Teethbrushing advice

[jelanismom]

Just really need some help with Jelani's teethbrushing or actually aversion to it....he used to like it and now hates it. I brush his teeth 2x daily and try my best to do a thorough job while he's kicking and fighting. I bought the softest toothbrush and showed him how even Elmo brushes his teeth, Spongebob too and I brush my teeth along side him and he still won't brush his own...I know it's a sensitivity thing of course, but is there an easier way you could suggest?? I'd hate for him to get a cavitiy. He had a check-up in school, can't imagine how the dentist did THAT. But I know eventually he'll need a cleaning, even though his teeth so far look very good. I also wonder about flouride treatments. If anyone has any ideas I'm all ears! Have you had any success with an electric brush? I bought just a little lite-up toothbrush that seemed to catch his attention, but when it came time to brush with it he threw it clear across the room! maybe the electric one would get the job done quicker. I just know it's all about him learning to brush his own teeth, but for now he won't let me.

[Googsmom aka Jennifer]

Good question Dawn. I used to have to sit on Brooker to do a good job. Now I have to sing... brusing teeth with Alex and Leah (signing time) over and over again to keep her happy. Same thing w/ brushing hair. Brushing hair w/ Alex and Leah. It's sorta cute and it gets the job done.

[damarasmom]

Best of luck with this one. Damara goes in and out of allowing me to brush her teeth. One day she will be ok and the next, you would think I've never done it before and she was having all her teeth pulled by the way she screams! GRRRRR....I have found that the electric brush was hard for her and it hurt (I guess) she kept signing boo-boo...so we are just using a hand soft brush and alot of screaming, crying, begging, pleading and force...I'm sure she will out grow this...(fingers crossed)

[Valerie]

Lord, I used to have to sit on the floor with Nicholas with my legs wrapped around him and kind of put him in a headlock to get his teeth brushed! I don't know if he just finally outgrew it or decided it was easier to do it himself, but now all I have to do is hand him the toothbrush and he'll do it himself.

Never tried the electric toothbrush, figured it would freak him out even more cause those kinds of sounds tend to do that with him.

[Deannalee]

Ooooohhhhh....this is a tuffy for us also. Justin has a lot of oral aversions due to his inability to swallow. He is 100% tube fed. I started off with the finger tooth brush for a few years. We strted to see a dentist when he was about 3 1/2.....not a fun visit. The sound of the suction and polishing tool freaked him out. We still go every 6 months....thankfully we have an awesome dentist....and the dentist does his best to get his teeth cleaned. This last visit in Aug they did a fluoride treatment to his teeth that was a thick paste type that had to remain on the teeth for 24 hours....no brushing until then. That was a perfect option for us because the foam fluoride would have been an aspiration issue!!! Justin hates the spinbrushes....I tried to use them....reminds him of the dentist tools. I just use the toothbrushes they give us and brush his teeth myself the best I can and then let him brush after me. This is what has worked for us for the last year or two.

Deanna

[carolyn]

For us what has worked the best is a little battery type toothbrush, with the small round head. I believe the reason this has worked is that it allows him to be in charge of the process- nobody fighting with him - it took time to get him to do it for a long enough and well enough, but it was totally worth it. His teeth may not always get super clean, but he at least develops good habits and does not feel this is a horrible task. He has gone to the dentist many times ( he is 9) and they always get him to cooperate. I do not go in the room- I let the professionals do their magic.

Hope this helps- Now if I can just get him to tolerate a haircut!!!

[jelanismom]

Thanks everyone...
Valerie and Jenn you described to a "T" what I have to go through to get Jelani's teeth brushed. This morning I had to put him in that same position like you did for Nicholas, hated doing it, but I can't let him go around with unbrushed teeth!
Like Damara, Jelani screams to no end...except today was a little better, I let him try it himself (like I always do) and had his stand up Elmo and Spongbob in on it too!
I think that flouride treatment sounds good like Justin had.
Carolyn...where did you buy that electric brush with the round head?

[carolyn]

Hi,

I am pretty sure it was just Walmart or the grocery store. I think for John it got to be the anticipation of the brushing more than the actually brushing itself. If you can stand to let him totally do it himself, just to get used to the feeling of that brush in his mouth, I'll bet he will become less defensive. I am probably not telling you something you don't already know, but with John, the biggest fights tend to be over independence issues. I myself am as stubborn as the day is long, and when my husband tries to "help" me do yard work or work with tools, I just want him to show me how to do it and get out of my way! John is a lot like me. I might not get it right, but I learn best by doing.....
I think that letting the teeth get brushed only a little but with less fighting will long term lead to better teeth care and brushing. Good Luck!!!!!

Also, if you live in the city, the water already has flouride in it. My kids never had to do flouride treatments until we moved to the country where we have a well.

[Jessie]

For Jason it used to be an "Either you do it or I'll do it for you" type of discussion - he hated it when I did it for him (only took once or twice) and he's had no problem with it for a long time now. We did buy him an electric toothbrush about 6 months ago and he LOVES it!!!! Of course, you may have to clean off every wall in the bathroom when he decides to zip around the bathroom with it . . . with toothpaste still on it. That was a one-time thing though - once I showed him what he had done and made him clean it up, that was the end of that little game!


Jessie

[laurasnowbird]

Aaargh! This was a tough one for us for such a long time. Ethan had huge sensory defensiveness, and hated things in his face. At one point, when he was younger, I had to wrap him in a towel to get it done.

He's come a long way since then, and at a certain point, I had him pretending to be Tarzan, and we were both yodeling and doing a Tarzan yell to get him to open his mouth so I could brush. He'd do his Tarzan yell, and I'd brush. Now he's really good about it, just doesn't want to take the time sometimes, but that's pretty normal behavior.

Good luck, sounds like you have what it takes to get it done, LOL!

[Ashlea]

Chandler used to be the same way until a dentist came to their school last year to talk to them...dental awareness month or something and told them about "dirt bugs" that live in their mouth if you don't brush them away.... I usually look in his mouth and tell him I see dirt bugs and we really need to get them out which has worked beautifully. Have you tried one of those new Tooth tunes (I think that's what it's called). It's a tooth brush that plays music only when you apply a little pressure to the head, like when brushing your teeth. They come in all kinds of songs. We have High School musical, bought it at Wal-Mart.

[ALLISA]

Yup.....8 years old & I'm still doing the brushing over here.

LOL....she has this way of pursing her lips as soon as she knows I'm ready to brush....she purses them....looks like she is waiting for a kiss.....but her lips are like a WALL to get through !! LOL

I fear I'll still be brushing them when she is 16.....

[Renee']

Lauren is 9 and I have trouble everyday with her. I sing, dance, threaten and then in the end she either does it our walks out without it. I can't hold her down now. She is 100 pounds of pure strength. I hope it will get better one day. Good luck

[steffipoo]

Dawn Liv loves her battery powered toothbrush. Just make sure the head is very soft bristles. When she first tried it I was nervous if she'd hate it so immediately when she put it in her mouth I started laughing saying OMG Liv doesn't it tickle then she started laughing and it never been a problem.
Renee ya know what I tell Liv when she does stuff like that? Okay if you don't do it there will be NO TV.(she earns tv time now and this offense gets all tv taken away) Or is there a food Lauren loves loves loves or an animal she likes to play with make a deal. Say if u brush your teeth nicely every day you get this or that