Stinky breath!!

[jojo2324]

It's really bad guys. I know my olfactory senses are in overdrive right now, but PHEW!!! Gannon's breath is awful. We brush his teeth twice a day, but really that's him mashing it and me fighting him to get a few quick brushes in. It's obviously not enough. And I don't want to pin him down to brush, because I'm afraid of what it will lead to later. (He used to let me brush his teeth readily, but that ended rather abruptly a couple of weeks ago.)

Any suggestions? The ped offered up using a washcloth, but that's met with the same resistance as a toothbrush. She also said it could be a caused by dehydration; he seems to have enough wet diapers throughout the day. (On to another topic, how do you push water? He gets milk at meals, and has a sippy of water with him throughout the day...I can't force him to drink it. Any tips there?)

I just read somebody else's suggestion for an electric toothbrush...I might try that.

Thanks! My nose appreciates your insight! :)

[Melanie]

Have you tried letting him take turns brushing his teeth? We'll brush (and taught Ds to do "AAAHH" and "EEEHHH" so we can reach all the teeth, then he gets a turn, rinses and taps the brush. Then, the reward for all of it is getting to drink water from a bathroom dixie cup and crunch it up to throw in the trash. ;-)

[trumansmom]

Joanne-

No insight here, but I was thinking about you and this post when I braved the mall yesterday. I swear, as people walked past me I kept wanting to scream at the, "Brush your teeth!!" Maybe it is the pregnancy hormones, but I swear I could smell each and every person's stinky breath!

And I won't even start about stale smoke and sweat on coats.... EEEWWWWWWWWW!!!!!

Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/29/01 and EDD 4/23/04!