it so difficult for me to brush my little one teeth

[LongTallDrink]

I think Marina is still a bit young to understand the consequences of bad oral hygiene, although if our museum had a giant mouth with cavities in it, I'd test that theory!
She was fine with the novelty of brushing at first but then started protesting. I always do teeth in between jammies and story that way there's the story to dangle. I also encourage her to show off her pearly whites with her best hammy grin afterwards which for a natural actor is great incentive.
I don't think paste is a good idea until kids are a bit older, unless you are quite sure of the ingredients. Most pastes have nasty chemicals that make your teeth white and protect from cavities, but are harmful if swallowed, especially to little ones.

[iyph28]

Do consider using toothwipes on top of brushing. That will probably help ensuring the cleanliness.

[Zuzubee]

Why do people say "make sure it doesn't have any fluoride in the toothpaste"? The paperwork I just received from the pediatrician said: we will probably need a proscription for Tri-Vi-Flour or Poly-Vi-Flour, because my baby will not receive adequate fluoride in her diet.
Give babies fluoride or don't give babies fluoride?

Thanks

 

[nhockaday]

Don't give fluoride! Fluoride is not good for you. It can be very dangerous if swallowed.
http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/fluoride.htm

[sunchaser485]

I just wanteed to give a rundown of how I started my middle child brushing. She is 19 months now and brushes her own teeth as well as her age allows.
As soon as she got her first tooth in I handed her a childs tooth brush. Nothing fancy, just a regular bristle brush. I let her chew on it. We made faces brushing our teeth together in the mirror. Eventually she wanted to brush my teeth and I'd let her use my tooth brush to do mine while I did hers.
Of course there are always going to be those little rough spots, but if you stick with it and don't let your child turn away for too long you'll get through it.
We didn't just make it a game. It was part of a routine. Babies love routines remember. Bath, (tickle) towel dry off, brushing teeth, brush hair, Q-tip clean ears, "Oh pretty girl! Lets go show Daddy how pretty." 
Now she knows the routine and is ready and willing to go to the next step. Gotta get to that Daddy love at te end. 

[piyu]

I started brushing my child's teeth with soft cloth. Now I use finger brush and give him a normal toothbrush to brush his teeth himself.
  He wants to do everything with his father so both of them brush their teeth together. We have a big mirror in the bathroom where he can see himself brush his teeth & play with water . he loves to see bubbles coming out of his mouth and then splash water on his face.
  We go together to the market & he selects his own toothbrush. I change his toothbrush every 15 days..
  This things make it easier for me...

[Quiet Cricket]

We use Waleda Children's Tooth Gel.  It does not contain flouride and is safe to swallow.  It has a minty taste and surprisingly our son loved it from the first time we tried it (he was around a year old when I found it at an organic grocery store - before that we were using a fruit-flavored non-flouridated tooth gel sold at the regular grocery store or drug store).  In fact he often begs for a second "helping" of toothpaste (which he doesn't get).

He got his first two teeth at 4 months and I started right away to clean them each night with a wash cloth or the rubber finger brush.  He had all his teeth except molars by 12 months, and by his second birthday had gotten all 8 of his molars, so we have had a lot of practice already.

At some point, maybe around 10 months or so, he started clamping down on my finger so I switched to a toddler brush.  There were a number of periods that he was resistant to it but I tried to keep it positive by tickling him, getting him to laugh and open his mouth and sneaking the brush in for a few seconds.  Sometimes he was better with my husband.  For some time now (he turned two in July) he has been fine with it.  He always wants to do it himself first and then let's Mommy "have a turn".  It is part of our naptime and bedtime routine.  I try to brush his teeth in the morning too but half the time it doesn't happen (which is why I added the naptime routine).

Even now, I try to keep it interesting by talking about his teeth, asking to see his molars, etc.  Try making up stories about the teeth (give them names even?) and say you want to see them or talk to them. 

[Isabeau]

WHen my son was a few months old the dental hygenist also gave my son a toothbrush to chew.  Worked like a charm.  We've never had much trouble with brushing.

Mind you, for a while my son wasn't totally into it.  It wasn't a fight, but not his favorite thing to do either.  It was around the same time as he had a fever, and so I was putting the thermometer in his armpit to test his temp, occasionally.  He really enjoyed that, for some reason (like playing doctor, maybe?), and so I started putting it in one armpit and i would brush until it beeped.  Then we'd switch sides and brush until it beeped again.  He thought it was fun and I was also sure he got a good brush for about two minutes!   Maybe any kind of timer or something special that they get to set for themselves and watch for themselves would entice them to brush teeth.

I've also heard that parents should be brushing teeth for kids even up to 7 or 8 years old, just to make sure that all the teeth are getting attention.  I guess it's probably worth it to avoid rotten teeth.  I don't have a 7 year old, though, so I have no idea if that's unreasonably old to still be brushing for them, or whether they are perfectly capable and responsible enough by that age to take care of it themselves!  Just what I have heard.  I'll see when the time comes, I guess!

[Skylark]

Don't give fluoride! Fluoride is not good for you. It can be very dangerous if swallowed.
http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/fluoride.htm

I will second that one! Fluoride is VERY toxic  and it is not safe for children or adults alike.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/08/13/fluoride-supplements.aspx  -- on supplementing fluoride

http://www.mercola.com/article/links/fluoride_links.htm  - very detailed information

It is really important to be informed about possible dangers before exposing your child to chemicals

[Quiet Cricket]

I was concerned about the toxicity of flouride too and my mom was pushing me to get fluoride supplements for our son (he drinks mostly bottled water).  My sister and I got fluoride supplements when we were growing up because we were on well water so that's where my mom was coming from.  Anyway, our Pediatrician said if we cook with tap water (which is fluoridated) he's getting all the fluoride he needs.  We also subscribe to the Mercola site so I've read his research recommending avoidance of fluoride.

[Skylark]

you can research on getting filters which can remove at least good part of fluoride, of course if you are in a situation where you can get clean water from other sources, its great, but most of us are not 

[wenjonggal]

My son wouldn't let me brush his teeth at first either... he just clamped down on the toothbrush. But like many here he would let me put a finger in his mouth, so I used that little rubber fingertip brush for a long time. Now I let him wet the toothbrush, squeeze out the toothpaste and brush a bit and then I do all his teeth properly.

I always sing "Brush brush brush your teeth, brush the (food) away" to the tune of "row your boat"... and I name everything we had for dinner, or since he last brushed his teeth. It keeps his attention, and he lets me know if I missed something. It helps him understand why we are brushing his teeth, is a good food vocab review, and lets me brush long enough. Sometimes I slip in something silly like "brush the mud away" or "brush the shoes away" and he goes "nooooo!" and thinks it is funny.

[Isabeau]

Oh that's a great idea!  we do a song too, but didn't think to include the things we ate that day.  My son would love filling in those blanks (and of course responding to all the silly suggestions!).

He also really likes listening for the timer and telling me when to switch sides. I  guess anything that really distracts them from the reality of brushing their teeth!

[Isabeau]

Oh, and I also found that the more "fun" the toothbrush (cool pictures on it, or any cool shapes or whatever, like a car shaped handle) are absolutely terrible for my son.  He spends the whole time wanting to SEE the car, trying to take the brush away from me so he can look at it.  I give him a cool one to look at and play with, while I use a boring one to do the actual brushing with.  I had one with a suction cup on the end, and though I CAN use it now, at first he just wanted to stick it to everything.  He kept interrupting the brushing to stick it on things.  Drove me crazy. 

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