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In a message dated 12/8/01 5:39:57 PM US Eastern Standard Time,
KathrynJB@... writes:


> He's pretty responsive when we ask him to bathe/put on deodorant
> at that point, but it can be pretty bad. LOL
> Kathryn
>

Ok, so I've let my 3yo handle most of the decisions, but....

The bathing thing got to me, and he refused to wash his hair for awhile. I
recently found some foaming shampoo, which has made a huge difference. (I'm
trying not to think about all the synthetic junk in it :)) And the little
mirror in the tub has helped too.

But now his teeth, since I've let loose the reins, so to speak, he NEVER
wants to brush them. Once a day is lucky. Once every two or three is more
like it. I just can't stand this, and I really worry about his teeth
developing properly, esp since he's so young. Recently I've gone back to
demanding. At least once a day I'll insists that he brush them, and it gets
really harry sometimes. I've tried 3 different kinds of toothpaste, bought
really cool toothbrushes, doesn't seem to matter.

Any suggestions?

Brenda


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Tia Leschke

>
>
>But now his teeth, since I've let loose the reins, so to speak, he NEVER
>wants to brush them. Once a day is lucky. Once every two or three is more
>like it. I just can't stand this, and I really worry about his teeth
>developing properly, esp since he's so young. Recently I've gone back to
>demanding. At least once a day I'll insists that he brush them, and it gets
>really harry sometimes. I've tried 3 different kinds of toothpaste, bought
>really cool toothbrushes, doesn't seem to matter.

My daughter has really struggled with this one. Skye has managed to
inherit our lousy teeth and had to have the top 4 front ones pulled just
before age 2. Heather insisted on brushing for a long time, but it seemed
to be making Skye dig in more on the issue. She finally let it
go. Recently, as Skye is about to turn 7, she has been brushing her teeth
voluntarily. I don't know how long it's going to last, but we can
hope. One thing that made it more appealing was buying and electric
toothbrush. I'm just glad Lars inherited his father's good teeth. He just
had a checkup and still no cavities at age 14. Whew!
Tia

Tia Leschke leschke@...
On Vancouver Island
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Levy





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Samantha Stopple

> But now his teeth, since I've let loose the reins,
> so to speak, he NEVER wants to brush them. Once a
>day is lucky. Once every two or three is more
> like it. I just can't stand this, and I really worry
> about his teeth developing properly, esp since he's
>so young. Recently I've gone back to demanding. At
>least once a day I'll insists that he brush them, and
>it gets really harry sometimes.


Find some books on brusing yout teeth and why you need
to...

Does he have to brush his teeth in the bathroom? Could
you bring hin his toothbrush and a bowl to spit in. A
minimum of toothpaste swallowing isn't going to hurt
him. That's what we do with out kids esp. my dd. She
doesn't like to stop what she is doing. When she is
brushing her teeth she is being read to or watching a
video so she brushes for a long time.

Hope that helps.
Samantha


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Sarah Carothers

I *really* don't mean this in an ugly way, ok?!!
For our puppy, we feed him (and the other pets) carrots to keep the teeth clean. It works, too! I mean, I'd probably not handle your situation well (I'd insist he brush!), but *if* you're looking for some alternatives????
*sincerely*
Sarah


But now his teeth, since I've let loose the reins, so to speak, he NEVER
wants to brush them. Once a day is lucky. Once every two or three is more
like it. I just can't stand this, and I really worry about his teeth
developing properly, esp since he's so young. Recently I've gone back to
demanding. At least once a day I'll insists that he brush them, and it gets
really harry sometimes. I've tried 3 different kinds of toothpaste, bought
really cool toothbrushes, doesn't seem to matter.

Any suggestions?

Brenda




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Samantha Stopple

> My daughter has really struggled with this one.
> Skye has managed to
> inherit our lousy teeth and had to have the top 4
> front ones pulled just
> before age 2.

Why did they pull them? My son has really bad decay on
his top four teeth. I hope it never comes to that
pulling teeth yikes.

Samantha


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Tia Leschke

At 07:08 PM 08/12/01 -0800, you wrote:

> > My daughter has really struggled with this one.
> > Skye has managed to
> > inherit our lousy teeth and had to have the top 4
> > front ones pulled just
> > before age 2.
>
>Why did they pull them? My son has really bad decay on
>his top four teeth. I hope it never comes to that
>pulling teeth yikes.

I think if the decay is bad enough, the infection can travel through the
root into the bloodstream. Plus, I think she was in a lot of pain over
them. They put her under anesthetic at the hospital to pull them, so it
wasn't as traumatic as it might have been.

While her teeth are not great, and she's had a couple more small cavities,
those were the only really bad ones. Heather believes that it could have
been caused either by a bad fever she had while pregnant (when the teeth
were developing) or when Skye was really sick around a year or 18 months old.
Tia

Tia Leschke leschke@...
On Vancouver Island
********************************************************************************************
It is the answers which separate us, the questions which unite us. - Janice
Levy





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Elsa Haas

Do you brush your own teeth in the same room and at the same time your
three-year-old does? It sometimes helps with our two-and-a-half-year-old –
he will occasionally see me brushing and want to do it, too.

The problem is that I forget and do it in the morning when he’s off playing
in the other room, and at night I like to stay up after him and have a
midnight snack, so he almost never sees me do it then. It occurs to me now
that there’s no real reason he should ever have figured out that we grownups
brush our teeth twice a day. So it’s no wonder he doesn’t see it as a
natural, inevitable part of the day.

Our record on this is even worse than yours, but so far there’s been no
decay the doctor has noticed (we haven’t been to the dentist yet). Our son
doesn’t eat any dried fruit, and hardly ever any candy, though I know there
are lots of other things that stick just as badly (I would guess Cheerios
are pretty hard on the teeth, for example – we don’t eat them anymore).

I’ve toyed with wiping off his teeth with a washcloth, but he doesn’t like
that much, either.

I’m hoping it’s true that long-term breastfeeding helps.

Elsa Haas




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Diane

> Do you brush your own teeth in the same room and at the same time your
> three-year-old does? It sometimes helps with our two-and-a-half-year-old –
> he will occasionally see me brushing and want to do it, too.

This is very important in our household. I bring out toothbrushes in the evening
and they brush wherever they are. Preschoolers don't usually spit anyway, so it
doesn't matter where they are. Now that I'm remembering to come brush where the
kids are, they're getting a lot better about doing it or letting me. Last year I
got an electric toothbrush and recently I noticed the kids brushing by just
holding the toothbrushes in their mouths like you do with an electric. That
doesn't cut it. What I do now is brush with a manual toothbrush in the evening
before the kids go to bed, then with the electric when I head to bed. I'm still
working on getting a habit going in the morning, though.

> I’m hoping it’s true that long-term breastfeeding helps.

I understand that it does, but my 23 month old has significant decay in her
front teeth, so it's not a guarantee. It's certainly not the threat that
bottlefeeding is, though.

:-) Diane

Diane

I don't think it's going to solve the whole problem, but the toothpaste does
have to be something they don't hate. Switching from kids' to regular
toothpaste was part of what caused problems with my kids. They had gotten used
to the kids flavor from the dentist's office sample but I had the attitude
(handed down from my parents) that kids don't NEED special toothpaste, they can
use ours fine. Well, sure they CAN, but they don't want to.

And I didn't want to use the same techniques to force them to brush that my
parents did, because I STILL hate to brush my teeth, and have a lot of problems
with them.

Anyway, I guess I'm emotional about this because of my teeth. My ds has great
teeth but my dd has problems already and she's not 2 yet. :-(

:-) Diane

brendaclaspell@... wrote:

> But now his teeth, since I've let loose the reins, so to speak, he NEVER
> wants to brush them. Once a day is lucky. Once every two or three is more
> like it. I just can't stand this, and I really worry about his teeth
> developing properly, esp since he's so young. Recently I've gone back to
> demanding. At least once a day I'll insists that he brush them, and it gets
> really harry sometimes. I've tried 3 different kinds of toothpaste, bought
> really cool toothbrushes, doesn't seem to matter.

[email protected]

In a message dated 12/8/01 6:49:09 PM, brendaclaspell@... writes:

<< But now his teeth, since I've let loose the reins, so to speak, he NEVER
wants to brush them. Once a day is lucky. Once every two or three is more
like it. I just can't stand this, and I really worry about his teeth
developing properly, esp since he's so young. Recently I've gone back to
demanding. At least once a day I'll insists that he brush them, and it gets
really harry sometimes. I've tried 3 different kinds of toothpaste, bought
really cool toothbrushes, doesn't seem to matter.
>>

I too had this problem with my daughter when she was 3, she is now 5. I
would let her pick a new toothbrush or new toothpaste practically every time
we went to the store, but after a day or two, she would say she didn't like
them. Two things helped us: We stopped using toothpaste, and would brush
with just water. We felt it was better than nothing, and since it was the
toothpaste she objected to she went along. Then one day I received a sample
sized adult toothpaste, mint flavored. She seized upon this small tube and
used it all the time. We had tried all the flavors before, even mint, but
now in the small size she loved it. I started buying the sample and travel
sizes and she used them all. As I said before, she is now 5, and she will
use any toothpaste. Hope this helps.

Lynda

Doesn't one of those companies make a musical electric toothbrush. I swear
I saw one somewhere.

Also, we found that they have more fun if one of us was in the room and
brushed together.

Lynda
----- Original Message -----
From: <brendaclaspell@...>
>
> Ok, so I've let my 3yo handle most of the decisions, but....
>
> The bathing thing got to me, and he refused to wash his hair for awhile. I
> recently found some foaming shampoo, which has made a huge difference.
(I'm
> trying not to think about all the synthetic junk in it :)) And the little
> mirror in the tub has helped too.
>
> But now his teeth, since I've let loose the reins, so to speak, he NEVER
> wants to brush them. Once a day is lucky. Once every two or three is more
> like it. I just can't stand this, and I really worry about his teeth
> developing properly, esp since he's so young. Recently I've gone back to
> demanding. At least once a day I'll insists that he brush them, and it
gets
> really harry sometimes. I've tried 3 different kinds of toothpaste, bought
> really cool toothbrushes, doesn't seem to matter.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Brenda

Elsa Haas

I have probably been negligent about our son's toothbrushing because of my
childhood experiences - we will see how the great experiment of not forcing
him turns out. As I said in another post, he brushes very infrequently (and
since he swallows some of what he's supposed to spit out, I don't give him
toothpaste).

I don't know what my mother did when we were as small as my son is now
(2-1/2), but I remember that later in childhood she would send my brother
and me to brush in the bathroom while she stayed in the living room (it
seemed to me then that she always picked the best moment of my favorite TV
show to decide it couldn't wait).

My brother and I would wet the brushes under the faucet, put them back, take
a small amount of toothpaste and smear it somewhere inside our mouths with
the tip of a finger, rinse out and go back to her. She would then sniff our
breaths and feel satisfied.

We had a fair number of cavities as kids - don't know whether this is why
(genetics and nutrition are other factors, of course). I just remember
marvelling at how easy it was to fool her.

I don't know about my brother's adult brushing habits, but I have a
compulsive tendency to brush my teeth so hard that a dentist once warned I
was wearing all my enamel off. It gets worse when I'm upset or worried about
something.



Diane wrote:

<>
And I didn't want to use the same techniques to force them to brush that
my
parents did, because I STILL hate to brush my teeth, and have a lot of
problems
with them.
<>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Diane

Exactly. That's what my parents did, too. And that's what *we* did, too--wet the
toothbrush and go back. That's why I try to *market* toothbrushing. I know I do
not brush enough, and I HATE brushing my teeth, although not as much as I used
to. I've said in my adulthood that my teeth are my only major health problem. I
don't want that for my children.

:-) Diane

> I don't know what my mother did when we were as small as my son is now
> (2-1/2), but I remember that later in childhood she would send my brother
> and me to brush in the bathroom while she stayed in the living room (it
> seemed to me then that she always picked the best moment of my favorite TV
> show to decide it couldn't wait).
>
> My brother and I would wet the brushes under the faucet, put them back, take
> a small amount of toothpaste and smear it somewhere inside our mouths with
> the tip of a finger, rinse out and go back to her. She would then sniff our
> breaths and feel satisfied.
>
> We had a fair number of cavities as kids - don't know whether this is why
> (genetics and nutrition are other factors, of course). I just remember
> marvelling at how easy it was to fool her.
>
> I don't know about my brother's adult brushing habits, but I have a
> compulsive tendency to brush my teeth so hard that a dentist once warned I
> was wearing all my enamel off. It gets worse when I'm upset or worried about
> something.
>
> Diane wrote:
>
> <>
> And I didn't want to use the same techniques to force them to brush that
> my
> parents did, because I STILL hate to brush my teeth, and have a lot of
> problems
> with them.
> <>