Well, that's not my version of "All done." He won't dare let me brush his teeth. When I ask him to open his mouth he says:"NO! I wanna do it! It's my turn!"
I've tried to force my way into his mouth, but this ends with him screaming and me crying out of utter frustration.
This is a big problem. I was concerned that his teeth were going to rot out of his head the way he "brushes" them, so I made him a pediatric dentist appointment, which Wil took him to today.
Like many health care professionals that I've lost faith in over the years, the dentist had no real advice. She offered the following suggestions:
1. Get a smaller toothbrush.
Yeah, his toothbrush is pretty damn small.
2. Brush them while he's in the bathtub.What a great idea, if only he'd let me brush them!
3. Get a tastier flavored toothpaste.
Right...so he can eat the entire tube!
Do your kids brush their teeth without a fight? What should I do to get this kid to brush his teeth?!
Tahira is terrible with teeth brushing! I can't even brush mine unless I let her hold hers, and now she will scream and cry if I don't run her brush under water before giving it to her. Getting the teeth clean is really difficult and she often fights me so hard that I barely get them brushed at all. Have you tried laying him down on his back and putting his head on your lap? That's what our dentist did and it worked really well.
ReplyDeleteI think I tried the lap thing once when he was younger, like 18 months? I'm going to try again. Maybe I should try hypnosis! YOU WILL BRUSH YOUR TEETH. YOU LIKE IT! YOU LOVE IT! DO IT!
ReplyDeleteBraden usually lets us brush his teeth as long as we let him brush them when we are done. He used to fight it, but we were persistent and he finally gave in.
ReplyDeleteI read your other posts and can tell you are really ready to have the baby. Good luck and prayers for you.
our hygienist suggested getting one of those battery operated tooth brushes for kids...he was so fascinated with it that he would actually use it. (wish we had those when my step daughter was younger...we had to threaten her even when she was 10 or 11!!)
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