Teeth brushing

[1stimer]

Feel free to move!!

Our 2 yr old loves toothbrushes...he likes to chew on them and he kinda sorta tries to brush but not really. When I try and brush for him he bares down and tucks his lips in...I can't hardly get a tooth rush in and if I do he goes crazy throwing his head around. I hate to say we arent brushing everyday...he has teeth, not all of them bit most. Im freaking out about his teeth being awful!! Any tips on how to get the job done?!

[jessmum46]

There are some tips on here: Tips for Teeth Brushing Basically though if you try everything possible on the 'making it fun/exciting' list and still no go it's kind of a case of pin them down and get on with it  it's not something I feel totally happy doing, and would absolutely try all the tricks first, but like you I worry about their teeth and part of our job as parents sometimes is to do what they need, rather than what they might want.  In terms of actually how you do that then find a position where you can comfortably hold (I find sitting on my knee is the best so I can kind of trap their legs with my legs and hold them cuddled up to my chest to prevent flailing arms!) and then wiggle the toothbrush in gently aiming for the side/back of their mouth (spend a lot of my work life looking in kids throats....surprisingly they don't often want to open their mouths either!!) and at some point they tend to start wailing so you can get a brush round and then finish off with lots of cuddles.  Ugh sounds brutal when I try to explain it!  Hope that kind of helps though x

[Haribo2012]

I did basically like Jessmum and also had extra toothbrush so whilst DS was chewing on it is get my brush in the other side....also tickling sometimes worked or counting to 5 on each side. My DS would moan and wriggle saying mummy it's too spicy 

[jessmum46]

^^LOL mine say it's too spicy too!

[Haribo2012]

I kind of understand what he means....if I don't want him to have crisps etc now u just say they are spicy 

[1stimer]

I feel like we are close to having to just hold him down and do it. ..I haven't tried doing it at the same time as him so that's what I'm gonna try next!! With dd we got her to roar like a lion etc and that worked like a charm but ds is not nearly as animated as dd was at this age so his roar is like a whisper lol.

[Haribo2012]

Lol awhh cute little roar though x

[creations]

My DS was younger when I had a similar thread. He would kick off crying and raging if I tried to take his brush off him or to use a second brush to brush his teeth (mostly gums at that age) what I found really made a difference was my own attitude.  Rather than approaching it all with the attitude of "I want to care for his teeth, I need to care for his teeth, but he is shouting at me and doesn't want me to do it" I changed my attitude to "this is happening like it or not" and that changed my tone of voice and you know what I never had to pin him down it was remarkable (I'd tried cuddling and wrapping him prior to that but he still raged and actually my attitude/vibe had not changed yk?).  It sounds impossible and crazy now when I describe it but next time I brushed his teeth and he tried to grab for the brush to take it off me I just said "No. This is my job. I have to do it. I'm doing it." and he just succumbed!!! Honestly the way he had been screaming and raging prior to this you just wouldn't believe he would ever "give in" without a massive fight but that's exactly what happened the moment I was deadly serious he took it deadly seriously too. Never a problem since.
I would say it is worth a shot - and at 2yo your LO has a lot more understanding of what he's being told too.

Mine also loved to be counted to when I brushed his teeth, for a long time we counted up to 20, then backwards, then in 10s, 2s, 5s etc...I'm sure his number ability comes from hearing the counting so often when teeth brushing (and taking his inhaler which we counted for too).  Eventually he asked me to stop counting, not sure when but perhaps a year or more ago and just recently he wants to hear times tables during brushing - yes I still brush his teeth at 5yo and it turns out it is still a great time of day for bonding and numbers

[Shiv52]

Yes non negotiable here too. I'm like creations and just no wiggle room when something has to happen. Mine respond well to that too. It's the spirited in them!

[Scottishmummy]

We count when brushing too!

There are also some brushing apps (developed by one of the toothpaste brands) which has info on how to brush and a silly song which lasts for the full 2min brush time. DS will happily brush if he gets to watch the toothpaste song on my phone at the same time.