Brushing teeth

D is 22 months...has had teeth for a while, so we've been brushing them for a while. We're lucky with him. He lets me brush to a point, and then I let him take the brush and go to town. He mostly chews on it, but does try to imitate the brushing motion. It helps, though, that he has a big sister he constantly tries to emulate. Try letting Daria hold the brush, let her brush a doll's teeth, have her pick out a cool new toothbrush. That helped Danny - I held out 2 brushes and he chose the Elmo one. He also loves trying to "help" put the toddler toothpaste on the brush. :D Enjoy...with my DD, it was a fight until she was almost 3. So I know it can be a struggle.

Hannah is 27 months, home for 3. She would not let me brush her teeth at first, so I started letting her brush mine. Watch out she did push the toothbrush in to far once. Now she will brush her teeth, then let me brush them too. Pam

You might try having her in there with you while you brush and talk about brushing etc. and also letting Daria brush your teeth a bit. I used to use those finger brushes first before using the actual toothbrush as it seemed less intimidating in the beginning.

A fun new toothbrush and some 'special wonder toothpaste that makes fresh breath AND gives wishes' did the trick for us.

We began teaching our daughter to brush at 18 months, by letting her join in what she thought was family fun. Daddy on one side, mommy on the other. She had a several toothbrushes and a set of flavored toothpastes in tiny travel-size tubes that let her make her own choices. We used a 2-minute timer to make sure we all did a thorough job. It wasn't long before we let her brush on her own after breakfast and lunch, but made sure the nighttime brushing was parent-assisted. By the time she was 3, she was brushing on her own most of the time and doing a fine job. She also began flossing at 18 months but I had to make sure to collect the used floss because she did manage to eat it a couple of times! (Dentist told the panicked Mom not to worry, thank goodness!) She's not yet 4 years old, but she's had 5 dental check-ups and always gets good reports.

My daughter is 14 months and she has been brushing her teeth since about 9 months old. She likes my toothbrush because she sees me with it, so I started letting her chew on it. Now I have a bright colored tooth brush for her and she likes the childrens toothpaste. She lets me for a very brief moment brush her teeth and then I just let her chomp on her toothbrush for a couple of minutes.

We started "brushing" our girls gums before they sprouted any teeth - just to get them used it it. Once they had teeth (at about 10 months), we were brushing regularly. They saw the dentist for the first time at 13 months. We buy cutesy "character" toothbrushes and, until recently, bought the "kiddie" toothpaste. Now, at 5, both girls prefer Mommy and Daddy's "hot toothpaste" (aka Crest Cinnamon Rush).

There are small infant tooth brushes. They fit on the end your index finger. When children are small, they can be used to massage the gums or brush the teeh. For children who are teething, the deep pressure from this gum massage can be very comforting. It also begins to desensitize chidren to having object in his mouth. You may want to invest in an electric toothbrush. The vibration of the toothbursh often makes the whole process more comfortable.

[QUOTE=neuromri] You may want to invest in an electric toothbrush. QUOTE] Got to second that. There is something about the electric toothbrush - doesn't even matter the character - that makes my kids WANT to brush. Getting to pick their own fun character toothpaste helps too. (Ahhhh marketing!) (Good to see you around again Shay!)