How well should I brush my 1 yr old daughter's teeth?

Question

My daughter is 14 months, she had 8 front teeth and 4 molars, and hates when i brush her teeth. I have to hold her down and brush them while she is screaming... I try to do this atleast once a day. Should I be more thorough? How much should I worry about brushing her teeth? Thanks!

Answer 1

Give her, her own little toothbrush to hold while you brush her teeth. Make a game out of it by making her brush by herself for a few seconds and then telling her "mommies turn". Give her lots of praise too. Good luck, my daughter is almost a year old and I still wipe her 4 teeth.

Answer 2

I am a full time babysitter as well as have over 10 years experience taking care of small children. First, yes, brush your children's teeth well, because it is more about habit and teaching the child good oral hygene, and if she sees that mommy doesn't do a thorough job, why should she when she starts brushing her own teeth?

You mentioned that you have to hold her down and brush them while she is screaming-- Never brush your child's teeth while they are screaming (choking risks), as well as the fact that it will make them view teeth brushing as bad, scary, and traumatic.

A better solution would be to make brushing teeth a fun task-- for example, let the child help put the toothpaste on the brush (even if it makes a mess, it gets them involved), and if need be, let them have a cookie right before brushing their teeth-- they will view it as a treat, and will look foward to brushing just so they can have the cookie before. Also try different flavors of tooth paste, and different tooth brushes, etc. and let the child pick them out-- that one may cost a little more (buying several different flavors of tooth paste and several different brushes) but it will allow the child to feel like they are doing their part, as well as giving them variety.

One final suggestion-- a star chart. Get a calendar, and small star stickers. Brush the teeth three times a day (which is what is recommended by the dentists) and every time tooth brushing comes without a fuss, put a sticker up. Put a red "X" in marker for when there was a fuss. Pretty soon they will want to see the pretty star stickers, and three day (one for each brushing) and at the end of the day if they get their third sticker, put a gold sticker on that day showing that it was completed without fussing.

Good oral hygene is something that a child should learn to WANT to do, not something they feel forced into doing-- so the more fun it is for them, the better it will be as they grow older.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

Do not let the child chew on the tooth brush, it does not help in removing the food buildup on their teeth; especially the front teeth. If you haven't already buy a child's tooth paste and a child's tooth brush, get silly and make up song or something to pass the time. The teeth need to be brushed at least twice a day, their teeth need as much care if not more care than adult teeth, due to the child's diet. Also call your family dentist for tips. You should have already made a few visits there; ever since the first tooth appeared.

Answer 4

I was lackadaisical about it at that age my son now 2 I brush his twice a day as thorough as possible sometimes I just have to give him the toothbrush and let him try himself and then see if I can finish up after him also I brush his teeth when I brush my own I thought it might help him see others brush their teeth.

Answer 5

Okay first, don't hold her down...that makes her scared whenever she sees ypou coming with the toothbrush, which is going to make it even harder for you to get her to open up. I did this with my daughter: I bought her one of those toddler toothbrushes, the ones with the soft bristles. I handed it to her and sat her in the bath room with me while i was brushing my teeth. after a couple of days she caught on and she "chewed" her more than brushing but it has the same effect. Try just giving her a soft toothbrush and show her how to put it in her mouth. Plus it you are using the baby toothpaste it is safe for her to swollow anyhow. you can contact me at [e-mail]

Answer 6

When my son was a baby we put toothpaste on a strip of gauze and brushed his teeth - it worked well.

You may be brushing too hard - also try getting a soft baby toothbrush and letting her try while you brush your teeth. If you have already used the gauze, it won't hurt and she'll feel like a big girl - just like Mom.

Answer 7

Brush them more than once a day. My son (2 yrs) also hates it but I usually make it a fun time and sing the alphabet song or something. Calms him down a bit. I usually let him hold it first, then when he gerts bored I finish.

No need to use kids toothpaste everytime either, just the brushing itself is necessary.

Answer 8

I also did same as Canadian. I gave them brush with tasty tooth paste. They chew and learn.

It improves their self esteem. They do not like forcing. And also at this age it is not much problematic, as these set of teeth are going to be replaced soon. Developing the habit is more important.

Answer 9

Try to make it as pleasant as possible to get her into the habit or at least knowing that this is a lifelong habit she needs to have. Since all the teeth she has are not permanent dont over worry about it.

Answer 10

I brushed my sons at that age a minimum of two situations an afternoon, 3 if he had a particular take care of. I wouldbrush them as long as he ought to enable me. when I made particular I were given the fronts backs and chewing surfaces that should be it.