2Yr Old Wont Brush Her Teeth!

I have my daughter sing ahhh in various tones and pitches, then we do eeee and then she loves to have her tongue brushed. It helps if my husband and I sing with her, particularly if I'm brushing my teeth at the same.

I made a song out of it for my daughter. She would brush very quickly, and then I would have her make sounds for different parts of Three Blind Mice. It went:

rrr, rrr, rrr (front teeth, like a grin)
rrr, rrr, rrr (same as above)
rrr, rrr, rrr, rrr
rrr, rrr, rrr, rrr
ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah (open mouth, inside teeth, top and bottom)
ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
aaa, aaa, aaa, aaa (tongue stuck out to brush it)

I know it looks a little crazy, but it worked really well for her. She even got to the point that she would do it herself.

L.,

Have you tried an electric toothbrush. You might let her pick out a really cool princess one or her favorite character. This helped with my son. Good luck.

hi L., i let my 4 yo "brush" my teeth (i go back later and do it myself, and she thinks that's hystarical, then i say it's my turn and i brush her teeth. hope that helps!

Hi L.,
Isn't brushing teeth fun - ugh. My 2 yr old does the same thing. What seems to be working is when we play the "what did you eat today" game. If I say, "Is that yogurt on your teeth?" - he opens right up & tells me where to brush and then tells me to get the chicken too, or grilled cheese, milk, etc..... Hope it works for you. good luck!

When my daughter was that age, we used to brush animals out of her teeth. She loved it. The squirrels would run all around her mouth until I finally got them off of her tongue at the end. It worked well for awhile, and now she's 4 and good about it. BUT, I think the important thing about brushing teeth now is making it a habit, not so much getting the teeth immaculate. Just don't give her the sticky stuff before bed!

K.

look at my request from last week i had almost the exact problems and got great responses! good luck

My aunt tells her grand kids that when you eat food sugar bugs come into your mouth and eat the left over parts off of your teeth. When they're done eating, they poop (plaque). So, if they don't want sugar bug poop on their teeth, they have to brush it off everyday.

Hi L.,
I have a 3 almost 4 year old Daughter who I also have a difficult time getting to brush her teeth. I took her to the dentist when she was 2 1/2 and they said that parents should help their children brush their teeth until about age 8, to make sure that when they get their Adult teeth just before or after that age that they are really doing a good job brushing and don't get any cavities. The Dentist told me to let her brush her teeth then for me to do it, I tried she just was uncooperative. Any way I took my Daughter because I thought that she had cavities, turns out it was just staining, still from not brushing well, just not as big of a deal. Well it is over a year later and I just figured out how to get her to do both brush her teeth and let me help. I was flipping channels and saw the Super Nanny show on, I never watch it but, it was such a train wreck I couldn't help. The Nanny told the Mom to get them all the mirrors with the handle that folds back to help it stand up, they are called travel mirrors, i guess but the mirror is big and the handle is small and folds. Put the mirror where they can see what they are doing and then sing twinkle twinkle little star 2 times, I thought I had tried everything else why not. It actually worked, then she let me brush her teeth after she got done of course I was still singing Twinkle Twinkle, now we have to work on spitting, but that is a different subject. Another one that the Parents as Teachers lady recommended to me was let her brush your teeth while you brush hers then switch and you both do your own, that way she gets to help you, you get to make sure her teeth get done right, and she gets the feeling of independence of brushing them herself. Good Luck!
M.

With ALL of my kids, I just give them access to a toothbrush with no paste all day long...They chew on it at it DOES clean their teeth...Then in the evening when I brushed mine, we would use toothpaste on theirs too....Only 1 of my children has had a cavity (and she has VERY soft teeth). HTH

~A.~
SAHM of 6 (16yo down to 1yo) & #7 due early Oct

After she has brushed her teeth just say let mommy see what a great job you did and say let me see those pretty teeth and when she opens her mouth take the tooth brush and just say oh you missed a spot and say something funny as you brush her teeth and get her to laugh instead of tickling her. You can always keep her occupied while in the bathroom let her stand on a stool and wash her hands at the same time while you inspect/brush her teeth.

When I got my 6 month cleaning last month I asked the hygenist when you need to start having your child brush their teeth and she said age 3 so she might be too young to take on that responsibility but I would ask your dentist. Good luck!

My dentist told me to buy bright colored toothbrushes (they even have some now that play tunes!) and give them to him in the car when we were doing errands. My son had a binkie and I would "trade" him a toothbrush for a while and he would chew on it. It cleaned his teeth during the day and he was used to it when I brushed them for him. I let him be the "big boy" and brush himself first and then I would finish.

L., my son is 21 months. i think the only reason he resists brushing is because he's figured out that he can! we have gone through a rough couple of weeks with it, but no matter how good my attitude, how silly i tried to make it, he still fought me. i didn't want to brush my own with him because he tends to get distracted then the toothbrush ends up on the floor or in the toilet, or wherever. i broke down and started doing mine at the same time...by the time i'm done he's eaten "most" but not all of his toothpaste, and i wrap things up for him with a "real" brushing. i do have to make a mad dash for him occasionally to save the toothbrush, but at least he's not completely breaking down in hysterics anymore. good luck! keep trying till something works i guess!

Good Morning L., Right now she is just learning and to let her do it alone is perfectly ok. She is probably chewing on the brush and eating the paste. ;) You could brush your teeth at the same time and then ask her to check to make sure momma did a Good Girl Job. You don't want to make tooth brushing a battle of wills. The more she watches you brush at night the more she will get the hang of it. This is part of what little ones do, watch and learn. But don't take her brush from her right now and try to redo what she has done. Let her have a Big Girl Good Job too.

We have nights and mornings with our gr son age 3 when he does a really good job and others when he chews and spits.
We smile to let those pearly white glow, no matter how quick the brushing lasts.

There are bigger things around the corner L., so have some fun with your little girl she is doing good for her age.

Good Luck,
K. Nana of 5

Flavored (sugar-free, fluoride) toothpaste and light-up toothbrushes work at our house!

Try using an electric toothbrush. Even if she tries to clamp down on it, the bristles are still turning and scrubbing her teeth. I also use it to tickle my kids' lips or nose just to make it fun! And when I have one being stubborn and tight-lipped, I can still slip the brush onto their front teeth, and they usually end up opening up. Good luck, I know this can be very frustrating.

I say get her to brush somehow. What if you get a special toothbrush and let her pick it out. My kids have the character ones that vibrate, and they love it. My five year old was very stubborn about brushing his teeth about the same age, and I didn't press it too much, now for his kindergarten check-up, he'll have a cavity, I can see the little dark spot. I now wish I would have pressed the issue a little more.

Hello - have you tried using a motorized toothbrush or one of the firefly models (they light up when you push them)? We used to have a similar problem and fun toothbrushes seemed to help. She also loves her bedtime stories, but she knows if she doesn't get her teeth brushed she doesn't get a story. Now we almost never have a problem. Good luck!

There are some things that we have found work. One is to make it a game. Have her name off everything that she can remember eating that day and you have to brush each thing off. Another is to brush off fun things like cavity monsters or butterflies or dump trucks - wherever her imagination takes her. We have also found it helps if they get to brush their teeth, but we just have to do a few "touch-ups."
Hope that helps.

K.

I tell my 5 and 2 year old that there are bugs in there mouth and that they can get the big or the little ones and I will do the other. If they resist which they do every now and then I tell them if we don't get the buggies out they will eat there teeth and explain the dentist says to let mommy and daddy help brushing. Have you taken her to the denist yet? If you have insurance it is always a great idea to start them young get them use to going. They don't do anything the child won't let them and the one I go to are great. Good Luck

I feel a bit silly for what I am about to tell you but here it goes. You know the song Shake, Shake, Shake Your Booty? Well, I just switched the words to: Brush, brush, brush. Brush, brush, brush. Brush those toofers, OW! Brush those toofers, OW!

It makes my little one laugh so I am able to get to the back teeth and he likes to sing the OW part too. You have to make sure that you look and sound as stupid as you possibly can for it to be remotely funny.

Good Luck!
-K.

take her to the library and get the Dora book on smiles. it will also be a good precursor to visiting the dentist about the age of three. children are good imitators, if you have other children you can borrow for this routine at bedtime it will make things easier on all parties involved.

I have my daughter pick a song and as I brush her teeth I sing to her. If she tries to close her mouth, I stop or slow down the singing. By the time we song is over her teeth are brushed.

We pretend to sing opera... :)

the way we do it is I start the brushing. Then, when i am done, I let her do it. that way, it's done and if she wants to brush her teeth (which she ALWAYS does) "Mommy goes first, then it's your turn!"

I would go to the library and see if they have picture books about dentists and brushing your teeth. I'm sure they do. If you're desperate enough, you could plug her nose LOL. Then she'd have to open up! Just kidding! I think the book thing would be helpful :)