I am currently struggling to brush my daughter’s teeth. She won’t open her mouth and runs and hides when she sees the toothbrush in my hand. My daughter is 3 years old, and I have tried reasoning with her (but can you really reason with a 3 year old ???), I have tried singing, dancing, making it fun, etc, I have tried a few bribes (new toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc.), and I am still not getting anywhere. Some nights I admit to pinning her down to brush her teeth, other nights I just don’t brush them at all. I am concerned that her teeth are not getting brushed, and yet I don’t like the struggle, any ideas to make the situation better? Thanks for your help.
Maybe it’s the age because I must often threaten my daughter to brush her teeth too. I threaten to take away one of her beloved stuffed animals when she won’t cooperate. I think just one of those typical power struggles for independence. If I pick out clothes for her, she also insists on wearing something else. At times I think she just enjoys opposing anything that I want her to do. Her preschool had a dentist as a special visitor one day. They sent home this rhyme. We have memorized it and helps sometimes to have her repeat it with me before brushing.
Be Good to your teeth,
And treat them right,
Brush them in the morning and night,
When you go to the dentist you can say
I brush my teeth 2 times a day."
We also talk about how disappointed Dr Max (her dentist) will be if he finds out that she won’t brush her teeth, Yet still about once per week I must threaten to take away a stuffed animal. Eventually she always gives in and cooperates.
Before we know it, they will be old enough to brush their own teeth. Then it will be different struggle I usually have to send my son (8 yrs old) back in the bathroom to brush again. In his haste, he does a poor job. I think it is a common ongoing struggle. When they become vain teenagers, I hope they brush without supervision. It wears me out.
Good Luck, Lori
Do you let her do it herself? I brush Gabriel’s teeth first and then he gets to brush after I’m done. It’s fun for him and he feels like a big boy getting to do it himself.
When my oldest was 3, she was task oriented, motivated by reward and I had a newborn. I drew each of her bedtime tasks (brushing teeth, putting on pjs, giving water to the dog) on a strip of cardboard. I hung a sheet of paper underneath to make a chart. For each task completed, she could put a sticker or something in the square under the picture. I think we added up the stickers and she got a few pennies for doing her ‘jobs’. Face it, it is work to get her ready for bed. I didn’t mind that she got the credit.
The tasks changed but we kept the practice for several years. She still loves lists at 21 years old … and her teeth are great, only one cavity after all this time 
My son did not like to it when we try to brush his teeth. However, he does like to play with a plastic cup and running water from the tap.
So we mostly give him the cup, run the water, let him fill the water up on the cup, and pour it down the sink while either my husband or myself is brushing his teeth. Once it’s all nice and clean, we just give him the toothbrush so he can try to brush his own teeth.