!!!!!Advice needed: how to brush toddlers teeth

      
Ok... Late to introduce toothbrush for my daughter cos until almost 13mth she hv no teeth at all, and everytime I want to put in my finger into her mouth to clean the gum, she always angry. My daughter now is 20 mths old, but she refuse me to brush her teeth (she has 12 teeth now). I let her do by herself also she refuse. Any strategy to recommend to me? Thanks.
 


hMMz, u may brush tog with her. tt's wad i did to my boy. though he dun really knows hw to brush his teeth as well as we do. But he enjoys it. He knows he's brushing tog with mummy
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U must try the orajel toddler toothpaste. My boy loves the taste and will brush willingly by himself. No flouride so safe to swallow.

Another way i saw on supernanny tv show. She place a mirror in front of the child so they can see themselves brushing teeth. Makes it more real and fun for the kids i suppose.
 
Yes the brand is call orajel. I dun noe where they sell locally. I got mine frm overseas. But i saw sm1 selling on the wts thread. U can try.

It has a few flavour. My boy had the tooty fruity. Better to rinse mouth after using.
 
Hi,

You can got the toothpaste : My First Tooth available at Major dept stores/ pharmacies. It can be swallowed/ eaten. No need to gargle too. My kids use this toothpaste until they have learnt how to gargle and spit out toothpaste.
 
My kid and I sing tooth-brushing 'song' together in the shower. Just make gargling sounds fast/low and funny sounds. Kid enjoys mimicking and now can spit out toothpaste, rinse mouth and toothbrush. Important thing is not to stress the kid out with the 'correct' method. Get them interested in brushing, cleaning and showering first and the rest will be easier to teach/implement
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i'll suggest bringing her to a dentist. some kids like mine, super resistant to brushing. always do gagging reflex upon toothbrush entering mouth.
bought at least 5 different toothbrushes all chosen by him but all rejected. tried many brands of toothpaste also useless.

finally i brought him to dentist at 24months since everyday was a battle.

ever since he came back from dentist, he diligently brush everyday. with my help, sometimes he'll do it by himself.

now he's 4yo. every 6mths i'll bring him back to dentist for a quick review to ensure everything is ok. he still doesn't enjoy brushing, but since he's older, he understand the necessity of it.
 
Hi Petrina

Can you share which dentist you go to and fees, and what the dentist does?

My boy is resistant to brushing and he is already two and a half.

How did the dentist get your boy interested to brush his teeth? And what do he/she do during the regular check. Your boy will cooperate and let the dentist do checking and cleaning?
 
magic28: I bring my boy to Holland Village Aaron Seow Clinic - Dr Teh.
Very nice dentist. not a PD dentist so the charges r quite usual for size of mouth.
$28 consult, cleaning $40.
First visit she will give a toothbrush to entice the child. she is patient with kids. I sit on the chair while my boy sits in hugging position on my lap. then she will first check the teeth. introducing the various items in a child like manner.

then u put your boy face front on your lap. Dr Teh will recline the chair slowly while talking to your boy. You have to do your part to ensure he's not afraid.

Dr Teh will use the mirror and show the child the teeth and since my boy's teeth got 1 cavity, it's easy to nicely threaten him the consequences of not brushing well.

after she use the soft rubber to clean his teeth, she'll show him the after effects and the nice toothpaste used. some bluffing is necessary like toothpaste is sweet, etc...
then get mummy to buy same as dentist toothpaste..
after all that, bring the toothbrush home and let him explore w/o paste. then u do the counting game with him, 1 tooth at a time.

give him some time. it'll take a few trips to drill into children's head. at least my boy is receptive to her. cause i once brought him to NDC. super big mistake! wailing children, drilling sounds don't assure a toddler that everything is gonna be ok.
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If your child fusses every time you brush her teeth, it might help to buy her a special cartoon character toothbrush or toothpaste.

You can also let your child have several brushes in different colours so she can choose the one she wants when it's time to brush. Let her brush her own teeth first while you're brushing your own, and then "check" each other's teeth to see if they're clean, and finish the job for her if she "missed a spot."
 
My boy likes to brush his teeth by himself- one and half yrs old, I think he likes the taste of the toothpaste. However, after his daddy forced him to brush teeth correctly, he refuses brushing teeth.
 
I started late with my elder boy so he is very resistant to brushing. Have to quickly brush before he shut mouth and refuse to let me brush. Then i got him an electric toothbrush. Faster and more thorough. He is now 3.5yrs old. He will use the manual toothbrush in childcare. I will brush for him using electric toothbrush in the evening.

Since I've learnt my lesson, I started brushing my younger son's teeth since 6mths. He is more coorporative. Will open his mouth for me.
 

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