How Do I Get My Son to Let Me Brush His Teeth?

Hi K.! :)

Everytime he clamps his mouth shut, try tickling him relentlessly 'til he opens (usually laughing) then brush away! hehe It worked with my son when he was being a pickle.

best of luck!
M.

Tell him about the sugar bugs. You need to get them out. Make it fun with a character toothbrush. Show him how you do it. With my daughter I got her to makefun sounds when I needed her to open her mouth like aaaaaaaaa to open big and wide and eeeeeeee to clean across. She laughed everytime. Good Luck.

I had to explain to my boys what happens if they don't brush their teeth and how bad fillings can hurt. They have some really cool disposable flossers, buzz lightyear, dinosaurs, etc. My youngest thinks it's hilarious to hook his two pointer fingers into his cheeks and pull them open so I can brush easily. You need to try and make it fun but also instill the fact that not brushing is NOT okay. Good Luck!!

hey K.! we went thru the same thing with my now 3 year old. It was horrible when I think about it I remember dreading it EVERY NIGHT! I think that what you have to remember is that you are trying to establish a healthy habit. We had many many many bad episodes with trying to just open his mouth. I just kept at it....most nights were bad and some were ok. Finally I remember a turning point when I told him I wanted to brush the bugs out of his mouth and he opened wide! I think he was about 2.5 and was curious about bugs at that time. NOW....Jake reminds us that he wants to brush his teeth....with his spiderman toothbrush of course. Like all the other things...it'll get better with time...don't give up! like we have that option huh?

PS....the other thing that helped was I had mint floss....if he brushed his teeth he could have some at the end...he just loved to suck on it while we read books together!!!!!!

I know this sounds silly, but my daughter was fairly resistant about tooth brushing in the beginning too. Here's what we did:

Elmo would "call us on the phone" and sing the "brush your teath" song ( to the tune of the song he sings at the end of Elmo's World). I think it went - Brush your teath, Brush your teath, brush your brush your teath, Elmo love his toothbrush and his toothpaste too... Anyway, you get the idea. Elmo would talk to her too.

Honestly I think the most important part was that her hands were busy holding the phone to her ear so we could get in and brush. She was pretty young and even though she knew she wasn't really talking to elmo I think the special time with us made it fun to brush her teeth. Who knows, maybe she really thought it was elmo. I am sure it would work with any special character if your son isn't in to Elmo.

We started early like you with my daughter and she wasn't crazy about it either. Now, she gets a turn first to brush her own teeth and then I get a turn. When it's my turn we play EEE (where she smiles big and I get the front teeth) and AAAAhhh (where I get the back AH on top and AHH on bottom). It's a game to her and she thinks it's funny now. Good luck!

i say just keep trying. that is what my twins did when i first started brushing their teeth. and occasionally i still get bit, they are teething!!! i make a big deal of it when they let me finish. i just use the finger toothbrush on my girls, dangerous i know, but it works for us.

When my son got his 1st teeth we started brushing with just a wet washcloth. He couldn't stand the sight of a toothbrush. It would freak him out. Then after he was a year and a half we started letting him play with the toothbrush in the bathtub. After a while he started putting it in his mouth and started brushing his teeth on his own. It's probably good to start letting him do things on his own. Your son will do it in his own time. Good luck.

I don't really have any advice for you but wanted you to know that I'm right there with you! My son will be one next week and he HATES me to brush his teeth. Every now and then he'll let me get 2 strokes in before he starts pushing away the toothbrush, turning his head back and forth, clamping his little lips closed! Ugh...I feel for you. But I figure I'll just keep plugging along and eventually he'll get the swing of it.

the dentist suggest two ways, 1 way is to lay him down on his back maybe on pillows,when he crys his mouth is opened you can brush easier, 2 way have your husband help you have your husband hold your son on his lap and lay his head on your lap he will cry but that's ok dentist when he cries their mouth is wide open easier to brush...eventually he'll get into the regiment of brushing. Another suggest go to www.spiffies.com, it is a web sight for just babies teeth..wipes for babies teeth when you can't brush..my pediatric dentist reccomends them and the place to order is online or directly from Az.

My friend had this problem too! She finally learned a little trick...

Since your son is teething, he loves to chew on things, right? Always have a toothbrush around... in the diaper bag, in your purse, in the stroller, the car, on various tables, and anywhere else you spend time with him. When he begins to want to chew for his teething, give him a toothbrush! Kids love love love to chew on these things, and they're wonderful for his growing teeth and sore gums. Then, at night (and in the daytime, too if you want!) just put a drop of the baby-safe toothpaste on the brush and let him chew on it. (Note: be sure to clean the brushes frequently and beware for choking)

Don't try to make it into a production and don't let him pick up on your intentions. Make it light, as if you're just giving him another toy to help his teething. He's gonna be so used to chewing on the brush, he won't even think about what's really going on!

Then, as he gets older and gets more beautiful teeth, you can approach the "ritual" of brushing after meals at the sink... etc...

It worked for her, and her son is now 6 and not one cavity.

Good luck...

Hope it helps!

Does your son like Elmo? Buy him an Elmo toothbrush and toothpaste.

Everytime he brushes his teeth, or lets you do it, call this number. 1-866-356-6847.

It's a message from Elmo about brushing teeth and how proud he is of your child for doing it and then he sings a song!

You might even want to buy him an Elmo doll, if he doesn't already have one, and let him brush Elmo's teeth too!

My daughter will be 5 next month, she has always hated getting her teeth brushed. But she lets me do it and we still call Elmo! It's been working for us for years!

Take him to the dentist for a check up. Usually that scares kids enough to brush.

If all he has is one tooth, you don't really need to brush it. I think you can just wipe it clean with a soft cloth. I don't think I brushed either of my boys' teeth until they had about three or four. If you really feel strongly about it, you can try a fruit flavored tooth paste; that might taste better to him than something minty. Toms of Maine has one that is orange flavored, I think. Also, get the smallest child/baby tooth brush you can find. A big electric brush is not only overkill for one little tooth, but probably a bit intimidating to a baby as well.

And as for what the previous poster said, please don't take an infant to the dentist to "scare" him into brushing. Not only do I doubt you'd find a dentist who would see an infant with ONE tooth, but it's bound to be a very bad experience for him even if you did.

Dear K.,

Give him his own tooth brush and give him some time to 'brush', then take Mommie's turn. It worked pretty good with us. C. N.

I would let him do it on his own next to you while you brush your teeth. Then play the "cheese" game so he can get the front teeth. I got a ton of brushing books from the library and Cailou also has a video about it. I also talked to my son about germs and made him scared about them. So I would tell him that there may be a germ on his teeth so he'd better brush them off. Play a really fun game with him. Maybe do a race if he likes to race. I know my boys love any racing game. A little brushing is better than no brushing at all.

Hello,
We started brushing our sons teeth when he was very young and we had some fighting back then. Well he is almost 4 and we had some battles, but what helps is he likes to play dentist. He will check my teeth for me and then he lets me brush is teeth. Also I happen to be reading a Dora book and it had a great story about going to the dentist. That story helped so much for his first visit to the dentist office it was a complete success. I keep saying get rid of the plaque and we don't want cavities. So now he says I want to get rid of the plaque. Like the other mother's said just find a game your child would like and work it into brushing. I wish you well!