Currently My daughter does throw a bit of a fit with her top teeth but doesnt have a problem with me wiping them down (?) But its just getting her in the habit of good oral health. Hope I helped a little bit.

Hi R. my name is C.. I was reading your delema and I am an RDA (registered dental assistant). One thing you can try to help your daughter brush is letting her help you with your brushing and see if she will let you help her. And if that doesn't work you can show her tooth by tooth in your mouth then have her copy what your doing. Also some children really don't like the taste of the tooth paste so may want to barely put any on her toothbrush. You really don't need it to get your teeth clean, but it does help a little. Good luck and I hope everything will work out for you

I think you are doing just fine too. A trick I used for my very strong-willed 2 yr old daughter was asking her if I could see what a great job she did and then I would say,"GReat! Oh, can you get that piece of cereal I see back there? (or whatever they had just eaten)" or "oops, I see some carrots back there! Sneaky carrots!" And she always tried to get it. Silly, but it worked to get that toothbrush back in there! Keep up the good work!
:)

My 13 year old still had the same trouble till recently when I started getting her that stuff (Agent Blue I think) that turns the plaque blue. Now she always brushes.

I have a 2 yr old and she does the samething as yours do. I remember with my oldest child I had to make it like a game. So when it is time to wash my younger one, I make it like a game, kinda funny on there level. I know I look so stupit but it works. I grab the toothbrush and put toothpaste on it then I tell her say AAAAARRRRRR and I make this crazy face but make sure my mouth is wide open. And when she does it, I put the brush in her mouth while still going through the motions with her. She laughs her butt off but I get it done. And when I want her to shut her teeth together, then I tell her do this and make a face with my teeth together doin the GGGGGGRRRRR sound with it. She tries to do that but she is always laughing to hard to do it (thinking I am the funniest thing she saw). As for me, as long as her mouth is open enough for me to brush them then I am happy with it. Just make it like a game, you might be known to be a silly mom but you will get what you want and she will get a game in the process. Good luck. (be creative!)

Hi, my child is one of those that is going to end up with the caps :(, but since he had his last dental visit before we get them fixed, they have gave him a care pack with a new toothbrush and so on. In that pack was an egg timer (the old kind with the sand in it), its a 2 min timer, and I have never seen him brush his teeth so good since he got that. I know that 20 months might still be a little young for that, but it might be worth the try. As long as you aren't letting her go to bed with milk or juice (thats what I did), you should be fine. My son hates toothpaste and the dentist said that it was fine not to use any. Also when your daughter gets older, listerine put out some stuff called agent cool blue. they brush their teeth then swish the stuff in their mouth and it turns all the missed plak blue...something for the future. Sound like you are doing a good job though, better than i did. The dentist told me that you can be the best brusher to your childs teeth, but if they go to bed with milk or juice, you throw all that brushing out the window...wish i would have known that a few years ago :) I know I am rambling, but you could aslo get a flouride tablet or a gel from either the dentist or doctor, and that will help too. Hope any of this helped you...keep up the good work!

My son was the same way. I took him to the store and let him choose his brush. I gave him 2 choices from the age appropriate brushes. Get an electric one because they do most of the work. They are a little big in my son's mouth but he likes them more. Then I let him brush and then I "just check" to make sure he did a good job, and as I am brushing his teeth I say "Oh there I see some greenbean let me get that for you, oh there is some chicken let me get that. And oh my I see some juice gotta get that juice before the germs try to get it." Stuff like that, and then he finishes up. Sometimes as I am checking his teeth I tell him what a good job he did and that I can't find anything left that day. Makes him feel so proud. But some days he just doesn't want to do it still, so I tell him about the bugs that come to eat the food in your mouth while you are sleeping and when they finish eating the food they eat your teeth so you always have to brush your teeth so they will have no food to eat. That always works. :) If that doesn't work you could try having the pediatrician talk to her because sometimes an athority figure has a better impact. Just make sure she gets flouride. I also read that some kids like it if they get to brush your teeth and you brush theirs. I never did try that but sounds like something I would have liked as a kid.

R.,
We take turns in fact I even have 2 kinds of tooth[paste, one for them and one for me. They get a turn with training tooth paste then I get a turn with real tooth paste and then they get another turn with training tooth paste... It works out pretty well...

H.

With my daughterit was the same way, I do use the training toothpaste and a timer but as long as your making an effort your childs teeth wont go bad. My daughter likes the hunt for germs, i use the toothbrush and scub the running/jumping germs and then we wash them down the drain and she love to rinse and spit. When the teeth go bad it usually occurs because of genetics, Or they child is allowed to fall asleep with milk or even worse Juice in their mouth usually because they are on a bottle. ( I have 3 dental assistants and a dental hygenist in the family) By 2 your daughter should have seen a pediatric dentist at least once just to do a look over. But it sounds like your doing a great job as it is, it'll get easier. (i don't know it tv is in your lives, at night while i make dinner my kids are allowed to watch a channel called sprout by pbs, they have a good night show where before they go to bed they brush their teeth and my daughter love to mimic them because they sing everything they do.

We use a pea sized amount of cinnamon toothpaste (regular adult not the kids stuff) on our son's toothbrush. The only way he lets us do it is if we sing a song. I made up a silly song about brushing the cavities off his teeth (to the tune of "I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair"). He loves it. We then have him spit in the sink - which he loves he misses about 1/2 the time, but at least he doesn't swallow. We follow up with letting him "finish" the job then take a drink of water. Just keep trying new things until she lets you. Good luck!