Power toothbrushes and young children

[Skittles]

DS is 15 months old and will not let you brush his teeth. He hates it. Screams the whole time and we are lucky to brush for more than 5 seconds. Can i use a power brush on his teeth or is he too young??
Any other ideas would be very much appreciated

[Leeny]

I believe you're not *meant* to use them before the age of three.... Hmm... Didn't stop me :o.. DD loved her power toothbrush when we first got it.. The head on them is a bit bigger, so just watch for that with the back teeth I guess, and don't push too hard on his gums if you get one.. But I think many people get power toothbrushes for their kids earlier then the packet says.

I took comfort in knowing that even if DD wouldn't let me brush her teeth for as long as I should, the electric toothbrush done a better job then the manual one, in a shorter time :)

If your worried, maybe call a dentist and ask a bit of advice? As I said, I didn't bother :laughing:

[Myztik]

I've been wondering about this too but for my 2.5yr old. Thought I'd put one in each of the kids christmas stockings :p

[Skittles]

DD has always loved getting her teeth brushed. But DS has never let us. He will not open his mouth. I have to get Dh to help hold him and basically force him to open his mouth and scrub quickly. Its horrible but i dont want him getting bad teeth :(

[Leeny]

I don't see how they can be damaging under parental supervision.. Maybe the power toothbrush buzzing along with some songs and games is the way to go.. Make the whole thing a big buzzy game?

[pinkgingham]

i'm thinking of getting one too (DS is 3 in a week, and DD is 18 months)...DS only just started letting me brush his teeth (i even had to hold him down and get him in a headlock between my thighs and to no avail so believe me i had tried many times) but will only let me do it for 30sec to a minute and i know you are suppose to brush for 3 minutes, DD is not as stubborn as DS was at the same age but she is the same...will only let me brush for under a minute. so i was thinking an electric one would be the go.

[InSaneOne]

you can get ones that play songs for 2 minutes and it should be fine as long as you go for one with the smallest head and one that has a pressure sensor so that if you press too hard it will stop.

maybe take ds with you and get him to choose between a couple.

[Skittles]

thanks all. will go buy one tomorrow and see how we go....