My 2 year old son will not brush or let us brush his top teeth, especially the front two. My husband and I have to pretty much hold him and brush them. When the frustration of the failed toothbrush gets to us, I have had to try to clean them by rubbing them with a wash cloth and have tried to use one of those baby gum stimulator brushes with some toddler toothpaste on it. His bottom teeth are fine, but the front two are horrible! I want to make sure that they stay clean, for obvious reasons.
Any suggestions? I am tired of the twice a day battle!!
Thanks for all of your advice. We took him in the bathroom and let him brush his teeth with Mommy and Daddy and let him do what we were doing and then Mommy or Daddy "helps him finish" up. We will probably also get him an electronic tooth brush.
When my oldest was this age, the same thing happened. For a while, we just put a little toothpaste on a terrycloth washrag and did the best we could, then gave him the choice of that, or using a toothbrush. It seemed to work, he chose the toothbrush.
Morning J.-
I am also the mother of a wonderful 2 year old. I work full-time as a chiropractic assistant and a licensed massage therapist. It was hard to get my son to brush his teeth also. I finally gave him a toddler toothbrush with toddler paste on it and sat him in front of a mirror. I then took my own toothbrush and started brushing my teeth so he could see me in the mirror. He started to copy what I was doing. At first we would spend about 10 minutes just brushing, then I would finish up and help him. He would copy the faces I was making in the mirror (to expose my teeth for brushing.) Now we brush our teeth together atleast twice a day. His skills are improving each and everytime. I still help finish up, and we still make funny faces in the mirror. Not sure if this helps, I know that 10 minutes is a long time when you are rushing around in the morning, or exhausted after a long day at work, but it is a fun time for my son and myself. We also wash our hands and face at the same time. Give it a try and let me know how it goes for you. Best of Luck!
About me:
Mother of one wonderful 22month old boy. Girlfriend to an awesome guy for over 9 years, we both work full-time.
Have you tried the cartoon electric toothbrushes? My kids love them and pretty much brush themselves; I just have to do a follow up to make sure it is done well. Maybe bribe him with one. “you can use the cool superman toothbrush that goes on it’s own, but you have to brush the top front teeth you have to keep using the boring toothbrush that doesn’t go by itself” It might work – good luck, if nothing else works, he is only 2 for a short time, he will grow out of it.
We have a similar situation with our 2 1/2 year old son. We have found this to be successful, sometimes: at bedtime give him his toothbrush with a little toothpaste on it, face him while we are all brushing our teeth and let him imitate us. When he loses interest then he is comfortable enough to let us have a turn brushing his teeth.
This worked with our daughter when she was that age; now at 5 1/2 she helps do this with her little brother :)
~R.
Many children have ultra sensitivity on the roof of their mouths. ( try tickling the roof of your mouth w/ your tongue and you'll see what I mean ) Best suggestion I can give you is forst give an electronic toothbrush.. That's about the best way to combat this sensitivity. It's kind of like when you go to the dentist and while he injects the novacaine he'l jiggle your bottom lip a bit while injecting,, you feel nothing (opposed to one who just jams the needle in).. This ( jiggling ) counteracts the pain of a needle being shoved in your gums.. Same thing with the rotary action of an electric toothbrush.. Let him pick it out. Tell him it's his maic toothbrush and as long as its used two times a day the majic will work.. Let him see you use your own new majic toothbrush.. Glam your experience up a bit. Smile, giggle, say things like OOH that feels GREAT... Wish YOU could feel it too.
It'll drive them crazy that they're seeing someone have so much fun doing the mundane and want to try it out themselves.
Just a suggestion,
A.
If the toothbrush bribes don't work, take him to a dentist. Maybe they can put some sort of sealant on them to protect them until you get through this battle. Good luck!
Hi
My son found that he loved a spiderman spin brush. He will bring it to us. He still needs help but he tries. :)
You would be really surprised at what a two year old should actually be able to do without help, and brushing their teeth isn't one of them. I have a 5 year old step daughter we had to put in counseling for behavior problems because other than not listening she also would nto do teh very basic things my children who are 7 5 and 4 would do. her counselor gave us a paper that document by age all the things a child should be able to do without help and put it this way i'm a very lucky mom. back to my point though the fact that he will brush his teeth at all on his own is a great thing because you should still be doing it for him so while it is frusterating just be happy he's trying. good luck.
Hi J.,
I too have a two year old but he loves to brush his teeth. We make it a family thing. When I go to brush mine I let him come in and watch me. He has his own special toothpaste (toodle non-floride). Once he see me brush he will mimic what I do. He even flosses with crayola kids flossers that I found. They are like the reach flossers for adults but they are made for children. That he started by watching his Grandfather when he was about 18 months. From there he has just watched me and continued to follow along. I think that making it fun and having others doing it to will help him want to brush. Remeber that most little ones want to feel indepent. I sure hope this helps.
S.
u should try the battery powered toothbrush and bring it in his favorite character,it will more easy for u and later he can brush with it too
Honestly, a 2 yr. old shouldn't be brushing his/her teeth on their own anyways. You can let him "brush", but you should always "re-brush" them. They just don't have the fine motor skills to properly and effectively brush their teeth. So let him do his thing first, then you or hubby brush them again.
I have a 2 year old also, and she has really enjoyed burshing her teeth with an electric toothbrush with sesame street on it. That seemed to work well. I also tell her that I need to get the "sugar monsters" out of her mouth, and she really likes me pretending to scrub them out. Hope this helps! Good Luck!!! :)
M.
hi my name is J. mother of 2 girls,married for 5 years.what you can try with your son is a fun toothbrush,my daughter loves the ones that move oral b makes them for children with charters on them.it may be that your son has sensitive teeth as well!!he is old enought to take to the dentist try that and ask the dentist for sugestions..my daughter has been going to the dentist since she was 2 and loves it..hope this will be helpful to you...julz
