Suggestions to Brushing 3 1/2 Year Old Teeth

My son hates his teeth brushed also, and he hates mint..so we have had many issues. We have found Watermelon, strawberry, cherry vanilla and now he will let us use lemon/orange

I really do not know how to make it better..electric tooth brushes? we have so many kinds and it can still be a hold 'em down to brush the teeth time.

BUT we now (at 5) have two cavities so..you gotta do what you gotta do to get them to brush. We used water for so long as Nick hated everything..but that did not cut it.

Brush without toothpaste. My daughter's dentist actually says brushing without toothpaste is preferrable, she says the foaming often gives kids a false sense of clean.

You actually don't have to use toothpaste to brush your teeth. My dentist told me this when I was around 10 years old because the toothpaste taste in the morning would make me nauseous. I brushed for several years without any toothpaste at all and everything worked out fine for me! Maybe just a wet brush would help...good luck!

Hi C.,
We use Toms of MAine Silly strawberry,and its the only one my 2.5 year old daughter likes. Before that we used the orajel toddler floride free kind, and she hated it. We too had nightly battles until I said to her remember what the Dentist said? We have to brush our teeth every day. She really seemed to accept that, maybe because it wasnt me or my husband telling her to do it. For her it was all a control thing. But I did start that right after her fist dental visit, so timing Im sure was everything. I also got a kitchen timer and told her she had to brush until the bell rang. Now she actually turns the timer on herself when she starts. We tried the tooth brushes that play music and she didnt like them, but I have heard that they work great for a lot of kids. One other thing is that she often gets upset before brushing because it symbolizes going to bed, so she'd stall and try to put it off. I have moved up the tooth brushing in her nighttime routine so she has a bit of extra time before bed and that helped a lot too. Good luck!

My kids are now 18, 16 and 12... and the most repeated phrase in my house is... "you don't have to wanna do it... but it needs to be done" I do not argue, I just enforce consequences... at three years old, it should not be a punishment, but a lack of reward... my son responded fantastically to charts... we had chores, everyone, and in his daily routine were the basics from early on... brush teeth in morning, put dirty clothes in hamper, brush teeth in the afternoon, eat a fruit or vegetable, brush teeth before bed... and for each accomplished chore he recieved a star, and for a certain number of stars... daily of weekly, depends on the childs age, attention span etc.. there was a reward, watching tv, going to a movie, going to a favorite park, not usually buying him something, but maybe a small allowance for completed tasks.. if he has a difficult time, set him up for success, put a "chore" he always does anyway on the chart to begin to reward good behavior... for instance my son always wanted to vaccuum, so I let him do a particular spot and he got a star for doing his chore, it became easier to encourage him to do the things he didn't want to do. this has worked and has evolved over the past 18 years and you will need to change the chart frequently to adjust to changing life patterns and age appropriate tasks... all three of my children have been doing their own laundry since they were 8 or 9 and all three have regular chores around the house. also, don't focus too much on the paste... let him use only water if he wants, or even a bubblegum flavor kids mouthwash, at three its the habit not the quality of brushing that matters

hi :o)
the toothpaste that my son use since is Weleda.. 'children tooth gel" it is natural and minty/otange flavor. my son loves it and always ask to brush or chew his toothbrush 3x-5x a day.

i just give him the toothbrush and let him brush or chew. i always brush teeth with him. it helps.

My understanding is we really don't need to be using toothpaste until later on in life. Simply brushing with water should be fine. You may consider making a toothbrushing chart and give a sticker for each time he brushes his teeth with a reward at the end of the chart for him. Good luck!

I would just do a water brush until he is able to deal with toothpaste. Even just putting a tad of baking soda on his brush would work fine. I would be careful about fluoride.
Here is a website that is informative regarding the use of it.
http://www.fluoridealert.org/fluoride-facts.htm

I have had this problem with my son as well. He just turned 4 and is finally doing better brushing his teeth. I let him pick out his own toothpaste at the store. He chose a toothpaste with Thomas the Train. He seems to like it more just bcause he had a choice. I also let him choose his toothbrush and he chose a Power Rangers electric toothbrush. I was hesitant at first, but he wanted it. He saw his older cousins using one and wants to be like them. He loves it! I have to stop him from brushing his teeth too much now. And, it really does work well to get his teeth clean. Maybe something like that would work for you son since since it's "fun" and not just a chore. The baby toothpastes by Orajel are not as strong in taste as the adult toothpastes so that could work. Orajel has Thomas and Little Einsteins on the packaging. The Toms of Maine is good as well- my son likes that too- but the taste is stronger.
I hope that helps!

Hi C.:

I am a pediatric dentist and mother of a 5 and 3-year old. Your problem is not a unique one. Many parents have the same struggle with their children. Have you tried Tom's of Maine, strawberry or orange-mango? I have noticed that when kids do not like toothpaste they have really taken to the mild fruit flavors of Toms of Maine. In my office, we give out the strawberry flavored ones to those who are adverse to the regular children's toothpaste and my son uses the orange-mango flavored one. He is a big fruit lover. And if all else fails, at this point I would just brush him w/o toothpaste. Getting the toothbrush in without toothpaste is better than not being able to brush at all. If he is allowing the toothbrush to go in w/o the toothpaste, you can possibly add a fluoride rinse to the regimen and see how he does. The fluoride rinse can supplement the lack of fluoride he is not getting on his teeth since he is not using toothpaste. If you have concerns about his spitting out skill then dip the toothbrush/qtip in the fluoride rinse and brush it on his teeth and go straight to sleep-no drinking or eating afterwards. You want the fluoride to stay on his teeth to work. Most stores sell their brand of an anti-cavity fluoride rinse. An example of a fluoride brand is ACT. Good luck.

I have a 13 yr old son with Sensory Integratin Disorder and the only toothpaste he will use is Toms of Maine Strawberry flavored. He loves anything bubblegum or grape flavored so we have mouthwash rinses in those flavors that he will pour on the brush and then brush with. (out of our 5 kids he is the only one with no cavities at every check up!):) Good luck:)

No advice about toothpaste, but what helped us was finding these children's toothbrushes that light up and flash for two minutes (the length of time you are supposed to brush). I brush their teeth first, and when I've done a good job, I turn on the lights and they get to brush (they don't get the lights on if they make a fuss). Worked for us.

Hi there! I'm a mom of a 3 1/2 yr old boy too (and a 5 1/2 yr old boy) .. anyways ... it is hard to get them to brush their teeth when they don't like the toothpaste ... my only suggestions are this .... Either the "Little Bear" (picture on the front)toothpaste (which you can find anywhere ... babies r us, walmart, cvs, etc), the Crest Strawberry kind (it comes in an odd shaped oval sort of bottle - not a tube - and it's strawberry .. my kids BEGGED to brush their teeth when they had that kind) which I only found at walmart. OR the last kind ... "The Little Einsteins" (picture on the front) - not sure who the main maker is crest or colgate ... but that particular flavor the boys loved!!! So try again & maybe make it a game. Although I'm not one to do things like that ... sorry you HAVE to brush your teeth! lol ... but I sing a toothbrushing song while I brush my 3 1/2 yr old's teeth. Maybe buy him a new toothbrush w/the new toothpaste & tell him it's new & to try it .. the old "icky" taste isn't on it. something along those lines. Good luck with everything. Again, try one of those toothpastes (if you haven't already) cause my boys are very fussy about tastes & these 3 in particular made toothbrushing the easiest part of the day & night for our family.

Oh boy have I been there!!! I can remember having to close the windows in the summer while I would brush my son's teeth.

I was told by a hygenist once that if they put up that much of a fight, just brush with water. It is more the brushing action at that young age, so you can get any food particals out. We finally found a toothpaste my son would use, it is colgate watermelon.

As far as him getting to do it, I let my son brush his teeth in the am himself. But I do it for him at night. When he was about 3-4 yrs old, I would do a sticker chart for him. If he filled his week with good quiet brushing, at the end of the week he would get some type of small toy or something. It worked well for us, and he loved seeing his progress as each day went by.

Also, dont get too frustrated with him. It will only add fuel to the fire. Do the best brushing you can and dont give up and let him skip brushings.

Best of Luck

Hi C.,

Have you tried making it on his terms? Explain to him the reason behind brushing his teeth and make it fun. Try singing as song, maybe his favorite song during him brushing and when the song is done, he is done. Or maybe have him pick out his tooth paste? I know my oldest would say she didn't like the taste of the toothpaste so we took a trip to the store, let her pick it out and we haven't had a problem ever since. Good luck. J.

We battled our 3 year old daughter on the same issue...she was fine with the toothpaste, though - just hated having her teeth brushed. We started allowing her to brush first, then we "spot check" and make sure to get a really good brushing in.

For the toothpaste issue, I would use just a wet brush, and then follow up with a mouth rinse in a kid flavor...something for us to try too!

One thing that has worked like a charm for the past 6 months or so is having her very own "dentist chair". She has one of those little upholstered rockers, so we act like we're the dentist, have her sit down, and tip the chair all the way back. Sometimes her dolls have a turn first, then she climbs in when we "call" her name. She loves it, and she's excited for her first dentist appointment tomorrow so she can sit in the real dentist chair!

My dentist told me that early tooth brushing should be more about establishing a good habit than about getting the child's teeth clean. We tried several children's tooth pastes before settling on one that both my children (twins) liked. It was Tom's orange flavored, from the health food store. Before we found a tooth paste that they liked, we brushed with water. Even if you only get the front teeth on the outside to start, it's the making it into a good habit that is important.

To make tooth brushing fun, I used to brush animals out of their mouths. I would ask them to open wide so I could be sure there were no elephants hiding in their mouths, and then spot one and brush it out with the tooth brush. I varied it each time, so I might be looking for elephants and not find any, but spot a tiger. I made it very dramatic, and there were many giggles. Eventually they started brushing animals out of my mouth at tooth brushing time, and we all looked forward to brushing our teeth together.

As they got older and could brush their own teeth, we did "mirror games" brushing teeth. They would face me and mimic the brushing movements I did, and I'd make different silly noises to go with brushing different areas.

I think their dentist, whom we visted twice a year, was also instrumental in getting them to brush regularly, by praising them and telling them to keep up the good work when they were younger, and pointing out areas that they needed to brush a little better when they got older. They liked to please him.

Good luck!

L. O.

Hi C.,

My son likes Tom's of Maine , Silly Strawberry for children. It's the only one we've tried and he liked it.

I hope that helps, good luck.

C. L

Your son is three, and the actual behavior of brushing his teeth at this stage is actually more important than the toothpaste.

I would suggest just letting him wet the brush and get him in the habit of brushing every night. You could later try a bit of baking soda paste - add some flavoring that he likes.

Once he is brushing all the time, without fuss - he will be a bit older, and you can re-introduce toothpaste.

Good luck.
Mom of 5

I found if I brush my teeth with my daughter ,who also 3 1/2,she enjoyed it.I let her do it and sing a brush your teeth song while we do it.Make a game of it.Then after,if he will let you,get the spots he missed.I use the Oral-B stages berry bubble.She loves it and I look forward to brushing my teeth with her!Good luck!

We use a toothpaste that we found from a friend.

It's a training toothpaste and it's great. It's by Melaluca (all natural) www.melaluca.com

Koala Pals™Training Tooth Gel. Then we use the ACTII on her toothbrush to get some floride but that way it's not too much.

Good luck.

Hi C.,

If it is the toothpaste he is complaining about, have you tried to brush without it, just to get him used to the brush & even just the idea of brushing the teeth, getting comfortable with the whole process? If he is anything like my 3 1/2 yr old, it probably has nothing to do with the toothpaste, but more to do with control! He may enjoy getting to pick out a new toothbrush, with his favorite character on it, for example, to give him some control over the process. If he feels involved, he may be more keen to give it a try. My son sings the "Brusha Brusha Brush!" song from Sprout's Good Night Show, and he and I brush our teeth together, so he honestly seems to enjoy it.

Now, the dentist... that is a different post all together!!

Good luck, C., and don't give it up. Like every other defiant action our toddlers take, this too shall pass! ; 0 )