Can we talk about brushing teeth?

I recently started brushing Katherine's teeth on a regular basis--she only got her first tooth around 13 months. She's 18 months now and has 10? teeth.

She loves it and "runs" upstairs when it's time to brush, but I'm not sure I'm "doing it right." Do you feel like you're not getting anything done with the toothbrush? I feel like she's only sucking on the brush because she likes the Orajel flavor.

So a couple of questions..
How long should the procedure last?
How many times a day?

Re: Can we talk about brushing teeth?

good questions....

right now we don't do it regularly....

she has a toothbrush that she rubs on her gums on her own with nothing on it.

we have the baby orajel tooth & gum cleaner with nubby finger thing.

And she likes when I use my crest spinbrush on her teeth.

I have NO idea what I SHOULD be doing though

Re: Can we talk about brushing teeth?

Jack is 2 and he "thinks" he is doing it well, but really he is just sucking all the toothpaste off. So we let him have a turn than Mommy and Daddy have a turn. I make sure I go over all surfaces, especially the front teeth because they are harder to get to without him freaking out and I noticed plaque builds up there quickly. Jack is pretty strong willed and sometimes refuses to let us brush his teeth, so the other day I told him I saw Bob the Builder and Wendy in his mouth and we brushed for like 10 minutes! Every time I told him I was done he would tell me someone else was in his mouth...we went through Scoop, Roley, Muck, Molly, and all the Bob the Builder characters. So maybe try a game like that. At this point we only do it once a day becasue I can't get my act together in the mornings to make that part of the routine.

Message edited 3/16/2007 3:01:09 PM.

Re: Can we talk about brushing teeth?

Jacob is 14 months and I think he has 8 teeth.. could be 10.. and i brush them every night before bed. I do it for like 2 min. He opens his mouth and i get a few good brushes in each section and then he starts sucking the toothbrush. At this point I just want to establish a habit of brushing before bed. Not sure If i'm doing it for long enuf.