My 18 month old daughter loves brushing her teeth but...?

She will not let me brush them first or after she has already brushed them. My concern is that she is only sucking on the tooth brush and asking for more toothpaste (child's toothpaste) instead of actually brushing her teeth. When she is done she then likes to chew the toothbrush (We buy at least 2 toothbrushes a month for her because she chews them).


Any suggestions on what to do besides physically holding her down to make sure her teeth are brushed properly?

My 18 month old daughter loves brushing her teeth but...?
tell her the only way you will let her brush her teeth is if you do it after she is done. only give her a small, pea sized amount for herself and only once, dont keep giving her more toothpaste, even childrens toothpaste isn't good for them to eat a bunch of. after she is done, make sure you get all the teeth. or you brush them for her 1st, show her the right way to do it.
Reply:My son does the exact same thing, i took my son to our dentist and he advised that chewing a toothbrush is actually a good form of brushing for toddlers. Don't worry i spend a lot of money on toothbrushes too,lol
Reply:Same exact thing with my son..same age. So hope we get some good answers here.
Reply:Same with my son! Hes obsessed with toothbrshes! I lose all mine because of him taking them and jsut chew on them. They even say that by the age of 3 is when they will physically brush their teeth on their own. She will be fine just let her explore the toothbrush and the toothpaste thing i only put on a teeny bit or sometime i pretend i put some on so they dont get to much floride in their system. They have toothbrushes at the dollar store comes in like packs of 5 or 6 those are great! I brought them for my son gosh he was in heaven! Well good luck and dont worry about it to much it takes time and patience with a child! Just give it time!
Reply:I would not personally let her chew the brush just because a bristle could come out and she could swallow it or something but also she is looking at it as a toy. I would continue to make brush time fun but let her know that Mommy has to brush first then she can brush afterward when she is done put her toothbrush away and don't let her chew it. give her something else to chew on. like a cookie...LOL not really.
Reply:It's fine if her teeth aren't being brushed correctly because at this age it's just practice anyway. You'd be lucky to find an 18 month old that is coordinated enough to brush their teeth correctly.





There's no need to hold her down and brush her teeth for her. That will probably make her hate having her teeth brushed and won't want to do it in the future.





Try brushing your teeth when she's brushing hers. Open your mouth and show her how to do it. Show her how to get in the back and all that. Practice makes perfect :-)
Reply:When my daughter started, I told her Mommy gets a turn, and then she gets a turn. If she won't let me do it first, then nobody does it and I start towards the bedroom and tell her she will have dirty teeth. Usually she would want to go back and let me do it so she could have her turn.
Reply:At this age is not such a big deal yet to make him letting you brush her teeth. The teeth are still developing and by the age of two you can sit down with her and show her with your own brush on your own teeth how to do it. Kids like to copy behavior and so she will start doing that too.
Reply:You don't need to worry that she's doing it properly, because it's not even suggested to brush teeth until they are 2 years old. As long as she gets in the habit you are doing OK. However, too much toothpaste can cause white spots on her teeth. You should limit the amount she uses.
Reply:This is normal at her age. Don't worry about it until she turns 2 and then; show her how to brush and help her do it correctly.


A parent should NEVER hold a kid down just to brush their teeth!


My grand daughters have a mouth wash that turns color everywhere they missed the important stuff. It really helps them to stop being in such a hurry brush correctly.



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