Baby and Parent

How Do You Convince Your Toddler To Let You Brush His Or Her Teeth?

by Chris

My fifteen month old is a very decided little girl and more often than not, refuses to have anything to do with her toothbrush. She’ll sometimes play with it in her mouth a bit, but won’t let me brush for her and won’t rinse her mouth.
What are your strategies for getting a toddler to be HAPPY about having her teeth brushed every day?


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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Jill 09.25.09 at 6:36 am

my daughter did this..so i took her to walmart and let her pick out her own tooth brush..i held up one with hello kitty on it and one with ducks and let her chose to make it fun for her..i bought the oral b stages toothpaste and when it came time for her to brush her teeth i told her she got to use her new tooth brush..i sat her in my lap and we played show me your teeth..and i would brush her teeth first and when i was done i told her now it’s your turn, and let her “brush her teeth”. she loves it now and when its time for be she’s asking me to brush her teeth before i even grab the tooth brush..i hope this helps!!

2 ELLY 09.25.09 at 6:44 am

1. Bring them to the store and let them pick their own toothbrush. The firefly toothbrushes light up. A lot of tots like those.
2. Let them choose their very own toothpaste.
3. Tell her that big girls brush their own teeth.
4. Tell her that the only people who are allowed to have dessert are the ones that brush their teeth.
5. You can buy a colorful 2 minute hour glass of her choice. While you brush her teeth, she can watch the sand.

3 peace_lu 09.25.09 at 6:49 am

My 10-month-old has recently gone through that sort of phase. She gets angry, clamps her lips shut or bites my finger (I’m using the slip-on brush) when I try. I try to make it into a little game with her, tease her with the toothbrush and when it gets her smiling or laughing then I go in for a little bit of brushing until she clamps me out again. It takes a few time to brush her whole mouth, but until she decides to cooperate, that’s what I have to do.

4 rurouni 09.25.09 at 7:07 am

My daughter has a light up brush and I let her brush till the lights are out, then I reset the light timer and tell her “okay, my turn”. I have done this since she was little and she has no problems now. I also do it during her nightly bath which is easier as I can distract her and really clean um and floss.

5 mstaffy8 09.25.09 at 7:39 am

let them pick out the tooth brush, i always let my daughter brush her teeth (shes 3) and then i tell her i need to brush her teeth so i can get all the food from the back, that way her teeth are clean and pretty. shes pretty focused on how she looks (likes to have her hair done, etc) so she lets me.

6 Rosanna O 09.25.09 at 8:23 am

well some nights my 15 month old has no problem letting me brush his teeth and other times i have to litterally hol dhim down. they need brushed i let him hold the tooth brush as im brushing so he kind of thinks hes doing it. when im finished i give the toothbrush to him and let him finish

7 Landon's Momma + baby GIRL! 09.25.09 at 9:17 am

I’ve gone through this same predicament. Try offering the possibility of a reward for allowing you to brush their teeth. Offer to buy them a toy or something special that want in mind. Hope this helped.

8 Tiffani 09.25.09 at 9:38 am

My 13 month old son loves Barney so…I sing one of the Barney tooth brushing songs while I’m brushings his teeth and he loves it. If your daughter has a favoirte song, try singing it while brushing her teeth.

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