Ok, I need some help. I'm about at my wits end with my dear, sweet (I say that with clenched teeth!) daughter. Ever since that child was a baby, she HATES to brush her teeth. She does it but she does a really poor job of it. Tanner has horrible teeth anyway because she has very little enamal on them, so they are prone to cavaties as it is. Add to that the fact that she's a mouth breather because of her jaw not closing properly-that means the potential for bad breath!
We have spent several thousands of dollars on her teeth as it is and I guess the older she gets and the more money we spend, the more irritable I get when she doesn't brush them as well as she could. What does it take to get a kid to understand the importance of good dental hygiene?! What do I do????
Here's a perfect example of my struggles with her. Last night, she brushed for two minutes with the electric toothbrush. I sat in the bathroom with her and washed her brush. When she got done I checked her teeth and several of the bottom ones had "sugar bugs" on them! It was like she hadn't brushed down there at all, yet I watched her do it! I made her go back with the handheld toothbrush and brush again. She was upset, I was irritated.
Then this morning....the kid put BARELY any toothpaste (she hates the mint toothpaste we use, but I refuse to let her still brush with bubble gum flavored toothpaste since she's 12) on her toothbrush! I asked her about it and then made her re-brush, using more toothbrush. She was upset, I was irritated and she got grounded from the tv for the night. URGH!
I hate having this fight about something as important as brushing your teeth! Any suggestions of how I fight this battle?? I'm open for anything.
5 comments:
What about the rinse that turns the tartar or whatever it is Pink...... Then you can actually SEE the spots that still need scrubbing....... I dunno how that would work with her other teeth stuff though......
Awww, you're such a good mom! Early to bed night last night and grounding for not brushing today! Hang tough! It sucks, but it's what we're supposed to do. Sorry, I don't have any tricks on how to make it work for a 12 year old. My tricks all work on 5 and under. I never check mine, I wonder how well they really brush...
Anyway, I can't keep up with you! You are a crazy blogger machine! You go girl!
The concert was in KC at the new Sprint building. Way cool! Thanks for the compliments! It was fun to get all dolled up and go out! :)
I'm with your previous comments--the fun rinse, and all my other tricks are for those under five--singing the little mermaid song "AHHH!" and "We're gonna brush that ____ right off of your teeth." Probably not going to work in her situation.
My sister once did a doozy on her boys: told them she wasn't going to hound them to brush anymore, but they couldn't have anything bad for their teeth again (i.e.--any kind of sugar), but they could have all they wanted of good things (i.e.--spinach). Of course the rest of the family had cokes and ice cream for dinner the next day.
I don't know, it might be too much for a 'tween girl to handle!
Stand strong! It's probably not just about the brushing.
We tried the rinse stuff but it's too hard for her to close her mouth at this point with all the hardware in it, so the rinse ends up all over everything BUT her teeth. :)
Sara, I love your sisters idea and I may just try that!
Thanks!
Remember it's not the toothpaste that does the cleaning, it's the actual brushing. So really, she could skip the toothpaste if she wanted, or the majority of the week.
Take something away when she doesn't do a good job...money...whatever, since you're putting so much into her teeth.
No matter what you do, she will be so thankful when she is a grown up and has to pay for it herself!
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