My 3.5 year old loves to brush his teeth, but he won't let me help him. He really only gets the front teeth, and won't let me reach into the back for him. He has a very sensitive gag reflex and acts like he's going to vomit when I put the tooth brush in his mouth. How can I make sure those teeth get cleaned?? We already had him at the dentist twice this year for TWO cavities! I do try to limit sugars but let's be honest, he does drink juice and has sweets from time to time. I am just terrified his teeth are going to rot out of his head!
Any advice is appreciated!
Absolutely the electric toothbrush. I would also discontinue the juice. You could try just having him show you when he thinks he is done and then pointing out which teeth he needs to do again. Good luck, it will get better.
D.
My friend is an orthodontist and she said we should really be helping our kids brush their teeth until they're about five years old. Just putting that out there.
Have you tried a battery powered toothbrush? My son used to be a gagger with teeth brushing and this helped.
you just have to do it! its not fun and the kids aren't going to be perfectly cooporative. I ask my son if I can do it and he seemed to think I was to rough so then I asked if I could do it and I'd show him I was being gentle. He seemed to like that he was tellilng me how to do it! hahaha. We take turns too. Other times I just tell him he's going to have to go back to the dentist and it won't be fun. He also got a stuffed animal from the dentist last time (he had a lot of work done already) and I remind him that the animal was there and could only stay if he continued to brush and let me brush. He does't want his "friend" to go back to the dentist just b'c he wasn't do what he was suppose to.
I've come to a agreement with my 3 yr old. Since she's becoming independent and want to "do it myself" I let her brush in the morning (I occasionally help her with a few brushes before she protests. And at night it's mommies turn. I put my foot down and she know's she won't win. That way she atleast gets 1 really good brush and floss a day.
Good luck.
You got lots of good ideas. How about a song for brushing teeth? You could dance to it once he's finished, or make up your own, and sing it while you/he brush teeth.
Let him brush his own teeth but then tell him you have to check it. I let my daughter put her own tooth paste on it (she's 3 years 4 months) and then I brush all over to ensure she got it all. Even though I do that (at least half of the time - the other half i just let her to her own) and even with that, the dentist said that I need to be making sure I help her brush. I've even told her that she has bacteria in her teeth that are like little bugs and that I hope her teeth don't fall out if she doesn't brush them good enough. It worked!
I let my 3.5 year brush his teeth too. He gets to brush at first and then mommy has to go over them to make sure he got all of the yuckies off. Maybe do a sticker chart to get him to be more willing to let you try it each night. Just open your mouth really super wide and tell him to do that for you until you say to stop and just make goofy faces and voices and make a joke out of it. Be sure you go in from the sides of his mouth so his mouth doesn't start to water and provoke his gag reflex. Good luck!!
I tell my son there are bugs from the food that gets between his teeth and I have to get them. He will brush for a few seconds and say he is done and let me check for "bugs".
Definitely try the battery powered tooth brushes! I use one on my almost 2 yr old and she loves it. She brushes by herself for a minute and then I take over and brush them. You're gonna have to put your foot down, its his teeth, and you don't want a mouth full of cavities. He'll get over it and get use to you brushing!!
Good luck!
Our dentist recommended getting the kids electric toothbrushes. It makes brushing more fun for the kids and may encourage to brush a bit further back. Also, our dentist said that what they brushed would be brushed better than if they were just using a manual brush! Good luck!
