How do you get your children to brush their teeth?

[gatorsmom]

Without a knock-down-drag-out fight? We went to the dentist today and it was almost painful for me to wait to hear how many cavaties they would have. I do almost everything i can to keep sugar out of their diets, but getting them to brush is so hard at night when I'm exhausted. I'm ashamed to admit but so many nights I just let it go.

Any advice? Anyone want to guiltily admit to "forgetting" to brush their kids' teeth as well?

[maestramommy]

Well, my kids are much younger (I guess Dora's closer to cha cha), but we brush their teeth every night as part of their bath. I mean we brush for them. Dora is getting a lot better, but with Arwyn it's a battle with her tongue and trying to grab the toothbrush at the same time. Can you brush their teeth yourself? Or is that part of the battle?

[jhrabosk]

I'm sorry...I wish I could tell you that I do it less often than I do so that you'd feel better... :(

In our house, it's just part of the bedtime routine. On bath nights, she brushes before her bath and on other nights it's in combination with washing hands and face.

We have some silly toothbrushing songs...she gets her turn to brush, then we get our turn to brush them. I can't say that we brush them WELL, but they get brushed.

She does complain sometimes, but I think she's come to terms with the fact that teeth get brushed every night. Period.

[veronica]

I'm a little crazy about brushing for myself and brush DD's everynight. She loves it. I can't always get to the molars well but we try. I also brush probably 5 out of 7 mornings after her breakfast and just started trying to brush before naps. She is 2.5 and scheduled for her first visit next month. last week, my dentist said we should also be trying to floss at least between the molars and I feel so bad we haven't. I have no idea how to start that without battle.

I have found, get either a stool that she can stand on to look in the mirror or a mirror she can stand in front of, and the will likely love to brush her teeth. I also found inexpensive toothbrushes at walgreens, for kids, that flash lights for a minute as a guide for how long to brush and DD looooves this! lastly, toothpaste (non-flouride) might be "treat" too.

[Joolsplus2]

Just keep being consistent. Unfortunately Leah's had some problems with her teeth and has a very strong temper and I do have to wrap her in a towel and hold her hands to get her to open up... it's a few minutes of screaming that wrenches my heart, but I know she needs it and she's not in pain and that pretty soon she'll one day decide to open up willingly (maybe if I call in some hired clowns to distract her every night?...I swear my other kids were never this headstrong about it!)

[wencit]

My son is 26 months, and I basically lie him down on the floor with his head closest to me, sit on his arms, hold his head between my knees, and then brush his teeth for him. We started this when he was a little over a year, when he would fight me like crazy. It took about 8-10 months of struggling, but eventually he came around. Now, he's pretty good about it and realizes that me brushing his teeth for him is absolutely non-negotiable. He lies down willingly for me and lets me brush without putting up a fight. We even floss his teeth every night with one of those floss picks. And no, I'm not a dentist, and neither is my husband, LOL! I had a lot of problems with my teeth growing up, and I don't want DS to go through what I did.

We do let him "brush" by himself in the mornings, though. I know he doesn't do a great job, but at least he's getting practice, and our dentist says the night time brush is most important anyways.

Good luck!

[linsei]

I would suggest brushing before your ds is overtired. If we miss the window, it is sort of like wrestling a grumpy bear. If we get him before the bedtime cranky monster takes over, he cooperates. I do remember a time when we had to way him on the floor, arms underneath my legs, like mentioned above.

Ahh, good times...

[bubbaray]

Well, we brush twice a day, not once. With DD#1, I routinely had to pin her down on the floor with my legs and use both hands to brush her teeth (hold head with one hand, pry open mouth and brush teeth with the other). I use spin brushes. I had to do that for about 6m when she was between 12-18m. Before and after that, it was easier. With DD#2, she went through a brief stage of that, only a couple of weeks. The key with both was that they realized (DD#2 faster) that I would brush their teeth regardless of how much they fought me. I really don't know if we've ever missed their twice daily brushings. FWIW, I started before DD#2 got teeth (brushing her gums) and I think that early start helped. With DD#1 I waited until she got teeth, which I think was a mistake.

HTH

[JenaW]

Ok, Lisa. I don't want you to feel too terrible, so I logged in just to admit that I too often "forget" at night. If DH is putting the kiddos to bed he is much better about brushing all four of them. I am not sure he does it long enough - he sings the ABC song slowly while brushing - but at least he DOES get a brush in their mouths. I ALWAYS brush in the mornings, but I don't always have time to brush all 4 sets (well 5 if you count mine) myself, so if we are running late, I'll do my own and let C and M do their own at the same time, and then rebrush whoever has school that morning. Then I try to quickly run a brush over N and A's (they don't have a full set of teeth yet, and their mouth's are smaller). We all use Crest Spin Brushes, so I like to think that the brush does SOME of the work as long as the kids get it in there and get it around all their teeth. It does help somewhat that C and M had a dental health month in pre-school and had a pediatric dentist come in and talk to them about proper dental hygiene. They now often guilt me into brushing their teeth at night if I am too tired and attempt to skip it. I do feel terrible, like I am setting a horrible example, AND setting my kids up for a lifetime of bad teeth. But honestly, if it is a night that DH is working late, I am usually counting the hours after dinner until I can get the kids in bed and crash myself. Being pregnant again is not helping at all, nor does the fact that C&M are early morning kids, and are most often up by 5am. BY 7pm, I have had it in more ways than one, and am doing all I can to keep my sanity.

Jera

[ShanaMama]

I haven't read all the replies yet but will definitely admit to 'forgetting'. I figure if I get them brushed a couple of times a week that has to be good enough. I brush my own teeth religiously twice a day so I feel like DD is getting a good enough example by watching me.
Some things we've done to make it fun:
Buy a cute kiddie toothbrush (maybe the electric kind?)
Buy toothpaste they *like*. When DD told me she didn't like the Thomas toothpaste I went out & replaced it right away. Last thing I need is an extra battle.
Sing a silly song while brushing
Teach them how to spit into the sink (even though they can really swallow the kiddie toothbrushes, it's more fun to be allowed to spit!)

When I'm not too tired I incorporate it into DD's bedtime routine. If she resists I often give in & skip it. I am ashamed to admit that we don't even wash hands & face every night, let alone bathe. :innocent: Tonight she got wiped down with a baby wipe. Can't wait for the teacher to see her back in school tomorrow with the pen marks her friend colored still prominent all over her arms, legs & stomach. They've seen worse, right?

ETA: Wow, I just read thru the replies. I can't even imagine pinning DD down to brush her teeth. I may be naive but I think that would just set her up to hate it for life. I'd rather try my best to do it often enough. This is one area I am somewhat lax in. I only truly *insist* on brushing if she's had a lot of candy that day & I can see the colorful gunk on her teeth. Eww, I know. Sometimes it does build up that bad. Hopefully I won't regret it after our first dental appt. This is just not a battle I can see myself creating. (Right now it's not much of a battle because I'm chilled about it. I know if I was tougher it would turn into one.)

[StantonHyde]

I got DS the cool spin brush-he loves it. I will brush for him if he doesn't want to. For DD, it has to be a cute toothbrush with bubblegum toothpaste. I sing this song:

Sugar bugs, sugar bugs get out of my mouth,
Sugar bugs, sugar bugs do down south.
Sugar bugs, sb, go away.
Sbs, sbs, we don't want to play!

(and I add verses sometimes) That way they know the end is coming. We also do Clifford Smiles--big smile and brush front teeth.

I skip nights too sometimes.

[egoldber]

Wow, I just read thru the replies. I can't even imagine pinning DD down to brush her teeth. I may be naive but I think that would just set her up to hate it for life. I'd rather try my best to do it often enough. This is one area I am somewhat lax in.

Me too. Here's how bad I am. I didn't even make Sarah brush her teeth until she was old enough to explain the importance of it (maybe 4?). In my mind, baby teeth aren't worth that. And FWIW she now brushes daily with no issues and her dental check-ups have been fine.

[bubbaray]

I can't even imagine pinning DD down to brush her teeth. I may be naive but I think that would just set her up to hate it for life.


Not with either of my girls. At all. It was really a "stage"/control thing for mine. I have discussed it with our pediatric dentist and he agreed that for most kids, its a stage and the parent just has to be firm and persist.

[bubbaray]

In my mind, baby teeth aren't worth that.


http://www.kidsmiles.ca/faq.htm#care

Why is it important to take care of baby teeth if they are going to fall out anyway?

Baby teeth help children to eat well, to look nice and to learn how to speak clearly. They also save a space for the adult teeth that are developing under the gums. Keeping baby teeth healthy is important because some of these teeth may remain in the mouth until the age of 12 or 13!

If teeth are not properly cared for, tooth decay may develop. Tooth decay is progressive and cavities get bigger when untreated. If this decay is not treated, the child may experience pain and could develop an infection such as an abscess. Children with decay may have problems eating, sleeping and focusing because of this pain and as a result, may not grow and develop normally. A child with visible decay may become self-conscious and not want to smile or laugh.

[wencit]

Not with either of my girls. At all. It was really a "stage"/control thing for mine. I have discussed it with our pediatric dentist and he agreed that for most kids, its a stage and the parent just has to be firm and persist. :yeahthat:

I'm a "pinner" (LOL!), and DS is totally fine with brushing his teeth now, both him doing it, as well as me. No issues whatsoever. For him, I think he just needed to understand that brushing his teeth was not a negotiable thing in our family. Once he got that, all the struggling stopped. Now, he actually enjoys watching me brush my teeth, as well as doing it himself in the mornings.

[shilo]

i can only echo what's mostly already been offered, but do have a few things for you to try...

1. the firm and persistent (and i'll add consistent to that list) thing. the long term solution to most of our power struggles thus far (and i know, i only have a three year old, so this of course can still and probably will change ;)) has been consistency. if it's part of a routine that we do every night without fail, he gets over the power issues much quicker than sporadic attempts.

2. starting when the first two bottom teeth weren't even more than bumps pushing up thru the gumline seems to help. doesn't help you for gator and cha cha, but maybe the twins?

3. have you tried brushing yours everyday in front of them so that it becomes a patterning after you thing with time? sam often is with one of us in the bathroom when we're brushing at night or in the morning so he sees us doing it.

4. we've had the best luck during less cooperative times with the GUM brand, single spinning head, sesame street themed power toothbrush (i've found them at target and walgreens before as well as online. smallest head power toothbrush i've found and it seems to fit in his mouth more easily than the ones with two spinning things on the head. but now that he's a willing brusher, his favorite is the singing thomas toothbrush. (they play the thomas theme with the push of a button). i'm sure there are other musical toothbrushes available. i found the original one at 'day out with thomas' but then have found them at trainsgalore.com for replacements.

hth, goodluck, lori!

[BeachBum]

We had control issues for a while, but we just kept at it. Even during the times we didn't get a great brush in, we "won" by at least brushing a bit. Except when he is really overtired or getting a molar he is fine.

We have a variety of toothbrushes (like 4 or 5) and DS chooses one for himself and one for us to use on him. We let him do one side while we do the other. He really does love to "rinse and spit" and that is a big treat for him. Daddy is really great at making stuff like that fun.

We also have 3 kinds of toothpaste he gets to choose from. In the mornings he gets to brush his own and use mouthwash (either watered down or "less intense" vanilla mint). He then spits in in our stand up shower which he thinks is fantastic.

[bnme]

Another non-pinner here. I think the only thing I actually do something like that for is getting them to take medicine. If it is something like an antibiotic that they need (hmmm....I wish I would've thought about the wrapping them in a towel technique because I can barely manage to actually force them to take it).

My oldest loves to brush so he really isn't a problem. But sometimes he doesn't want to and sometimes he does it for like 3 seconds. I don't make a big issue out of it. Though we do talk about why it is important and that seems to motivate him. He is excited about his big boy teeth (he lost a tooth already).

My almost 4 year old is less interested. If decay became an issue I guess I would have to consider forcing them if they refused. But that hasn't happened to us (yet).

I think forcing it could set up future problems with control issues and that is why I steer clear of that.

[melissaflorida]

My dd is 4 yo and all about Princess's. I tell that we want Princess teeth NOT monster teeth! She loves to brush them so she can be like a Princess.

HTH,

Melissa

[JBaxter]

Connor was my WORST I was a dental hygienist for 17yrs so I know first hand what decay does to a kid :( I seen alot. I tried EVERYTHING with him and finally did the hunt and tackle method. Yes I hunted him down because he would run off put him in a screaming headlock and brushed his teeth . That went on for a couple weeks till he realized he WAS getting his teeth brushed and he needed to just put up with it. It was a last resort but he eventually got much better with it. Brushing teeth is like taking medicine it MUST BE DONE.

[elephantmeg]

I'm a member of the pinning down method-and now DS knows he has to get it done. Luckily he loves flouride and when the evening brush is over he gets flouride. Now all I do is flip him over my knee so his head is back and brush. He's much better since we were consistant with it.

[egoldber]

If teeth are not properly cared for, tooth decay may develop. Tooth decay is progressive and cavities get bigger when untreated. If this decay is not treated, the child may experience pain and could develop an infection such as an abscess. Children with decay may have problems eating, sleeping and focusing because of this pain and as a result, may not grow and develop normally. A child with visible decay may become self-conscious and not want to smile or laugh.

May is the operative word. Its not a guarantee. To *me* forcing tooth brushing on a non-cooperative child is not worth the power struggle. Sarah's teeth are fine and she has no cavities. If I came from a strong family history of poor teeth I might feel differently, but DH and I both have good teeth. I model good tooth hygiene for her myself and she is now an eager tooth brusher.

DH was forced as a child to brush his teeth and he STILL hates brushing his teeth and dental care to this day. To *me* that kind of long term issue is not worth the short term issues with baby teeth.

[toothfairy]

Oh dear, I need to throw in my two cents. Tooth decay is not the only problem children do face with their teeth--a more sinister bug affects even non-decay prone kids. Its gum disease.
No, it won't cause problems with the teeth themselves. But the fact is that gum disease causes as much or more tooth loss in adults as does cavities. Jeana knows this all too well having been a hygienist.
Setting good, consistent brushing habits for your children now (even if it means a bit of a strong arm) will teach them how important taking care of their teeth is.
Of course, I have just one child right now and I can only imagine how tough it could be to manage four with a nighttime routine. Other moms have had great suggestions on making it fun. What about a plaque disclosing rinse-maybe Listerine makes one? It would turn the gunk colors and the older two kiddos might have fun scrubbing it off with your supervision.
Unfortunately, most kids just aren't capable of doing a good job on their own until they're at least 6 or 7 years old.
Teeth aren't the most important thing I fantasize about all day:loveeyes:
But I know secondhand what life can be like if an adult has none!

Amy

[new_mommy25]

DS has always been really good at letting us brush his teeth at night. But that's just his personality - easy going.

DD is much more difficult. I kind of let it slide if it was too much of a struggle when she was younger. But then at her first appointment she had a cavity. :( So now brushing twice a day is mandatory. I used to have her lie on my bed with her head propped on the pillow and I would pin her and do a quick brush. But really, I only did that for about a week or two. Now she lays on the bed and willingly lets me brush her teeth. I guess she finally realized there wasn't going to be any way to get out of it.

Good luck! Sorry to hear about the cavities. :(

eta: DH and I both have a history of bad teeth. We both have a mouth full of cavities despite the fact that we are fastidious about brushing/flossing. I will do all that I can to assure that my children do not have to go through the trauma I did.

[MommyAllison]

My family has horrible teeth (like double digit cavities at a single visit kind of horrible :( ) so we do pin DD down if needed to get her teeth brushed. That is usually only when she's getting a molar or is super overtired. Most nights she loves brushing and opens her mouth willingly. We've sung songs (the ABC song/Old McDonald/Twinkle Twinkle), we've had her say "ahhh" and show us how the dentist will look at her teeth, sometimes when she's cranky I ask her who else brushes their teeth and she lists off all of her friends and family and I can brush while she's talking. We need to get on the flossing now though. I think we will try a Reach flosser like DH and I use - she's wanted to use ours so hopefully it will work!

[brittone2]

I was pretty good w/ toothbrushing and DS still had a cavity at 15 months. So far that's been the only one, but even w/ really good hygeine, it happens.

I started using xylitol products for him after that. He's 4 and has been chewing the gum since he was about 2.5 or 3 (but he was able to handle it responsibly), and we use xylitol toothpaste (Spry, Logodent, etc. Kiss My Face is coming up with a new kid one that has xylitol too). IMO xylitol gets to the root of the problem by killing off the bacteria that cause the tooth decay in the first place. I don't use fluoride products but we like xylitol based stuff. There is a pretty big body of research growing on xylitol's effectiveness.

I did do the hold down and brush when necessary. Not fun, and not my usual style of parenting, but seeing one cavity filled was sad enough at that age (and he didn't need any novacaine because it was shallow, but still...heartbreaking).

We like the Firefly toothbrushes from Target. Cheap, no commercial characters (yeah, you know I'm weird about that LOL), and they are still fun because you push the end and they flash.

We did different kinds of toothpaste. We sang songs, etc.

He's 4 now and is really good about brushing on his own, and then we "finish" for him. DD still requires being held down sometimes :( I don't love doing it, but some people/families are just more prone to the bacteria that cause tooth decay. My kids need really clean teeth, especially DD since she still nurses at night. I don't believe nursing at night causes decay, but that's if the teeth are clean beforehand.

Also, for cavity prone kids, crackers, cheerios, etc. are really sticky and terrible for teeth. I'd minimize those or brush right afterward for a really cavity prone child.