My child 17 months old and we still have teeth growing.Our dentist said that I can to give her to chew her toothbrush.This is the way she will used to it and later after 2 years I can brush her teeth. She still is chewing some of her toys or her toothbrush. When she sees us brushing our teeth
she wants her toothbrush.Then she stars chewing it.This is her way brushing her teeth.
How do you teach your children to brush their teeth?Do you show them some videos about children brushing teeth or giving them some stickers to stimulste them.Please share your experience.
You’re supposed to start brushing teeth after the first tooth comes in. Babies need their teeth cleaned just as much as adults do or they can get tarter build up and cavities. Milk has a lot of sugar in it which is very bad for a babies teeth.
I used a finger toothbrush and then gave my son a toddler toothbrush. I always brush his teeth first and then give him the toothbrush. Let your baby see you brushing your teeth and ask if she can do what you’re doing.
Hi joni2009
I started cleaning my DD’s gum and tongue with gauze before she had any teeth to get her use to the idea of cleaning her teeth. After her first tooth was out, I used finger brush and later changed to a baby toothbrush. She liked it initially but she started to bite the brush and then rejected any attempt to put the finger brush or baby toothbrush in her mouth. I could not get her to clean her teeth and gum for a long time even if I showed her Youtube of other children brushing teeth, songs about brushing teeth and pictures of bad tooth decay. And the sticker reward only worked for a week.
Out of desperation and after getting clearance from my dentist, I started mixing a little xylitol in her drinking water and her last bottle of milk of the night. Xylitol is a natural sweetener that also helps fight tooth cavity. You can google it to see if you want to give it a try while getting your little one to brush her teeth properly … it may have some side effect for some people (eg mild diarrhea in the beginning until the body gets used to it) although my DD doesn’t experience it.
Then, she heard All I Want for Christmas is My 2 Front Teeth and asked me what the song was about. I told her that the little boy who sang the song lost his 2 front teeth because he did not brush his teeth. She finally reluctantly let me clean her teeth but only with a soft handkerchief but she still protests against it every time she sees it.
Then, I got her an electrical toothbrush for her. I let her to choose between the electrical toothbrush and the handkerchief. And she always chooses the electrical toothbrush. That works for me so far. Every time she refuses to brush her teeth, I will take out the handkerchief and she will quickly start brushing her teeth. I always brush for her after she is done brushing herself. The electrical toothbrush makes it a lot easier and faster for me to complete the task so that she does not protest for too long.
As electrical toothbrushes look a bit different from the normal toothbrushes and is used differently, it may help break the habit of biting after you show her how it is used. . Hope this helps.
In my house it is a HAVE TO!!! My parents always told me that the best presentation from your face are your theeth.So my daughter is 2 years old now, we started brushing her theeth after the first tooth came in. I always used regular tooth brusher. I never had a problem with that, she always let me brushed her theeth,recently she started to complain because she wants to do it hemself but I am afraid she doesn’t do the right way even if she tries, which makes me happy but I need to help her anfter she is done brushing her theeth I tell her ok, now is mommys turn to help you, open your mouth, I sing a song to her while I do the job and tell her I am brushing your theeth so they can be clean and nice, while I brush I explain to her…let’s brush in the left side, now in the right side, now inside, next outside smile!! you know just make it fun. She got an elmo book for christmas somebody gave it to her, so whenever she complains about me helping her I tell her Elmo brushes his theeth and lets his mommy to help him too.
Once we are done with theeth we start when tongue…she sticks her tongue out and makes this easier. Once we are done with the hole activity I give her a sticker(only one) she can choose which one she likes best, and then clap to her, make herself to look in the mirror ans tell her smile…waoo BEAUTIFUL WHITE THEETH!!Good job.
IT is very important children to brush their theeth, no matter if they like it or not, they need to, they drink milk and milk has the power of build cavities. and then it can became a painful problem for your children and your wallets!!
Besides I think, It is very very important to teach your child personal higiene since they are babies.
I don’t think my daughter brushes her teeth well at all when she’s cheewing on it. I try to do it for her very gently and increase with time as she’s not too keen on having someone else doing it for her. lol .
When came my daughter’s first tooth, I start cleaning with a clean cloth, after she complet 1, she starts bite me and not let me clean (even if I clean, she was with bad breath). I told her dr. and she said for starts with the teethbrush. She hated. I tried everything.I let her brush my teeth, let the toothbrush in her hand, but nothing, until one day she left to brush her teeth without fight
yes, we just need to be persistent!! I brush my daughter’s theeth three times a day, it is a lot of work! But at the end I love her smiles with really white theeth. lol
That was exactly what happened with my DD. Another thing that also helps me get her to brush her teeth is to show her TV ads on toothbrush and tooth paste. They are more effective than anything on Youtube that I had showed her. As she watches the ads, I would explain how the bacteria produce acid that will erode the teeth and cause cavities and so on. I also sneakily add on to tell her why she shouldn’t take so much sugary stuff. The visuals of the ads really catch her attention and make it a lot easier for her to understand what I’m talking about. This is the only time that I don’t mind her watching the ads on TV.
Do you use toothpaste for a 2 yr? I wonder if they do know how to rise and spit.
I use toothpaste for my 2 year old and he seems to do a pretty good job of rinsing and gargling. Its best to only use a small amount of low flouride toothpaste I think.
Watching his cousins brush their teeth and rinse really helped him.
Electric toothbrush was only way we could get him interested. He still doesn’t do a real good job.
Bones (my son’s stuffed dog) watches us EVERY time! “Bones” has a running commentary on my son’s mouth "Wow, see, Daddy? Look at how big his mouth is! It’s huge! Now Mommy can brush his back teeth. Way to go. Look at Daddy’s mouth, he can open it wide, too!"etc. My son always runs to get his dog when it’s time to brush. This has been our life saver.
Also, my friend’s 18 month old just lost his front 4 teeth. His adult ones won’t come in until he’s 7 or 8. This inspired me to take my son in to see a dentist at month 20 and we’ve been brushing him daily now after each meal. (Toothpaste only at night) I think consistency is something that helps too. My son knows that this is just something that must be done. Like it or not.
My dentist also told me that when his kids were tiny, he had to put them in a bit of a headlock with his left arm and used his right hand for brushing. I tried that at the beginning when he was giving me grief about it and, although, I hated doing it, it helped him realize that somethings are just mandatory and Mommy’s not going to give in. Now, with Bones’ help, brushing is easy and no more “headlocks”! (it wasn’t as harsh as it sounds!)
Well, I also started using gauze since when my baby was born, after I bought a special toothbrush that we use in the finger until 6 months, after that, I started to use a toothpaste for her specific age, a kind of without fluor, and nowadays she is able to brush her teeth by herself she is still using this special toothpaste because it is indicated up to 5 years.
Hi Susan
I do use a toothpaste for my 2 year old DD. She likes the spitting part of the tooth brushing the most but she does not always spit. I’m using First Teeth baby toothpaste which claims that it is safe to be swallowed and contains no fluoride or saccharin.
I use orajel training toothpaste for my son. It does not contain fluoride and is safe to swallow. I just use a little dot of it b/c he does swallow it.
Initially it was difficult to brush my son’s teeth but now he is very happy .
I made 2 changes . we get a new tooth brush of his choice every 15 days… & he loves the way pepper gets his shinning white teeth ( a character from his story book)… now we sing along & brushing is a fun time.
he loves watching himself in mirror while brushing , especially the bubbles.
i too find it difficult when i initially start brush E’s teeth, when she was only 6 to 7 month old.
but it improved with time and now she enjoy brushing her teeth.
we brush her teeth and then give brush to E so she can do brush by herself.
Yes I do use toothpaste. We used to use training toothpaste for toddlers but since I read the book “caring for your baby and young children” by the American Academy of Pediatrics, since my daughter turned 2 years old we started to use KIDS Tooth paste with cavity protection and fluoride.
Here is part of the book about this topic:
While you should have used a piece of gauze or a damp cloth to wipe your child’s theeth when she was younger,change to a toothbrush with a fluoride toothpaste as she becames older(Fluoride in the toothpaste is absorbed into the tooth enamel and helps prevent tooth decay)Also use a small amount of toothpaste on the brush, it 's difficult to keep her from swallowing some of the toothpaste, and indigesting too much fluoride can cause permanent white tooth stains. The brushing and te rinsing are more important than the toothpaste.
Also it is very important to know that THE NUMBER ONE DENTAL PROBLEM AMONG PRESCHOOLERS IS TOOTH DECAY ,Approximately one out of ten two years old already have one or more cavities;by age three 25 percent of children do.
Many parents assume that cavities in baby teeth don’t matter,because they will lost them anyway,but that is a risky assumption. Dental decay can progress to a painful abscess, and if primary teeth are lost too early because of decay or infection,the secondary teeth won’t be ready to replace them.When that happens,the other primary teeth shift position to fill in the gap,so by the time the permanent teeth finally break throught,there’s no room for them.
It is very important to know the consequences we can have if we don’t search for good information about our dental care.
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Also I got some letters stickers for my daughter after she is donde brushing her teeth, she loves them…it is a fun way tp tractice sounds and letters.She teells me the sound of the letter she wants.