How do you brush your babies teeth? He hates it, HELP!

[shandi]

DS has 6 teeth now, and instead of wiping his gums with a wet washcloth I have been trying to use a baby toothbrush, but he HATES it.

Screams and cries and fights me tooth and nail

He doesn't really like the wet washcloth thing anymore either, and I'm scared he's going to bite me now, those suckers are sharp!

Have any suggestions for me? TIA!

[sesa70]

Just give him the toothbrush and let him have fun!

I do this for my dd. I use the toms of maine baby toothpaste:
http://www.tomsofmaine.com/toms/prod...%5Fid=LTP%2DGG

put a drop of it on the toothbrush, and just let her gave it. She is 1, and she likes to just chew on the brush itself so I figure the teeth are getting clean! She was an early teether so we have been doing this for months. Sometimes, if your uncomfortable letting her do it all by herself, you can sneak it a quick brush before you give him the toothbrush. He might hate it for a second, but once he gets that toothbrush in his hands he will forget all about it!

[1happymama]

(Ds likes to play with his toothbrush too)

Also, do you use the little rubber fingertip toothbrush? DS didn't like me brushing them when they were still really sore but he enjoys hearing the "squeaky" sound the rubber makes on his gums. So usually I can distract him with that (and he gums on it) and then get a few swipes in on the teeth and then back to the squeaky/gumming and then a few more swipes on the teeth. It takes a little longer, but it's not a horrible experience this way. Good luck, mama!

[my2babyboys]

my kids actually love getting their teeth brushed. I had to hide the toothpaste cause they were brushing too much and I didnt want them swallowing too much flouride.
My youngest wasnt very fond of his teeth getting brushed at first, what I did was bought a baby toothbrush for him to carry around and chew on. I would rinse it in hot water to clean it. The dentist said it wouldnt hurt his teeth at all. Then I started brushing my teeth with him and letting him brush Elmos teeth. I would give him a toothbrush with nothing on it and let him "brush" Elmos mouth and then I would brush his. Now he absolutely loves brushing his teeth whenever he can get his hands on a toothbrush.

[jkelstaten]

when we *really* started making an effort to brush their teeth we had to lay them down, straddle them with their head between our knees. just to get them to hold their heads still. It sounds awful, but we would make a game of it. They just wouldn't open their mouths for us otherwise.....this was also how we gave medicine.

[jenn5388]

at this stage all you really need to do is just give them the brush.. they will bite it and suck on it or whatever, and then you don't have to fight them with it. I'm sure he's not eating sugary stuff every night before he goes to bed, so there's no real reason to fight to do a "good job"

now miranda is 26 months old and i still just give her the brush. I used to fight with her, used to be easier if she'd just scream because then she'd have her mouth open and i could get it done and over with. but now i just give her the brush.. she does a good enough job at the moment. she'll learn as the months go on.

[shandi]

I'll have to let him have a go with playing with the toothbrush then, I'll go pick up a few more today

Thanks for the Tom's of Maine link too Sesa, I've been trying to find some good fluoride free stuff I'll have to look at the health food store for it.

What's the nubby finger toothbrush? Anyone have a link to that?
Or has anyone tried those nubby ended teeth cleaner/teether things they can chew on themselves? Kinda like nubby thing on the end of a handle.

[GrowingUpMad]

Watch those little rubber finger tip brushes. I used that with dd and she was a biter. Once she bit downa dn I yanked my finger out so fast the rubber thing was still in her clenched jaw. As I tried to get it out she swallowed it and started choking ~ very scary.

I would give dd the toothbrusha nd let her chew on it. Every one in a while I'd move it around and brush until she screamed. It took a good 10 minutes but I got them suckers brushed ~ 5 seconds at a time.

[Hayley]

yup like eveyone has said buy him his own and let him chew on it! Makes it easier to brush later on! I would also try Burt bee's baby tooth paste Noah LOVES it!

[shandi]

Originally Posted by madalexsmom Watch those little rubber finger tip brushes. I used that with dd and she was a biter. Once she bit downa dn I yanked my finger out so fast the rubber thing was still in her clenched jaw. As I tried to get it out she swallowed it and started choking ~ very scary.

Yikes, that's scary! Okay so maybe I'll ixnay the fingertip one, since ds does like to chomp if anything is between his teeth!