Toddler son hates having his teeth brushed...update

notanewuser

brook2jack wrote: »

Thumb sucking is a very hard habit to break and can have the potential to push adult teeth forward. The problem is so long as children suck their thumbs then braces cannot be used to correct the problem. However if thumb sucking is stopped early enough things will correct themselves.

So do you have any magic tips on how to break the habit. It's so hard because they learn to suck thumbs in the womb. It has a real purpose in self soothing, and then you have to stop them doing it!

sassyblue

notanewuser wrote: »

Mouthwash, swilling and spitting aren't recommended anymore by dentists for children or adults. They wash away the fluoride which otherwise protect the teeth.

Interesting. It was our dentist who suggested we use it, but it wasn't prescribed to us. I will phone them for clarification on this in the new year.

lindseykim13

Please don't listen to the 'oh they are only baby teeth' argument my youngest is 3 and i feel awful that she had tooth ache tonight and has to wait until the morning to see the dentist.
I am the best parent i can be and have always made sure to brush my kids teeth but my youngest 2 kids are deffo grazers through the day and i do think that this had lead to their dental problems. My olderst who is 10 has great teeth so don't ask me where i went went wrong with the other 2. Just want you to know it's no joke when they have to have treatment and you feel like a pile of dog doo for it.

My 8yr old has 7 teeth out and had to be put under for it and i swore i'd be more carefull with my yougest but she seems to be going the same way. There is only so much you can do, we use puppets and teddy bears to brush her teeth. I feel it is more of a diet thing though so working on a no snacks between meals thing but to be honest i've only recently learnt that fruit isn't great for teeth as i always thought i was giving healthy snacks.

All the mixed advice around doesn't help, five a day ect (think lots of healthy sugary fruit) flouride or no flouride i'm still confused about it all esspecially when dentists change so often and you don't seem to have a family dentist these days. I've been told not to worry about my dd's teeth as they are only baby ones by one dentist then told off by another.

Just try your best hun, and remeber it's not all about the brushing, diet and having breaks from eating too.

sulkisu

Many thanks for all who posted - especially those who suggested using different flavoured toothpaste and battery operted toothbrushes. I sent OH out to buy both yesterday.

Last night I used Tesco strawberry ice-cream flavoured toothpaste, and even though my son has previously given no indication that he doesn't like his usual minty paste, he obviously had no idea what he had been missing, because this time he lay relatively still while I brushed. It still wasn't perfect but much better than usual. This morning I used the strwberry toothpaste again, but this time with the battery operated toothbrush and wow. He lay there with his mouth wide open while I brushed away. For some rason he especially seemed to like it when I did his back teeth! To ap it all, he threw the mother of all tantrums when I finished. Tonight, as soon as I took the toothbrush out, he was there on his back with his mouth opened. I was so shocked that I actually filmed him, just in case this doesn't last.

So once again, thank you all for your advice.

ButlerT

I am having the total opposite problem! my 24 month boy washes his teeth for over 20mins. I doubt if he is actually washing his teeth for 30 seconds overall!

mumps

brook2jack wrote: »

We don't inherit good teeth, we inherit good diet and oral hygiene practices. You've eaten and cleaned well and passed those habits down to the next generation.

On the whole there is no such thing as strong or weak teeth , 95% of all dental treatment is entirely preventable.

My 4 children had same level of care and same diet. One had problems with his teeth, the others didn't. My dentist told me his first teeth were poor, I can't actually remember what he said it was but he said it was not anything I could have avoided. He gave him lots of care and said he second teeth would probably be fine and they are.

My dentist was brilliant with the children, when they were little he would give them a mask and they had a stool opposite him and they would help him examine my teeth. I never had a problem with them at the dentists, they loved going.

mumps

notanewuser wrote: »

So do you have any magic tips on how to break the habit. It's so hard because they learn to suck thumbs in the womb. It has a real purpose in self soothing, and then you have to stop them doing it!

Only one of mine was a thumb sucker and knowing the problems it caused I wish I had given her a dummy, at least you can take a dummy off them and refuse to let them have them when you decided enough is enough. It is hard to restrict access to their thumb. The orthodontist told her that treatment could not start until she broke the habit, she was 9 or 10 at this point.

After trying to break the habit and failing we were advised to tape her hand up. She only sucked the thumb on her left hand fortunately. At night she could not control the habit and even in the day she struggled. After a few days with her thumb taped to her hand she broke the day time habit but it took longer at night. It sounds barbaric but for a child like my DD it can take drastic action. .

notanewuser

mumps wrote: »

Only one of mine was a thumb sucker and knowing the problems it caused I wish I had given her a dummy, at least you can take a dummy off them and refuse to let them have them when you decided enough is enough. It is hard to restrict access to their thumb. The orthodontist told her that treatment could not start until she broke the habit, she was 9 or 10 at this point.

After trying to break the habit and failing we were advised to tape her hand up. She only sucked the thumb on her left hand fortunately. At night she could not control the habit and even in the day she struggled. After a few days with her thumb taped to her hand she broke the day time habit but it took longer at night. It sounds barbaric but for a child like my DD it can take drastic action. She returned for another appointment a year later and her teeth were straight. She still needed surgery for jaw problems and I don't know if that was connected with thumb sucking.

Wow. We do plan to tackle it before then, but she just seems so little at the moment. The only 2 suggestions anybody has given has been to make her wear gloves (all day and all night?!) or to put chilli powder under her nails (which seems pretty barbaric to me). Not easy, is it?

suejb2

Have you tried putting the stuff to stop nail biting on the "sucked" thumb?

mumps

notanewuser wrote: »

Wow. We do plan to tackle it before then, but she just seems so little at the moment. The only 2 suggestions anybody has given has been to make her wear gloves (all day and all night?!) or to put chilli powder under her nails (which seems pretty barbaric to me). Not easy, is it?

We tried for years to stop her, it is so hard because the thumb is just there isn't it, and with my daughter she wasn't even aware she was doing it. At one point we were constantly telling her to take her thumb out of her mouth, her teacher was doing the same and it made no difference. No amount of bribery worked as she just wasn't aware of it.

I thought taping her hand was bad but the chilli powder sounds awful. We did try the nail biting stuff and it did slow her down a bit but gradually that wore off. I never thought of gloves but that sounds good except I think my daughter would have just taken them off.

I think most grow out of it before they get to double figures but I know someone who was still doing it an university and was embarassed when a lecturer pointed her out doing it one day. I know someone else who admits to still doing it at night and she won't see 40 again.

Good luck, I'm glad that isn't something I have to go through again as it was several years of my life. Like I said before at least you can take a dummy off them.