Teeth Brushing

[Karalynn]

Guess what friends? DH brushed DS teeth and everything was great! It is just me that he fights with. DS ran around with his brush in his mouth for over an hour. I even took pictures of him with his tooth brush.

Thanks for the great idea of trying someone else, it worked

Yay!!!! Thats so great!!!

 

[leise]

I'm so glad it worked, that's really good.

I just thought I'd share some of things that have worked for us too, in case anyone else has the same problem.
With us, my son is now 7 and has ASD . Brushing his teeth is one of the more persistent challenges we have.
Quite often sometimes things work for a while then they don't and you feel you are back to square one, but over the years we have had most success with cleaning his teeth in the bath, and singing a song to go with it....

I started off with Brush Brush Bree, from Bear in the Big Blue House , which he loved at the time, and this worked for a while but not very well.

The big breakthrough came with Shrek, as Shrek cleans his teeth in the opening titles, and my son would copy him. So I got a plastic Shrek toy, and had him brush the toy Shrek's teeth while I brushed his. Then he started singing the song that went with it; All Star by Smash Mouth. So I had to learn that and sing it while I brushed his teeth. He would allow me to brush while I sang, for the entire length of the song!
Now Shrek has gone out of fashion too, and currently I have to sing "I'm a pink toothbrush"....but we now have him using an electric toothbrush, which is great. His SN dentist says just to do the best job we can and try and keep his sugar intake down. So far no problems.....

Good luck!

 

[katedrew94]

I am a pediatric OT and I have no idea what services you may be receiving or what Hunter is like but these are some things that have been successful with some families I have worked with.

Have you tried using a picture symbols with the steps of the toothbrushing to help Hunter understand the process? Even if he understands what to do, he may not be cueing in to your language when he is stressed by the situation so the visual cues might help. Pictures are very regulating and organizing for a lot of kids during stressful situations.

Also, you might try a social story about toothbrushing- take pictures of another child his age- a familiar child would be best- and make a book with the steps of toothbrushing that you and he can read regularly together.

Does he tolerate other types of touch to his face and mouth? If not this would be a good place to start.

Role playing toothbrushing in play might help...

Would he be interested at all in brushing your teeth?

Just some thoughts off the top of my head.

 

[tacomaranch]

Hi Friends,

Kate, what great ideas. We don't have OT here in Wyoming where I live, it is very very rural, but nice.

He always wants to look and touch my teeth so maybe some turn taking will help. He did great with DH but I can't get DH to keep doing his teeth for me. Why does it all have to be such a struggle?

Just getting them done 3x's a week seems ok now. I really want them done after each meal. He loves to play with my floss and imitates me when I floss but no brushing for me. Who knows why with the autism, just when I think I get something down that works with Hunter he changes in mid stream.

I will just keep trying all the great ideas here. Tonite bath tub with tooth brush

 

[RunningthruDisney]

As an ABA therapist, I know brushing teeth can be a great problem, especially when they have sensory or oral motor motor difficulties. Just a start when your DH can not brush his teeth, Brush Hunter's teeth to the count of ten, and then increase it to 20 or the alphabet and so on. This will let him know there is a beginning, middle, and end for the both of you. I know it is hard but keep up the great work. You are a special mom to a wonderful little boy.

 

[Teatrodog]

My Wife and I have two children with Autism (non-verbal) My wife has found great success in brushing Lexx's teeth by sitting her on her lap (facing her)and singing a song (we sing Small World - both verses) and it seems her affinity for music helps 100%! We've been brushing both of thier teeth for over a year now with very little (if any) resistance.
We use the bath and sleep as a way to cut their hair (also a stressful event).



ps. This method of singing has help with a # of other obstacles (i.e., ending a bath, time for bed, ect.)

 

[MarieS]

Missed this thread the first time around but am glad to get some new ideas. My 8 year old ( CP, sensory problems) has a terrible time with teeth brushing. It's such a struggle to brush his teeth. Funny thing is he will put all kinds of other stuff in his mouth--except a toothbrush. I have tried all kinds of brushes including the spinning ones, toothettes, tooth pastes, etc.
Thanks for the ideas!

 

[Tissa]

I have the same problem with my 8 year old autistic ds and teeth brushing. He will finally now put the brush in his mouth but won't do anything. I've tried to get my mom to do it but he just screams and runs off. He goes the same thing when we try to cut his hair. I thought he would get better over the years like he did on other things like wearing long pants and sleeves but he still screams. It gets so frustrating at times, I am going to use some of the suggestions here. He loves to sing so maybe we can do something with that.

 

[mlwear]

DS8 autsitic still requires that I brush his teeth. Luckily, he doesn't resist too much but he isn't 100% cooperative and I don't do a great job getting all surfaces. I have him finish up at the end hoping that practicing a little here and there will eventually lead to him brushing on his own.
I don't know that this will be much help to the OP, but maybe to others reading.
I have found that my son cannot tolerate mint toothpaste. We have to use the kid kinds that are flavored as fruit or bubblegum.
A great tip our dentist gave us was a no-brainer but I never thought of it. After brushing teeth, dip the brush in ACT fluoride rinse and swab it over the teeth. I always thought he couldn't use it as he would just drink it (can't rinse and spit), but of course I could just use the brush to coat his teeth with it!

 

[MarieS]

DS8 autsitic still requires that I brush his teeth. Luckily, he doesn't resist too much but he isn't 100% cooperative and I don't do a great job getting all surfaces. I have him finish up at the end hoping that practicing a little here and there will eventually lead to him brushing on his own.
I don't know that this will be much help to the OP, but maybe to others reading.
I have found that my son cannot tolerate mint toothpaste. We have to use the kid kinds that are flavored as fruit or bubblegum.
A great tip our dentist gave us was a no-brainer but I never thought of it. After brushing teeth, dip the brush in ACT fluoride rinse and swab it over the teeth. I always thought he couldn't use it as he would just drink it (can't rinse and spit), but of course I could just use the brush to coat his teeth with it!

Along the same lines as the ACT rinse, our dentist has us use Colgate Prevident toothpaste( fruit flavored) once a day. It has more fluoride than regular toothpaste and she says it helps when there's trouble with brushing.

 

[tacomaranch]

Thanks for the great ideas still coming in on this thread. We are doing ABA intensive 6 hours per day. Although we have not addressed the teeth yet, we are having more good days than bad.

There was a very bad sore throat going around and DS and myself had it. Hunter said we have "roars" in our throats and he took his meds like a champ.

Now I get out the toothbrush and tell him I am chasing the roars off his teeth and it seems to work most of the time.

He also doesn't like the child toothpaste. I just need to find something he does like. The ACT idea is super!

Thanks for the great thoughts and I hope this helped others also.

 

[sameyeyam]

I keep a toothbrush next to our television set in the living room. If DS(7) wants to watch tv or play video games, he has to do it with a toothbrush in his mouth! He doesn't brush constantly, but periodically I see him moving the toothbrush around in his mouth, so I know he's getting some good out of it.

His dental hygenist suggested this. He still brushes every morning & night, but honestly not very good. There is no need to put toothpaste or water on the brush, just brushing with a dry toothbrush will work.

If there is some other activity that he likes to do (other than television), then make it a tradeoff!