brushing teeth

jessical · **brushing teeth**

does anyone else have problems getting there toddlers to brush there teeth? i have bought at least 10 brands of toothpaste, hates the taste of them all. tried buyin toothbrushes he picks out, nothing works. its a struggle everyday. any suggestions?

bananabellesmom · 05-14-2008, 07:40 PM

we struggle too, and it comes down to after I've tried it all and all the "fun" stuff, it HAS to be done.

whether or not she is in a head lock, her teeth get brushed!! ;-)

stacia · 05-14-2008, 07:41 PM

Don't brush?

LOL in my kids dreams! My older two HATE to brush their teeth. I need to be better at monitoring them b/c I know when I send them to do it they don't do a good job. We have tried those toothbrushes at target that the handle lights up for the time they are suppose to brush-those did help them brush longer b/c they knew to keep going until it stopped. Now I have the the Oral-B spinning brushes, I though that would help do a better cleaning job but they don't really like them so I think it's back to Target for another set of light ups!

jessical · 05-14-2008, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bananabellesmom

we struggle too, and it comes down to after I've tried it all and all the "fun" stuff, it HAS to be done.

whether or not she is in a head lock, her teeth get brushed!! ;-)

lol, he does usually end up in a headlock! somedays he's excited to do it, others its a bad bad struggle. are there any good tasting toothpastes? we've had the bubblegum, apple, berry, ive even tried our wintergreen lol

Riley'sMom · 05-14-2008, 08:53 PM

Riley loves brushing his teeth. I started when he was a baby with the finger brush. I still use the infant baby einstein (sp?) kind. He loves the taste. I let him do it for a min or so and then I take over and do it. He doesn't like when I do it but I know he's not getting the back.
This is the brand that I use (not my kid!)

gourdlady06 · 05-14-2008, 09:08 PM

My ds is five now and it is still a struggle. I have tried everything, from electric toothbrushes, toothbrushes shaped as charaters, light up ones, you name it he has had it along with all kinds of different toothpaste.

Finally I bought some ACT and decided he had a choice, if he wasn't going to brush then he was going to rinse!!!!. So he had a choice: hold him down and do it (I was afraid someone was going to call DCFS

) myself, he was going to "swish" (what we call it) or he was going to brush. Well he tried "swish" once and decided he didn't like that either, so I took another tactic. I throw a toy away (well threaten anyway) and that seems to work. so every morning we have a hassel...me or swish and I throw a toy away or he brushes his own teeth. Well guess what...he brushes his teeth. But boy is it a pain.

Good luck! I feel your pain!!!!

jaxdaisy · 05-14-2008, 09:16 PM

DS is 19mo and we struggle every day with brushing his teeth. He usually ends up in a headlock.

DD is 4.5yrs old and we've never had a problem with her wanting to brush her teeth

AyeOhKay · 05-15-2008, 10:56 AM

I always sang the ABC song to my toddlers when I brushed their teeth. They knew we were done brushing when the song ended. Plus, they learned their ABC's!

Cookie2 · 05-15-2008, 12:07 PM

DD loves to brush her teeth and I can't help but think it might be because it's a special time together for us. When hubby is home she loves brushing teeth with him because he is so silly. I'm not nearly as fun but I will do a song and dance for DD while she is brushing. One of her favorites is Raffi's "I Get Up In the Morning..." And I mean I do more than just sing. I dance around on par with a first-rate Broadway musical. DD thinks it is a blast.

When she first came to live with us, brushing her teeth was almost to the headlock stage. I thought, "Life can't be like this. Something has to get better." That's when we hit upon the song and dance routine. Now she loves brushing her teeth so much, she wants to be a dentist.