Brush brush brush......... how do I get my 15m old to let me brush her teeth?

I tried letting him brush first and then me going in after. I tried electric toothbrush. I tried all the things. The only thing that worked for us is lay his towel on the floor when I get him out of the bath. I already have his toothbrush ready. And I lay him down on the towel and let him hold something he wouldn't normally be allowed to play with. This week it's been a roll of toilet paper 🤣🤣🤣 only thing that works right now and you gotta do what you gotta do

We brush our girls teeth in the bath and then let her try herself after which she likes, in the bath also means no mess and doesn’t matter if she drops the toothbrush etc xx

It also helps if there is a second person to distract. They wave their favorite toy or stuffy, then I am able to sneak in a brush with minimal fuss.it's a struggle, though.

I have two toothbrushes for him. I let him hold the one and let him “brush” his own teeth for the sense of independence and then I put toothpaste on the one I’m going to use on him and then I ask him if I can brush his teeth. Usually he takes out his toothbrush and lets me go in with the second toothbrush. It’s been working well so far

So similar to other responses we let her brush her own and we either go in before or after her with the toothpaste. I do have to 1-2x a week lay her down and restrain her arms with my legs so I can make sure we get a really good cleaning and she throws a fit but once I wipe/wash her face she calms back down.

And it’ll be helpful to let her watch toddler/baby tooth brushing videos so it seems like a more fun thing. Maybe even find one that has a teeth brushing song so you can sing it with her when you do her brushing routine.

As a dental assistant, it does help to have a second person restrain the little one while another brushes. Most parents hate to hear that. Afterwards, make sure you celebrate how awesome they did. Lots of hugs to show you understand how hard it was for them. After a while, they will get used to it and usually stop fighting their teeth being brushed. I use to explain it like this :"You flip any animal over on their back and try to go for their mouth....they will fight. It's a vulnerable position." Be patient it gets better.

I've always made it something to be excited about. I ask him, "are you ready to brush your teeth?" So he knows it's time. He's just recently started to want to try on his own so I let him with some guidance. I then take over to finish. The key thing I do is when he removes the toothbrush (which happens a lot) I ask him if he needs to take a breath (break). He takes a deep breath and goes back to brushing. I also describe what we are doing as we brush so he knows. I honestly think just explaining and talking him through it has been a big help. I also think my kid likes brushing his teeth on some level. 😅

I literally just came on this app to ask the same exact thing because it is a STRUGGLE these days

i just got a pack of kids toothbrushes and some kids toothpaste. sat her down and brushed her teeth. then i handed her the toothbrush afterwards and she brushed her own teeth. she’s super independent and hates when i do things for her. so that helped mediate the issue. she was still grabby at first, but after the first few times she understood she isn’t allowed to grab it while i’m brushing her teeth

We started as soon as her first tooth erupted. She thinks it’s fun to watch herself in the mirror plus she loves water so I let her rinse in the sink afterwards. I’d brush first then let her do it herself with or without toothpaste. Pretty sure she mostly likes brushing because her toothpaste is yummy lol.

Also with any future children I highly recommend doing tooth and gum wipes starting around 3 months to get baby used to the routine/feeling.

Thank you everyone! We've been brushing her teeth since they first started coming in. We've used both of the fridababy tooth brushes, the finger brush with the soft bristles..... then she started biting so we switched to the double sided brush. I just feel so bad that she finds it so torturous 🤦‍♀️😫 We're definitely going to try some of these tricks. Thanks again everyone!

I put coconut oil on the brush when my girls' gums are especially soar from cutting teeth. She likes the flavor, and it is a good nutritionally, as well as hygienic. Due to coconuts' antimicrobial properties, I have also tried putting ground cloves in it. She doesn't brush as long, but I noticed she isn't gumming everything in sight for a while after.

@Jessica I have been debating to try the coconut oil since recently the toothbrushing went from amazingly fun event to wanting nothing to do with it. This was on the list as another "to try" option. I definitely have to bump it to the top of the list now. Thanks!

Have you tried Tanner’s Tasty Paste? They have 3 flavors that all taste of ice cream - Vanilla, Chocolate, and Orange Creamsicle. My pediatric dentist recommended them and the turnaround has been amazing. My son will still put up a fight, but once we start brushing, he lets it continue because he enjoys the taste. Find it on Amazon!

I use a spin brush with soft bristles. It was so hard with regular tooth brushes because I couldn't really brush because she moved so much and just kept trying to bite the tooth brush. Best decision I ever made. Cvs for like $19. Oral B.