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How to get 2-year-old to brush her teeth

Posted: Nov 1, 2011

I've tried everything to get my 2-year-old daughter to brush her teeth. I've put her in front of a mirror and brushed my teeth and tried to get her to copy me but she wouldn't. I've tried making it a fun game and that didn't work. I've told her she has bugs in her mouth that need to be brushed out and that didn't work. I let her pick out a toothbrush at the store that she liked and that didn't work. Her teeth need to be brushed - they are gross! Any ideas?

;

suggestions - momtoo

[ In Reply To ..]
1. Brush her teeth FOR her until she gets the hang of it.
2. Take her to the dentist - she probably has cavities. That first shot of Novocaine will most likely change her opinion of the importance of teeth brushing.
3. You are the mom and some things just HAVE TO be done. Don't let her leave the bathroom until her teeth are brushed.

and never tell a kid there are bugs in her mouth - short-sighted

[ In Reply To ..]
What has your dentist suggested?

Brushing Teeth - JC

[ In Reply To ..]
Sorry, but a 2-year-old isn't mature enough to brush his or her own teeth. Gently do it for the child until the child "gets with the program."

Threats about bugs is just leaving the kid open for nightmares.

I ask my kids to please do everything once. - After that, there is no longer

[ In Reply To ..]
an option to comply. I might be a mean mother, but I would sooner hold my children down and have my husband pry open their mouths than allow their teeth to rot (and I am not implying that you are). I do dozens of reports every week on very young children whose teeth are rotting out of their skulls and I know that toothaches are painful. I would much rather be mean than allow them to go through that kind of pain for no reason. Good luck!

Brushing - Mom2Four

[ In Reply To ..]
I have 4 children and have done many things to get them to brush their teeth.

1. Invent a song that is only sung during teeth brushing time. Mine is 1 little, 2 little, 3 little toothbrushes. My middle son learned how to count using this song.
2. Buy a battery operated toothbrush. These things are great. They provide great stimulation for speech as well as fun for the kids. You can even let her pick it out. They are relatively cheap.

Good luck. I agree with the other poster who said that teeth brushing is an absolute and needs to be done no matter what. Hopefully, you find some good options here that make things easier for both you and her.

Brushing teeth - mt1347

[ In Reply To ..]
They have battery operated toothbrushes for kids that play a song for the time they should be brushing - 2 or 3 minutes long. If you don't want to put out the money for it, play their favorite music while they brush and put a timer in the bathroom - when it goes off, they can stop as long as they have brushed all teeth.

I agree with the poster who said brush them yourself - - NYMT

[ In Reply To ..]
A two year old is not really able to do a thorough job anyway. We brushed our kids' teeth until they were three or four, and they gradually started doing it themselves. We made a game of "there's an elephant in there!" while we were doing the brushing and it made it fun and thorough. Don't worry. Soon enough she'll be doing it on her own. It still astounds me that at 20 and 22 they are brushing well and each has only had one cavity so far in their lifetime!

She is too young to be doing it herself - sm - Zorro

[ In Reply To ..]
I brushed my kids teeth until they were 4 or 5 at least. Granted it was something I wanted to be done with a lot sooner but I also wanted the kids teeth to be properly looked after. Luckily my kids did not fight me, have to twist their arms now at night (11 and 13) to get teeth brushed though. Only one has had cavities so far...first time last year...she did not enjoy the experience, got so hysterical we had to use nitrous, told her that was the last time that was gonna happen as it was $40 I had to pay for (novacaine is covered by our insurance). So she knows to do better now cause mom is not coughing up the dough for nitrous when it is something she can avoid by taking better care of her teeth.

Do them yourself. She is too young to brush on her own. - FlMT

[ In Reply To ..]
Brushing seems to be something all kids hate. I inspect my kids' teeth almost every night just to make sure they're doing it right. And they're 13 and 7! They hate brushing and I keep making them re-do it until they've done it right. My 7-year-old has gotten the point lately, but my 13-year-old still needs to be reminded and looked over.

Some may say this is excessive, but I'm not footing a huge dental bill because they're too lazy to brush their teeth properly.

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