How can I keep my 2 year old's teeth clean?

She doesn't let me use her toothbrush on her teeth and fights me when I use her baby washcloth. Any suggestions?

How can I keep my 2 year old's teeth clean?
I let my daughter "brush" them herself first and then I take the toothbrush and tell her to say "cheese" like she's getting her picture taken and tell her that pretty little girls have pretty teeth. My daughter's 20 months. I also got her an electric Dora toothbrush which helped alot too b/c it vibrates and makes the humming noise.
Reply:brush um
Reply:tell them its a sucker and tell them that the toothpaste it creme..like out of a orange sickle
Reply:they make doggie biscuits that cleans dogs teeth... maybe they make baby biscuits for the same thing?





If they don't you could invent that, and make a ton of money! If you do that, I want royalties for giving you the idea :)
Reply:She "doesn't let" you? Think about that for a second. You're caving in to your 2 year old. She has to brush her teeth and be clean whether she likes it or not. So I guess what I'm saying is you have to make her brush her teeth. Thats something she has to get used to.
Reply:Make her let you brush her teeth. You are the adult and you are in charge not her. Sit her down or lay her back, get the toothbrush and paste and hold her arms with one hand and arm and use your other arm to brush those teeth.
Reply:Brush your teeth together. And make a game of it. She brushes hers while you brush yours.....and have fun! She'll catch on.
Reply:brush them.
Reply:Why don't you let her do it herself? Go to the store and let her pick out a toothbrush and toothpaste. Then teach her how to get all her teeth nice and clean. Don't worry if she doesn't want to use toothpaste, water will do just fine.
Reply:tell her that there are all these germs and bacteria in her mouth and if she doesnt brush her teeth twice a day they will infect her mouth and she will die
Reply:She doesn't "let you"?





Some ways to make it easier- let her brush her teeth first, let her brush yours at the same time, try singing a song (AH AH AH EE EE EE- whatever way you need her to open her mouth-) we always ended the song with our tongues out so we could brush those and it was always funny.





Another thing to try- she is too little to effectively brush- but you might be able to have her brush, then take the brush and just say you're "checking" her teeth %26amp; brush them yourself.





If all else fails, just brush them. I have had to pry a mouth open myself before, but I mean business, I don't want their teeth to rot, and they WILL have them brushed, period.
Reply:I still brush and wash the baby's face. They will never like it, but it is necessary unless you want your baby to be having all her teeth pulled and have to wear fake teeth the rest of your life. Something tells me she would get a whole lot angrier at people pulling her teeth out instead of brushing them.
Reply:At my household it was a two person job.





One person to hold then down while they kicked and screamed and the other person to get the job done.





The first few weeks were terrible. Truly Awful. Then my son learned that he didn't have a choice and started working with us and getting into the routine.





He just went in for his 3 year check-up and the dentist commented how easy my son was to work on (and that there were no cavities). I had to laugh at that after thinking of what a hellion he was originally.





Good luck





(and now if I can only figure out how to get him to let us cut his hair :)
Reply:Let her do it give her the toothbrush and let her work with it for min. then say ok let me see if you got all the cavity monsters then say oops I see one let me get it and take the tooth brush and get her teeth better making a game out of it makes thing more fun and less traumatic.
Reply:Unfortunately you just have to be firm and brush her teeth, even if you have to have someone else hold her while you do it. She will eventually learn that no matter how hard she fights it's going to happen. Try giving her toothbrush to her and let her watch you brush your teeth. Two year olds love to do what mommy and daddy do.
Reply:Maybe try when she's sleeping?
Reply:Get some fun bubble gum flavored toddler tooth paste and maybe some on that agent blue stuff and encourage her to do it herself. You can ask her after she is done if you can double check if she cleaned them real good and give the m a quick brush yourself (maybe say brush , brush , brush in a fun voice as you do it). If she wont let you re brush them then at least you are getting her in the habit of brushing her teeth and they are baby teeth so the skills learned and the oral hygiene habits learned are really more important that cleaning the teeth themselves.
Reply:my 21 month old loves my electric toothbrush. He will run in to the bathroom when he hears it come on and sit down with his mouth wide open just waiting. At first he wanted to do it, so I told him, no, that mommy had to do it. He fought me a little, so I made a big deal of putting it up and walking away. then the next time he fought just a little but gave in and let me do it. Now we brush his teeth just about every time that my husband or I do. We bought him his own little electric toothbrush, just a plain one so he doesn't know it is technically his, and we keep it in our bathroom, so he thinks he is using mommy and daddies toothbrush. works great. Good luck
Reply:Since kids usually don't brush their own teeth until they are around 7, you may as well get used to having to brush her teeth for her even if she does not like it. With my son, I started by letting him watch me brush my teeth. I would tell him what i am doing and why. Then, I bought him some bubble gum flavored toothpaste for him to use and let him pick out his own toothbrush. Then, the next time that it was time to brush teeth. I would say "okay Its my turn to brush my teeth" and let him watch. Then I said "okay now its your turn to let mommy brush your teeth". I held him as he stood on the sink and let him watch in the mirror as I brushed his teeth.
Reply:My 2 year old didn't like it either but I made it a game for her, we sing the 'brush your teeth' song.





" when you wake up in the morning..."





If that doesn't work tell her she has 'yucky things' on her teeth and you have to help her take them off. My little one didn't like it when I told her that, so she was happy to be rid of the plaque.
Reply:First of all, you're the mom, she's the child. Don't you see the issue with her not letting you brush her teeth?


Try going to the store and letting her pick out her own big girl toothpaste and toothbrush. Maybe she'll be more inclined to brush if it's with something she picked out.
Reply:Get a "finger brush" hold the child and brush her teeth with it...Of course she is going to fight you, she isn't going to like it at first...but after awhile will get used to it. CONSISTENCY...burn that word into your grey matter



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