i have 21 month old twins & have introduced them to the toothbrush at 18 mos. i let them hold it & put it in their mouths & when they let me i was able to brush their teeth. it seems like when i began using the toddler toothpaste at about 20 mos. they stopped lettin me hold the brush for them to help them brush their teeth (also i know they want to be independent . they only pretty much suck on the toothpaste off the brush & dont even want to do the brushing motion against their teeth nor let me do it. i've tried using a washcloth to clean their teeth but they both have a mouth full of teeth & their bite is quite strong. i've tried brushing my teeth while they brush theirs so they get an idea but alls they do is laugh & smile while i brush mine. we do find their teeth esp. the front ones do have food stuck on them so i would love to get them clean. they do drink a lot of water (they dont drink any juice nor do i give them any candy/chocolate). we try to avoid giving them milk just prior to bed. any suggestions how to get their teeth clean? what about an electric toothbrush?
I let my 3 brush by themelves in the Am..and they brush first in the pm and then I do quality control...which is hilarious to hear them say quality control. They all seem okay with it. We have several different kind of toothbrushes...music ones, electric ones, regular ones and the pick which one they want.
Good luck
We recently took our 7 yo in for several fillings. The pediatric dentist we used for this work asked if I brushed her teeth and explained that kids need to have their teeth brushed for them until they can write cursive well because it takes that long for them to develop the skills to do it well. That said, I think I brush her teeth and my 4 yo's about once or twice a week. This is one of those things you just have to do. My 4 yo likes to lay on the floor while I crouch over him and brush his teeth.
Hi MV,
I have 2 year old twins, and I let the kids "brush" their own teeth after lunch.
After dinner/baths, I let them hold the toothbrush for a minute and then tell them after they hold it a while we are going to play dentist. MOmmy or Daddy is the dentist. I describe the area of the month I am cleaning, and have a few goofball songs I sing while I do it to distract them.
I have pretty much the same method of cleaning everytime, so they know, once I have done it they are done, too.
I still get my fingers crunched sometimes, but they have never drawn blood. I want them to be heathy so I just suck it up, you know?
Good luck. It is not easy!!
I don't know if this will work because it didn't start this way. But we always tell Connor we will brush his teeth first and THEN he can brush them. Most of the time this works and we get a pretty good brushing in before he grabs the toothbrush.
I had similar issues brushing my kids teeth. I did a few things that worked very well....
First I let them brush MY teeth. They thought that was really fun and then after a few times, I asked them if I could brush THEIR teeth while they brushed mine and they said ok. After we did that for a while, I took would ask them to pick a song or a number prior to brushing. If they picked a number, I would brush thier teeth while counting to that numnber (sometimes several times in a row if it was a low number (in a sing-song voice), but they didn't seem to notice). If they picked a song, I would sing the song while brushing and when the song is over, so is the brushing - you have to learn to brush FAST! LOL
Now, they are 5 & 3 and both brush every day on thier own with no issues. Make a game out of it and usually they will go along with it.
my twins are 4 and they also are very independent (love it) I allow them to brush the tooth bugs away, but I get to make sure they are gone for sure, so they hand me their tooth brushes when they feel they have done a good job, and I go over them with much excitement on what a great job they have done. Good luck!!
You can try an electric brush that might do the trick and be less traumatic.
My girls weren't given an option. Even now at six and four they have to show us their teeth when they are through. If I don't think they are clean, they have to go back...if they aren't clean the second time, I clean them. They aren't given a choice. They have cried in the past and I explain that if they brushed really good then mommy wouldn't have to do it for them.
They all want to be big so they might put up a fuss, but sometimes you just have to make them do what you want them to do...even if they cry.
I also tell my girls they have to keep their mouth clean or they will
1.) get sick
2.) their teeth will get black cavaties and fall out
3.) their teeth will get sore and hurt
4.) their breath will stink...and they know what bad breath is when climbing in the bed in the morning with mommy and papi
Hello there! My little guy is 18 months old and is also in that very independent phase. We let him chew on a toothbrush while he's getting his diaper changed. It keeps him still since he hates diaper change time, and it helps him get used to the feeling of having a brush in his mouth. We have a separate brush we use (because the chewing brush gets trashed) to actually brush his teeth with toddler paste twice a day. Yes, sometimes he does suck the paste off if I don't get the brush in back right away, but I've found that if I sing him a song I can at least get him to focus on me long enough to brush his teeth well. I just sing a dorky toothbrush song I made up, but any song would probably work. Good luck! :)
I have a 4 year old and a 19 month old. According to our pediatric dentist, the parents still need to be brushing their teeth at this point. They can have a turn after mom or dad has brushed.
He showed us how to hold the little ones in order to brush their teeth. If you're right handed, lay your little one down cradling him in your left arm with his right arm tucked against your side and your left hand holding his left hand/arm to keep it out of the way. You can then lean them back and brush. They will probably fuss at first but you can gently wiggle the tooth brush in their back teeth and twist it gently to open their jaw to brush. No, it's not easy at first.
We sing songs or joke about cleaining off all the food they've eaten recently..."Let's clean off the yogurt, and apple, and cucumber, and, oh! look there's some cereal to. I'll get it!" If they sit still, they get to brush when we're done; if not, they get to try again next time.
My 19 month old has gotten used to sitting on the cupboard next to the sink and my older son stands in front of her and demonstrates how to open his mouth wide and say AH so I can brush her teeth. She likes copying him.
Our dentist is:
Dr. Matt Karsten
Kids First Pediatric Dentistry
Elgin, IL
847-717-KIDS
When my kids were little we had a song that I sang while they brushed. I would sing it over and over and then they would sing it and it really helped them with the brushing
Up like a rocket
Down like a plane
Back and forth like a choo choo train
Teeth in front
Teeth in back
Cavities are yucky so get the placque
