brushing a 2-year-old's teeth

[zgma]

My son refuses to let me help him with his toothbrushing (which mostly consists of sucking the water and toothpaste off the brush). Every once in a while I manage to get a toothbrush in there and scrub like mad, but usually it's impossible, and it turns into a struggle. I don't want to turn this into a power issue with him, but I'm worried about the health of his teeth, and I need some tips on getting him to let me get in there and really clean.

[zgma]

It went fine... he found it very interesting to watch the hygenist clean my teeth, and was very excited to get a new toothbrush out of the deal. However, he wouldn't let her look in his mouth, at all, and it didn't help with getting him to let me brush his teeth last night or this morning. I've decided to stop making a big deal out of it for a couple of weeks - I'll keep trying but won't struggle with him over it. The hygenist said they don't usually try to see kids until they're about 3, which relaxed me a bit. Also, he's starting to get very interested in the potty, and I don't want to confuse him with other bathroom issues. I originally got very freaked out about it because I heard 2 stories in a week about 2 year olds who needed cavities filled (one who needed general anesthesia for it!), but I'm not going to worry about that right now.

[blueeyedlass]

i just have to say that its been good to read all of your answers as my son whos nearly 2used to gives me the same problems he used to drive me mad until i was basically holding him down to brush although i didnt want to do this it was the only way i could brush his teeth right hes slightly better now he lays down in front of me with his head on my knee and i give him a toothbrush to hold whilst im brushing and then i let him do them after they have been done correctly by me and im happy to say that we dont have as many screaming matches now thank god.

[beaniegold]

I heard that a piece of cheese before bed does quite a good job of getting rid of any sugary coating on the teeth. So you could do this while waiting for him to get over this phase.

[zgma]

Thanks beaniegold! Excellent suggestion - he loves cheese. By the way, folks, I have recently had a (small) breakthrough with the toothbrushing ... I figured out that I had to emphasize the SOUND of the toothbrush against the teeth. Once I started asking him to make the scrubby sound, he started brushing the top front teeth just fine. Now I'm trying to get him to figure out how to brush the rest of the tooth surfaces. He still won't let me in there with a toothbrush, but at least he's got the idea now (instead of just sucking the water and toothpaste out!).

[zgma]

An update, in case anyone is still following this thread... I have had a major breakthrough with the toothbrushing!  I'm not exactly sure what did it, but in the last week or so, he has finally started to let me really thoroughly brush his teeth, and we are having a lot of fun with it!  We make a game out of "Mama's turn" and singing a song he likes.  I sing it once through for the bottom teeth and once through for the top teeth, and then give him lots of kisses and hugs and "Good job!"

 

Thanks to everyone for your support and suggestions!