[paddasmom]

Is anyone else having issues when it comes to teeth brushing time? My DS is 21 months and it is a constant struggle to get him to brush his teeth. We tried toothpaste about a month ago and he was totally against that, so we went back to just brushing with water. He will basically just chew his toothbrush or just have it sitting in his mouth as he wanders around the bathroom. I have tried "helping" him by sitting him on my lap and brushing for him but this usually ends up in a fight, and i don't want to traumatise him so much that he won't even brush as much as he does now.
My DP says that i shouldn't worry because these teeth are going to fall out anyway (which is true i guess) but I'm worried that he might get gum disease or something.
Does anyone have any tricks i can try to get him to start brushing properly and using toothpaste. I could continue to brush for him, but as i said previously i don't want this turning into a traumatic experience he becomes scared of.

[muffinator]

DS and I have our own silly game. I tell him not to bite the toothbrush, and then I try to brush his teeth while he madly tries to bite the toothbrush. He thinks it's hilarious while I get his teeth clean, and he usually has a try on his own afterward.

[**Mel**]

A couple of things we did/do (DD is 3 y.o)

- got her to choose her own toothbrush/toothpaste
- her and I take turns doing her teeth (she does 5 seconds, I do 5 seconds, she does 5 seconds...)
- I sing/count while I do it
- she cleans mine, then I clean hers
- I got her cousins (2 and 3 years older than her) to help out and 'teach' her
- we clean Dolly's teeth first

[Jenflea]

You HAVE to brush his teeth for him. He's not old enough to do it and if he gets holes in his baby teeth it can cause problems in his adult teeth, plus really, do you WANT him to get fillings at a young age if it can be avoided???
Yes, there'll be tears, yes he'll struggle...but sometimes you have to harden up and do what needs to be done.
My daughter's 26 months now and the first 6 or so months of us brushing her teeth were terrible, I'm amazed the cops weren't called lol.
Now she gets to brush her teeth herself for a while (we've spent months teaching her) and then we take over and give a good going over after she's had her go.
Don't use paste until he can spit it out(my husband taught her how to rinse and spit, I couldn't) but now's a good time to start teaching that too.

[Fastrunnydog]

Apparently it IS really important to keep the baby teeth clean and decay free as they can affect the adult teeth underneath

My nearly 3 year old kicked and fought and screamed until he was about 2yrs old and then happily started letting me have a 'go' first at properly brushing his teeth and then he could have a 'go' after.

My 16 month old is now happy for the same to happen, after a few weeks of kicking and screaming about it - she now says herself "open wide ahhhhh!".

I also bought them electric toothbrushes recently - about $8 from the chemist but comes with about 200 stickers to put all over the toothbrush handle - they LOVE them and now line up morning and night to brush their teeth (and have them brushed)!

[Jenflea]

Oh yes, my daughter likes to brush her dinosaur's teeth...or her trucks teeth(the front grill lol).
That helps too sometimes.

[spannah]

Definitely worth persisting. Family members of mine weren't supervising their 4yr olds brushing and she had to have a 'kiddy root canal'. Not good.
We make sure that we do at least the night time brush. DD has the spiderman toothbrush that flashes a red light for one minute. She loves it. We also used to play the wiggles toothbrushing song. And pretend that there was food/dinosaurs/monsters etc in there that we needed to brush away.
Good luck!

[His Boy Elroy]

A child should not brush their own teeth until at least 7yo. Baby teeth need to be brushed or you are setting your child up for a lifetime of dental decay and overcrowding and pain.

[laridae]

You are going to need to brush his teeth for him - kids can't do it properly until they are 5 or so.

I start by letting my DD brush her own while I brush mine. Started with a regular tooth brush but switched to electric - though it took a month before she wasn't scared of having it turned on (I just used it off until she turned it on herself). She loves toothpaste though (I only put a tiny amount on the brush - of toddler toothpaste). DD tries to copy what I do.

After I've finished doing my own I sit cross-legged on the floor and ask if she needs help. I get her to lie down on my knee and go 'ahhh'. And I start brushing. She's pretty good about it really though.

[Pup-pup]

My DD protested for maybe a year or until about 2yrs. We would clean them everyday and hold her (we tried other tricks first) Then she started saying that she'd do it, so I let her every few days. Otherwise she decides whether it's mummy or daddy that cleans them. It just clicked & she hardly ever protests anymore. We only use a tiny tiny amount of KIDS toothpaste, as she has tried adults & screamed the house down.