Brushing LO's teeth?

[Jojo]

Anyone brush their LO's teeth?

The doctor told me I could start brushing his teeth (he has 5). How the hell am I going to get in there and brush his teeth. he tries to bite me when I put my finger in his mouth.

Also she told me to use water so wouldn't drinking water be suffice??

(funny thing is my dad went to the pedi with me and when she asked my father started laughing...talk about embarrassing. :blush:)

[Heather]

:hehe: Yes, I've brushed Cohen's teeth ever since he started getting them in. At first I just used water (and yes, the drinking variety :D), but now I use the toddler toothpaste. At first it was d@mn near impossible to get him to let me in there with the toothbrush, but eventually it started happening. We still have days where he won't let me in, but more often than not it works out. He won't let DH brush his teeth at all.

[Caitlin]

I bought one of those kits by Baby Orajel. It says the "toothpaste" is safe for babies. We try to do it each night, but the little **** just sucks the toothpaste right off the brush. I can't actually get in there and brush the teeth. :eyeroll:

[Ry&ChansMommy]

I have the finger brush for now, but Chandler does bite down usually. I might buy a small regular toothbrush soon. He likes to have his teeth brushed, and I do it while Rylee is brushing hers too so they can do it together.

[Jojo]

I have those finger brushes. I never though anyone actually brushed a baby's tooth :hehe:

[Goosey]

I never used the finger ones just the itty bitty toothbrushes and then cool ones when they were a bit older(like over 3).

My boys do it themselves mostly now and I just run it around their mouth to make sure they did well enough LOL.

However, I admit Im not the greatest at enforcing this...its a hassle getting them in there and calmed down enough to do it LOL.

[Cindy]

I started brushing Conner's when he first got them... We slack a little these days :blush: It's hard because he fights us, even though he asks to brush them. :rolleyes:

All you can do is try your best to get them the best you can.

[Leah]

We started doing it I think when he was close to a year. We have the Elmo brush with edible paste. We do it everynight as part of the bedtime routine. We do it in the morning only once in a while. I try to make up songs about it, so he'll tolerate it. :hehe:

[Mama Sandy]

I've been brushing Averie's teeth since she got them in and at first used the finger thingy. That didn't last long though since she would bite down on it. Now we use the baby orajel "toothpaste" and a small toddler toothbrush and she actually like it. Once I brush them for her I let her play with the toothbrush and practice doing it herself. Of course, that involves a lot of drooling and chewing on the wrong end but hey, it's practice :D

[AddiesMomma]

We started with the finger brush and the orajel stuff too and graduated to the toddler brush and the toddler toothpaste (still orajel and still safe to swallow). She went through a phase where she fought me so I would just give her the toothbrush and she basically just chewed on it. Now it's a combination. I try to do it, but if she resists I let her "do it". I pretend to brush mine with my finger and make silly noises and it makes her move the toothbrush around so at least the brush is touching most of her teeth.

[Cali Mama]

We brush Layla's teeth everyday with a baby toothbrush and baby toothpaste. She has 8.5 teeth now so we want to make sure they stay clean. She doesn't fight me, thank goodness. I can't believe that Sierra's dentist suggested we bring Layla for a check up in April when Sierra has her next 6 month check up. So Layla will be 15 months old sitting in a dentist chair, lol.

[Jojo]

OH wow I feel like such a loser now! My child has teeth and I don't even take care of them :blush:

[AddiesMomma]

Don't feel bad, Jo! I was the same way and didn't realize you were supposed to start when they were still babies.

Her pedi actually gave me a list of dentists at her 1 year appointment and said that some dentists like to have their first check-up around that time. I just laid it aside. At her 15 month appointment he asked if she had gone to the dentist and I told him that I was waiting until she either had all of her teeth or seemed to have an issue with them. He said that was fine and looked at them and said they were coming in well. I didn't see much of a point of taking her to the dentist with a handful of teeth.

[Ashley]

Yes, with both kids we started with the finger thing and orajel kits. I think someone gave it to us with a grooming kit as a shower gift with Tyler! Lol. I try to do it at least twice a day, for all two teeth :hehe: Oh well, at least her gums are clean! Tyler used to use the toddler toothpaste but now uses the kids now that he does it right. My pedi recommended a dentist visit at age 3.

[Meshell]

We started off with the finger brush and the Orajel Tooth and Gum Cleanser. Then I would let him chew on a tooth brush to get used to it. Now we have a little vibrating tooth brush for him. I let him chew on it and then after a few minutes I get in there and brush really quickly whatever I can.


http://trus.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-6465133reg.jpg

This thing is amazing! It has a gum massager attachment. I just put some teething gel on it and let him chew and it relieves the pain when he's teething.

[Ashley]

Michelle, where did you get that? What's it called? That's neat looking, and I'm thinking quick is going to be good with Lily as she gets more than two teeth :hehe:

[Jojo]

Michelle, where did you get that? What's it called? That's neat looking, and I'm thinking quick is going to be good with Lily as she gets more than two teeth :hehe:

yes do tell Michelle! i am going to start tonight...wait...I mean tell my husband to do it :hehe:

[Cindy]

I want that Michelle! Tell us tell us!! :hula::hehe:

[Heather]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the finger brush thingy. We did use that in the beginning.

Jo, I wouldn't feel bad at all. In the beginning it's more about getting them used to it anyway than it is about actually cleaning their teeth.;)

[emilade]

Alice likes teeth brushing... for now.

We use a toddler tooth brush and the Gerber Grins and Giggles "toothpaste". We've been using the toddler toothbrush on her since she was 7 or 8 months, I think. She just handles it better than the finger brush. I think she associates me sticking my finger in her mouth with me trying to fish things out of there that she shouldn't have in her mouth :hehe:

I find when she's resisting, making her laugh helps me to get in there. Then whenever we're done I let her take the toothbrush and "brush" them herself.

[Jojo]

All great ideas. I totally forgot to do it again :blush: i am going to go get him a regular toothbrush and see how it goes. he actually has a set of chompers.

[Meshell]

I bought it at Babies R Us for $4.99 but for some reason the site has it for $9.99 :hmm:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3721550

[Mommax3]

We don't have a problem brushing Maddy's teeth now, she also has been using a toddler brush for a while. We do it for a while, then let her do it.

Jo, our pedi told us (when Maddy was Matthew's age) that if we were having problems getting her to let us brush then to give her a wet washcloth in the morning and evening and let her chew on it, atleast her teeth would get cleaned some that way. That is they way we had to do it for a while. Then as she got older we got her one of the toothbrushes that light up and she has used that ever since.

[Cindy]

Wow only 10 bucks! I thought it would be way more then that. I wanna get one!

[Farah]

We made it part of the night time routine and just brushed his teeth with the toddler tooth paste and a toddler brush or finger brush. Sometimes I let him play with it to get it out of his system and then we sing a silly song to get him to laugh while I'm doing it and do it really fast.

Now that we're doing a big boy transition we go to the sink and do the same thing but act like we're spitting at the end. He LOVES that part :rolleyes:

[Jojo]

Well we tried and even have a video. He was not having any of it. He took the toothbrush and threw it in the bathtub (we were trying when we were giving him a bath.)

[Meshell]

Just let him chew on it by himself after breakfast and when you first start the bath, then quickly brush what you can until he fusses a lot. That's what we do with Will and it helps him to be used to the feeling.

[Jojo]

Thanks. We tried again tonight. I'll try again tomorrow morning.:))

[Bootysaurus]

We've been brushing Aidan's since she had them :hehe: ...first with a finger brush and now she has her own brush. She LOVES brushing her teeth (by herself)...then I get in there and give a few good scrubs.