Is force & tears in toothbrushing better than decay?

[Liquorice]

Hi, my son is almost 14 months now and has 8 teeth - has had many for a long time. Anyway, I can't clean his teeth.

I have tried that little rubber thing you put on your finger, a proper toothbrush and all the brushes in between. I have tried tasty toothpaste. I have tried getting him to do it himself. I have tried singing a little brushing teeth song. I have tried using a little piece of material instead.

I have tried everything I can think of or have been advised, and nothing, but nothing works. He purses his mouth shut and gets really upset if I try for too long or force him.

From other mother's experience who have been in the same boat, is it better to force him (with many tears) to let me clean them? Will he accept it over time or will it just give him some sort of hang up about cleaning his teeth?

Surely force and tears is better than decay? Really don't know what to do and I'm starting to get worried about his teeth.

[carang]

my son needed $40,000hkd worth of dental work by the time he was 5... yes, brush, no matter the tears! that's my opinion.
(PS> i couldn't manage paying that ridiculous amount in hk... so spent 1/2 that and spent 11 days in bangkok with my son and had the work done there!)

[rebeccacc]

My son was the same and I forced him, he has no problems with me brushing his teeth now and his teeth are in very good condition (dentist said). I went through the same drama with my toddler recently but she seems to be coming out of it and letting me brush her teeth now. You will know it was all worth it when they go to the dentist and get told they have no cavities.

[carang]

but keep in mind, some people just have bad teeth. both of my kids brush their teeth 2-3 times/day and they do a good job of it... but my boy still ended up with mega-cavities.

[bagel]

My son is also resistant to brushing teeth. So I showed him a video (on youtube) of Crawford the Cat brushing his teeth. He was encouraged by it and started cooperating. He still resists every now and then, so I use examples like the McQueen Car (from Cars movie) having shiny white teeth and since McQueen is his current favorite toy he will cooperate briefly. Hope these tricks work for you!

[erina320]

Both of my children are a terror to brush their teeth! When they're little I have to hold their arms in one hand and force them to let me brush their teeth with the other. It's to fun, but they need to learn that they can't always have it their way when it comes to what's best for them in the long run. I've heard too many stories about little one's needing work on their baby teeth. I say brush!

[jvn]

I think a lot of whether someone has bad teeth is genetic too, I know some people who just seem to have a terrible time with their teeth and it's not like they have an appalling diet or bad hygiene!

We do a mix of things with The Boy, for example looking for monsters/dinosaurs/starfish in his mouth and using the brush to get them out. We have two toothbrushes, a normal one and an electric one and he gets to choose which one he uses, he also has two toothpastes so he can choose which one he wants (creates an illusion that he is control of the process when, in fact at the end whatever he chooses he always gets his teeth brushed). Reading books or watching episodes of things where characters get their teeth brushed is also good.

At the end of the day, we've still had episodes of toothbrushing refusal over the last year or so, I normally let it go a couple of days trying all of the above and then eventually if he's still refusing I've occasionally done it by force but mostly he's given in and started letting us do it again.

[lesliefu]

i've actually introduced the tooth brush during their bath time so that they see it as something fun - have also had them brush their teeth whilst they were on the toilet seat (trying to potty train at the same time - nothing to do, so brush your teeth...something fun)...anyhow, long story short - they enjoy brushing their teeth now - have the odd days when they wont open their mouth for me...but they will let our helper brush - whatever! as long as they get brushed. i have a feeling my kids like to eat the toothpaste instead of brushing so i've a big stack of the toothpaste they like (once the tooth paste was out of stock in every place i looked...i was screwed). need to decide when to take them to the dentist... not lookiing forward to that!