Tips for brushing a 2 year old's teeth?

My son is 2. We've always made it a habit of brushing his teeth, but he's always fought it and now it's nearly impossible. I asked some of the techs at my dentist's office, one said to hold him down and brush them anyway and the other said just to brush them as well as I could and leave it at that. I don't feel comfortable pinning my child down and forcing a toothbrush in his mouth. That seems horrible to me. Does anyone have any tips?

Tips for brushing a 2 year old's teeth?
Do you let him have a go at brushing his teeth himself? Of course, you have to do the proper brush, but sometimes it helps if you let them have a go also with the brush. I always brush my three year old's teeth thoroughly first, then I let her play with the toothbrush, pretending to polish them up herself.





With my five year old and seven year old, I let them brush their teeth first, then I do the final polish.





My seven year old had a lot of difficulty getting used to having his teeth brushed as he had oral defensiveness as a result of long term ventilation due to his premature birth. With him, I was just firm that he needed to keep his teeth clean, plus I also got him a doll that had a big smile with teeth showing. We roleplayed brushing dolly's teeth before each teeth cleaning session.





I never resorted to holding him down and forcing the brushing, that would have had disastrous results, especially with his oral defensiveness (he would have gagged immediately and ended up spewing). Just gentle coaxing and firmness and consistency is all it took. Oh, and finding a mild toothpaste with a taste he enjoyed.
Reply:dont pin him down just be firm with him and dont expect him to be a perfect toothbrusher at first just keep being firm and eventually at his own pace he will learn to stay still while u brush his teeth.





also dont worry about over brushing u would never get every bit of bacteria out thats for sure.





also u prolly are stuffing flouride toothpaste in his mouth whihc is yuky stuff try some all natural kind from a healthfood store or the internet
Reply:agent blue highlights all the plaque snd residue on teeth, you can make it a game. See how blue they are andhowmuch you can make disappear.... Good luck
Reply:my cousin was the same but i didn't take the dentist's advice





i tried reverse psychology like, "ewww no one brushes their teeth don't do it!"...it worked for me =]
Reply:My son will be 3 in a few months and we have brushed his teeth twice a day since he was about 9 months or so. For the past couple of months he's not been so excited about it so I let him pick out a new toothbrush, let him choose which character toothpaste he wanted (Little Einsteins Oral B, I think) and then I brush my teeth with him. After I'm done brushing and he's done licking the toothpaste on his toothbrush I tell him it's my turn to finish up and he's fine with that. Sometimes he's also watching the end of a cartoon or something, distracts him while I go at it. I agree with you - would never force him or hold him down. Will only make it worse for both of you!
Reply:Well my little sister is 2 yrs and I brush her teeth. What I do is make it fun and find creative ways to allow him to enjoy while you are brushin his teeth. e.g funny faces, nice tasting children's toothpaste. She loves to brush her teeth with me.
Reply:See if you can experiment with different flavors of toothpaste to find one more to his liking. See if you can maybe find a smaller or softer toothbrush that will help with the reluctance.





Maybe you could give him some kind of reward for his cooperation. You could maybe read his favorite book to him, play his favorite game with him...or make a sticker chart %26amp; when he gets x number of stickers let him choose a prize out of the treasure box (you can get things from the dollar store, Walmart, etc. that you think he'd like).





SG
Reply:Hey I know the feeling when my son was that age I ran into the same problem and I couldn't understand why he had always watched me brush my teeth and seemed to love it. This is how I got him to cooperate and it has been a blessing ever since. Make brushing his teeth a game and part of the bathing routine. I would put my son in the tub with his favorite bath toy and add a spare toothbrush, a bucket, his toothbrush and mine. I then made up a silly song about brushing teeth we started with the toy, then I would ask him to brush mine since he did such a great job with his toy and then it was his turn. I always said let mommies help you so she can learn how to do a good job like you. I would also say things like how do you get to those back teeth like that. Eventually we moved from the bathtub and he was great. As you know all kids are different but that is what worked for me.
Reply:My son is now 3 and we've struggled with this as well. I've tried to make brushing more fun by using "cool" toothbrushes with characters on them, electric ones for kids, different non-flouride toothpastes, etc. Although my son showed an interest in each of the new products, the interest went away quick when he had to brush with them. This may work for you though.





Next I tried letting him do the brushing, well if I could get him to do it, it would be for two seconds and he wouldn't really brush anything.





What worked the best and continues to work is distracting him while I brush by telling him some elaborate story. Now he's learned that I will tell a fun story while we brush. Each night I ask what he wants a story about and he'll give me a topic and I make up a story. I stop telling the story every time he closes his mouth or stops cooperating. I resume the story when he opens his mouth again.





I also wait to read bedtime stories until the teeth are brushed. My son loves his bedtime books so he will sometimes cooperate so that we can move on to books.





Some nights he's in a mood and won't cooperate at all so I say "we have to brush your teeth so you don't get little holes in your teeth called cavities that make your mouth hurt, I will brush them whether you cooperate or not. Would you like me to hold your mouth open which may hurt a little or are you going to be a big boy and open your mouth nice which doesn't hurt?". Often he will cooperate because he knows it's not fun having me hold his mouth open. When he's in a mood like that I still do some sort of brushing so he doesn't get the idea that if he fights it we won't have to do it, I just make it short.





Good luck, I know it's not fun and at age 2 they don't understand why you need to do it. In a few months though he will start to understand about food sticking to teeth and hurting the tooth and making his breath smell bad.
Reply:go to a local drug store and let him pick out his own tooth brush, and kid tooth paste. and get him all excited about his new stuff. then go from there
Reply:I agree with you on the pinning him down part, that will just scare the crap out or him when he hears the word toothbrush! and make it twice as hard. Try a fun tooth brush, like his favorite cartoon charter...spiderman? All little boys like spider man, or the wiggles...it may take some hunting on the wiggles but if he loves them, then get them. that way you can say, its time to go visit and sing with the wiggles, and the whole time hes brushing his teeth sing to him. try to make a game out of it. I'd get him his own special case and tooth paste....the kind that doesnt have floride in it. that doesnt have to be rinsed out.





They also have tooth tones....its a tooth brush that when you brush plays the radio. kind of neat i think.





Or you could try this;


Set up a brushing chart, and everytime he brushes his teeth he gets a special treat. Use stickers to help him understand. Then when he goes three days or so with out a fuss, take him out for ice cream or let him pick out toy at the store. (All the products needed for this can be found at the dollar store!) Make a treasure box, and when he doesnt put up a fight, he gets to pick out one thing from it. (The dollar store is perfect!)





These are just a few suggestions. Hope it all works out!





Oh and P.S. give him a couple days to get use to the chart thing, and try to explain to him, that if hes a good, BIG! boy he gets to.....and then show him the chart!





Brianna
Reply:My 14 month old son and I brush our teeth together. Well, sort of, he mostly sucks on the toothbrush. After I am done, I brush his teeth the rest of the way, and he often times tries to brush mine. The only problem is he likes to share his toothbrush with me, which we are working on. But maybe you guys can switch toothbrushes and brush each others teeth. Do you like baby toothpaste??? Seriously though, don't make it something stressful, try to have fun while keeping those pearly whites healthy. Good luck!
Reply:Some cajoling, some being stern, and some letting it go.


But here are specific things to try.


While you brush his teeth look for his favorite characters in his mouth. At different parts of the mouth comment on ho dirty Gordon is or Thomas has egg on his head or some such comment.


Let him brush you as you brush him.


Tell him you lost something in his mouth and need to look for it. We looked for my watch for weeks with a running comment about the odd things I did see in there.


I might let a whole day go by with out talking about brushing first to let go of the fight a bit. Just don't give sweets that day and he won't keel over. If he asks for sweets you can say that you wont be able to give sweets until he brushes.. A bit of a carrot.
Reply:My child brush thier teeth while taking a bath. I allow them to do it themselves and then I help them finish it up. They think its fun to brush their teeth in the bathtub and they feel big doing it themselves.
Reply:It has to be interesting for him if not he won't want to do it. I always brush my teeth at the same time as my daughter. I made it a game, "try to copy mommy" game. I would make faces, brush my face and eventually get to my teeth. I made lots of sounds, which she copied as well. We still brush our teeth together now and usually I sit so we are facing each other and she does what I do. Most kids what to copy their parents.





You can also say a story, like: I forgot how to brush my teeth. Can you show me how to do it? Is this right? And you do something like fake brushing on your eyebrows.





You just have to find the right game for your child.
Reply:My son likes to pick out a new tooth brush about every two months and new toothpaste and he will brush just fine. Get a soft toothbrush for him and hopefully the problem will be over.


After give him Lot's of praise for doing a great job and tell him that he is your Big boy and I love you very much with your fresh breath. Then give him Lot's of kisses.
Reply:My youngest son hated cleaning his teeth, so I let him choose his own toothbrush and toothpaste. When it comes to teeth cleaning time,I let him have a go at brushing first and then I tell him that i will give them an extra sparkle.We have several different teeth cleaning songs and I let him choose which one I sing whilst I give them the extra sparkle.




hair talk