Dreading Tooth Brushing
My (oh my gosh 1 year old tomorow) likes brushing his own teeth, but as you can imagine, doesn't do it very well. I tell him that mommy needs to finish up and ask for his cooperation, but he screams and fights and clamps his mouth shut. I am as gentle as possible, but HE MUST get his teeth brushed. This is not a negotiable item - he has a chipped tooth that I do not want rotting out of his mouth. How do I do this without creating even more resistance since obviously being held against your will while someone shoves somthing around your mouth is not a happy thing - to put it mildly. I am feeling like a dental and mommy failure for either skipping it or for making him scream.
What can I do to make this whole thing less tramatic?
^_^:
You are right that it has to be done.
I'd try to keep it fun. Somethings that have worked at our house over the years:
Child starts and you finish - or you start and he finishes
The child brushes the parent's teeth at the same time the parent brushes the child's.
Counting out the seconds
Naming the foods the child ate that day "I see some bagel" "there's some apple".
A toothbrushing song
looking in the mirror
For us usually something novel worked for a bit and then we had to move on to something else.
^_^:
I don't really have any advice, but wanted to let you know that we've been there!
Denali used to throw horrible fits before toothbrushing time until she was two years old. We tried everything we could think of: songs, games, a light-up toothbrush, fun animal toothbrushes, different flavored toothpastes, different style toothbrushes...nothing worked.
We simply had to hold her down and brush whoile she cried and screamed. I felt absolutely wreched, but didn't have a choice: her teeth were beginning to become discolored and icky. Not brushing was not an option. I just felt sick over it.
It was the strangest thing that changed her mind on toothbrushing. We were spending the day at the river, and on the way back to the car Denali tripped and hit her teeth on the metal-lines stairs. :( Her two top teeth were lightly chipped with a half-moon cresent on each one. The teeth were so sharp that we needed to take her to the dentist to get them filed down a bit (breastfeeding was agony!), and to check them for damage.
Thank goodness her teeth were fine, no damage other than the chips. But I had to place her on my chest and physically hold her down while the dentist went in with his sanding tool to soften those sharp edges. Denali HATED it. She fought the whole time, but we had to get them filed.
Fast forward to later than evening. It was bedtime, and I reluctantly approached her with the toothbrush. She'd been through anough that day, but I'd given her ice cream as a special treat after the dentist, so we really needed to brush. Imagine my shock when she came happly, laid down on my lap, and opened her mouth for toothbrushing. :jaw No fussing, no fighting, no tears. She's been fine with toothbrushing ever since. It was beyond weird.
I'm so glad we can brush without the old trama of before, but I wish we'd found an easier way to get there!
^_^:
Thanks Roar-I will try those and try to come up with other "games" for us to play. It seems so obvious now that you've pointed me in a more possitive direction.
And thanks Tinuviel. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one - and even more glad your daughter is happy to brush teeth now.
^_^:
Great advice from Roar, she said pretty much all I would want to say. :)
If you need inspiration for tooth brushing songs, you might want to try:
- that "brusha brusha brusha" commercial from Grease
- "Brush Your Teeth" (Raffi)
- "Brush Brush Bree" (Bear in the Big Blue House)
- list of toothbrushing songs set to common tunes:
- or search iTunes for Children's music with the word "brush" in the title
- or make up your own :)
The sheer number of toothbrushing tunes out there is reassuring - it tells you that you're not the only parent ever to need some tricks to get the kiddos to cooperate with brushing! :lol
Naming the foods the child ate that day "I see some bagel" "there's some apple". Ooooohhh! I like this so much better than the "sugarbugs"!!!
^_^:
We pretty much give our daughter a few toothbrushes that we clean regularly and have them available around the house...she chews, sucks, gums, brushes her teeth pretty much all day long, sometimes with our help if she is cool with it --- I figure she probably does a not so good job... but 100 not so good jobs throughout the whole day probably adds up to a prety good toothbrushing at least once a day kwim? :lol :lol
^_^:
Could you slip in with a second toothbrush while he is brushing? I used to brush ds' teeth while dh read a book or did something outrageously silly. When ds was older, I brushed while he watched a video, pausing it whenever ds closed his mouth. During a particularly bad patch, when he was about 3, I had dh video tape me brushing ds' teeth. Then we would rewind and watch it right away.
I think it is a good idea to not try to brush very long while you are establishing having you take a turn brushing, just a few quick strokes on each surface. Consider brushing anywhere ds wants to be, even while he plays. Maybe he would like to trade his toothbrush for a flashlight and shine it in your mouth while you have a turn brushing.
^_^:
with my dd, i often will say, "ooo, what animal's teeth am i going to brush tonight?" "hmmm, are you a dragon or a bunny?"
she usually responds with something else, then we play while brushing. this has worked for her for some time (she's 4.5). i haven't tried it yet with my ds (20mos) but i should. he more consistently needs the assistance than dd does.
^_^:
Yay! Toothbrush games are great!!!!
I used to say "show me your teeth" and then "oh my goodness your teeth are green!!! what did you eat today?"
I would change up the colors, sometimes say they were "rainbow" and dd loved it! She'd come to ME at bedtime and ask what color her teeth were. Then we'd brush them til they were nice and white!
^_^:
All good suggestions. Another fun idea is to pretend Mr. Boogingle is hiding in their teeth and by staying there he can cause teeth to develop cavities. Then you can chase him all about his mouth with toothbrush and toothpaste alll the while Mr. Boogingle trying to escape but eventually accepting to go to the sink, where the water is going to wash him down all the way to the sea, where he will be able to swim, build sand castles, and collect seashells and will not have to damage kids teeth in order to find things to eat...
More Topical:
What can I do to make this whole thing less tramatic?
^_^:
You are right that it has to be done.
I'd try to keep it fun. Somethings that have worked at our house over the years:
Child starts and you finish - or you start and he finishes
The child brushes the parent's teeth at the same time the parent brushes the child's.
Counting out the seconds
Naming the foods the child ate that day "I see some bagel" "there's some apple".
A toothbrushing song
looking in the mirror
For us usually something novel worked for a bit and then we had to move on to something else.
^_^:
I don't really have any advice, but wanted to let you know that we've been there!
Denali used to throw horrible fits before toothbrushing time until she was two years old. We tried everything we could think of: songs, games, a light-up toothbrush, fun animal toothbrushes, different flavored toothpastes, different style toothbrushes...nothing worked.
We simply had to hold her down and brush whoile she cried and screamed. I felt absolutely wreched, but didn't have a choice: her teeth were beginning to become discolored and icky. Not brushing was not an option. I just felt sick over it.
It was the strangest thing that changed her mind on toothbrushing. We were spending the day at the river, and on the way back to the car Denali tripped and hit her teeth on the metal-lines stairs. :( Her two top teeth were lightly chipped with a half-moon cresent on each one. The teeth were so sharp that we needed to take her to the dentist to get them filed down a bit (breastfeeding was agony!), and to check them for damage.
Thank goodness her teeth were fine, no damage other than the chips. But I had to place her on my chest and physically hold her down while the dentist went in with his sanding tool to soften those sharp edges. Denali HATED it. She fought the whole time, but we had to get them filed.
Fast forward to later than evening. It was bedtime, and I reluctantly approached her with the toothbrush. She'd been through anough that day, but I'd given her ice cream as a special treat after the dentist, so we really needed to brush. Imagine my shock when she came happly, laid down on my lap, and opened her mouth for toothbrushing. :jaw No fussing, no fighting, no tears. She's been fine with toothbrushing ever since. It was beyond weird.
I'm so glad we can brush without the old trama of before, but I wish we'd found an easier way to get there!
^_^:
Thanks Roar-I will try those and try to come up with other "games" for us to play. It seems so obvious now that you've pointed me in a more possitive direction.
And thanks Tinuviel. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one - and even more glad your daughter is happy to brush teeth now.
^_^:
Great advice from Roar, she said pretty much all I would want to say. :)
If you need inspiration for tooth brushing songs, you might want to try:
- that "brusha brusha brusha" commercial from Grease
- "Brush Your Teeth" (Raffi)
- "Brush Brush Bree" (Bear in the Big Blue House)
- list of toothbrushing songs set to common tunes:
- or search iTunes for Children's music with the word "brush" in the title
- or make up your own :)
The sheer number of toothbrushing tunes out there is reassuring - it tells you that you're not the only parent ever to need some tricks to get the kiddos to cooperate with brushing! :lol
Naming the foods the child ate that day "I see some bagel" "there's some apple". Ooooohhh! I like this so much better than the "sugarbugs"!!!
^_^:
We pretty much give our daughter a few toothbrushes that we clean regularly and have them available around the house...she chews, sucks, gums, brushes her teeth pretty much all day long, sometimes with our help if she is cool with it --- I figure she probably does a not so good job... but 100 not so good jobs throughout the whole day probably adds up to a prety good toothbrushing at least once a day kwim? :lol :lol
^_^:
Could you slip in with a second toothbrush while he is brushing? I used to brush ds' teeth while dh read a book or did something outrageously silly. When ds was older, I brushed while he watched a video, pausing it whenever ds closed his mouth. During a particularly bad patch, when he was about 3, I had dh video tape me brushing ds' teeth. Then we would rewind and watch it right away.
I think it is a good idea to not try to brush very long while you are establishing having you take a turn brushing, just a few quick strokes on each surface. Consider brushing anywhere ds wants to be, even while he plays. Maybe he would like to trade his toothbrush for a flashlight and shine it in your mouth while you have a turn brushing.
^_^:
with my dd, i often will say, "ooo, what animal's teeth am i going to brush tonight?" "hmmm, are you a dragon or a bunny?"
she usually responds with something else, then we play while brushing. this has worked for her for some time (she's 4.5). i haven't tried it yet with my ds (20mos) but i should. he more consistently needs the assistance than dd does.
^_^:
Yay! Toothbrush games are great!!!!
I used to say "show me your teeth" and then "oh my goodness your teeth are green!!! what did you eat today?"
I would change up the colors, sometimes say they were "rainbow" and dd loved it! She'd come to ME at bedtime and ask what color her teeth were. Then we'd brush them til they were nice and white!
^_^:
All good suggestions. Another fun idea is to pretend Mr. Boogingle is hiding in their teeth and by staying there he can cause teeth to develop cavities. Then you can chase him all about his mouth with toothbrush and toothpaste alll the while Mr. Boogingle trying to escape but eventually accepting to go to the sink, where the water is going to wash him down all the way to the sea, where he will be able to swim, build sand castles, and collect seashells and will not have to damage kids teeth in order to find things to eat...
More Topical: