My son is 20 months old and we have been brushing his teeth with a real toothbrush for about 4 months. We were using the finger brush, but now he seems to cry and scream when we are brushing his teeth. We do it twice a day and he doesn't seem to be getting any better even with the flavor Gerber toothpaste. He still has some teeth coming in but I don't brush in that area. I spoke to his dentist and she says it is not painful, it just has to get use to it. Any advice???
I bet it's the new teeth - we went throughb this with our son who's 22 months now, and sometimes we still have issues. We give him a toothbrush to hold, then I brush, then ask him to brush, and hopefully somewhere in there, we get all the "toofies" brushed. :)
I just read this post, I have problems, still, with both my boys. My older one will be 3 in 2weeks, and it's hit or miss when he will let me brush his teeth without the fuss. My baby is 21 months, and he has also started refusing to let me brush his teeth. They want to do it themselves. Which is fine, yet I still need to "help" them get all the teeth. But some days, that is nearly impossible!
I just also responded to this question in the First Time Mom's group:
My son is 22 months old and I bought him one of the battery operated toothbrushes with his favorite animated character (Spiderman) on it. Then I let him stand at the sink and brush by imself why I also brush mine with an adult battery operated toothbrush. I make funny faces and elaborate gestures of rinsing and spitting out the water. He finds it funny and likes to imitate me. I then just make sure I control his toothbrush a little bit to ensure he cleaned all over.
This has become highly effective for me becuase even when I am brushing mine without him, if he hears my toothbrush buzzing, he runs coming to ask me for his "Spiderman toothbrush" as well.
I've had this problem with noth of my boys (ages 5 and 21 months) at some point. With my older child it was actually a symptom of something bigger. It could be a sensory issue, meaning he doesn't like the feel of the toothbrush in his mouth, on his teeth, or gums or cheeks. Or maybe the sound it makes in his head. However if he doesnt react negatively to other sensory stimuli then thats probably not your problem (ie sounds, textures, smells. and it doesnt have to be loud noises or rugh textures...my son CANT STAND white noises and HATES to have his shoes and socks off...even to take a bath!!) The other thing you could consider is that brushing teeth is now a CONTROL issue... try giving him his own "big boy" toothbrush as suggested all ready. You could use that mouth wash that turns their teeth blue to tell when all the plaque is gone also if you dont give them alot, just enough to make him think his a big shot grown up then i wouldnt worry if he doesnt spit it all out. Also you could try to "clean up" after he brushes but dont push it...the more you make a big deal out of it the more he will!! At this age they dont really have that much plaque that going one time without perfectly brushing their teeth is going to kill them ( almost the exact words my pediatrican told me when i was going through that with my oldest!!!
