Getting my babs to brush her teeth!

[daddymind]

This is a bug bear of mine I have to admit. We are in a long distance relationship and pretty much every night I remind her to brush her teeth. I feel like it's very important, because the discomfort and costly dental bills from cavities is easily avoided from daily brushing. And I do not want to see her having teeth pulled because she refuses to spend 2 minutes brushing her teeth. I'm already supporting her with cutting out sugar in her diet, and she's doing well. But honestly I'm starting to feel like a nag. She does not like me telling her what to do and gets quite aggravated when I bring it up for the 1000th time (she's more like a teen/middle brat than a little). But I really want her to take care of herself until I can be with her 24/7.

 

She actually has very good teeth (lucky), although she has lost one already, but I really want her to take care of them. She also said she does not like mint toothpaste. So I told her to get alternative flavours, but I don't think that's the full story. I tell her that I want her to do this because daddy cares about her and I don't want her to be in pain in the future. How can I make her brush without annoying/nagging her?

 

Do any littles/middles on here need a little push when it comes to brushing teeth? Do you try to avoid doing it?

Edited April 7, 2020 by daddymind

[Guest BigDaddyDominant]

How about letting her try it for herself and praising her when/if she does. Sometimes a little positive reinforcement can go a long way. It sounds like shes trying to be a big girl and prove to Daddy she can do it on her own.

Edited April 7, 2020 by BigDaddyDominant

[Emillia]

Well personally, I actively enjoy it when my daddy checks up on me to see if I've brushed my teeth. But maybe in your case it's different. Maybe brushing her teeth is a stressful activity for her and you reminding her of that every night makes it worse? Or maybe she knows that her dental health is fine like you mentioned, and she doesn't think it's a big issue and does not understand why you're making a fuss about it?

 

Either way, I suggest sitting down with her and having a grownup talk. Maybe there is something going on, but I suggest talking this out with her when she's not in littlespace. Maybe also tell her how her behaviour has affected you as daddy/care giver? This might help avoid miscommunication like this in the future.

[Alaskan Daddy]

I had a little and we were LDR and  our biggest point of contention was her brushing her teeth. I realized that I could not make her do anything. She had to want to do it and all I could do is give her 'LOVING REMINDERS'. I also realized the relationship was more important than the rule. We formed an agreement that I could give her a loving reminder and she would tell me the truth and there would be no animosity if she did not brush. I continued to be an important part of her life.  I would have a conversation with her and tell her your concerns and listen to her feelings on the subject and come to an agreement. As daddy's we want the best for our littles but we need to realize that we cannot force them to do the things they need to do to make their lives productive. 

All we can do as a daddy is to give the best care we can to our little's as they allow us and every thing we do we do in the name of love.

I hope this help and I wish you the best of luck

[MysticSand]

Teeth brushing is essentially the first habit that my Little and I got him to work on doing twice daily. The big difference being that he likes when I ask him about it and tell him how proud I am when he does it.

We're also LDR and in very different time zones, so typically before I go to bed we'll run through what his day is going to look like and what he needs to do and this helps him remember.

 

Are you two in similar time zones or really different ones? If you're in time zones that aren't too different, maybe you can brush your teeth together at the same time while on a video call to make it something you both do, rather than just her being the one who does it.

 

I agree also with the above posters that you could also try a positive reinforcement method where when she does brush her teeth, she gets rewarded for it. It could be something simple, like staying up an extra ten minutes or being able to watch a short video before bedtime. Try a whole nighttime routine so that there isn't just the fixation on brushing her teeth but rather a set of things so she can feel proud of doing other things as well (eg: putting the dishes away, changing into pajamas, choosing outfit for the next day, etc...)

 

It does sound like there should be a talk accompanied with negotiating these things as well. Best of luck!

[DustBunny93]

Just ask her if she wants to have smelly breath and remind that teeth brushing and brushing the tongue gets rid of smelly breath. Teenagers don’t like to be made fun of so maybe she will realize she doesn’t wanna be teased for having gross breath. Idk.

[daddymind]

Thanks all for the suggestions. I'm gonna try harder with this. DustBunny, weirdly her breath never smells when I'm with her and her tongue is always very clean, plus she chews gum (I make sure it's sugar free). I just don't want her to get any more cavities.

[little1grl]

Thanks all for the suggestions. I'm gonna try harder with this. DustBunny, weirdly her breath never smells when I'm with her and her tongue is always very clean, plus she chews gum (I make sure it's sugar free). I just don't want her to get any more cavities.

There is something else you might want to try that nobody’s mentioned. Try to really understand why she doesn’t brush every day. Sometimes if you understand the problem it makes it easier to find solutions. For example is it discomfort? (Not liking the sensation?) Dislike of all toothpaste flavors? Forgetfulness? Depending on why it’s easier to know what to do.

[PapasLola]

I'm autistic and teeth brushing is a really horrible big deal for me. It took me a long time as an adult to find the right combination of brush and paste that wasn't miserable. I actually am missing teeth because when I was a kid my sensory issues weren't respected, I was just basically told to do stuff or get in trouble. There's all kinds of different products out there for adults and children, and toothpaste isn't even necessary if that's part of the issue, you can brush with plain water and use a rinse like Act.

[Spacegirlxoxo]

I use Cinnamon tooth paste. I was suggested brush as long as you can sing the Happy Birthday song! You could try asking her, "hey you've sing happy birthday today?!" You could even make it cute and say she's singing happy birthday to her little teeth and maybe even pick a special tooth each day. Or find other rhymes that work for as long as one should brush our teeth. I think if it is a stressful task, naming it by something else like what i suggested could be fun.

[littleprincessbbw]

So it's personal for everyone.  

 

Firstly, I fell out of the habit of brushing my teeth twice a day.  There was never a routine growing up.  SO my little....had the same issue.  This isn't actually something Daddy and I have talked about at all.  

 

I put it into my morning routine (that was easy) and Daddy and I always go to bed at the same time (different houses) to help me with bedtime.  So we agree to 'meet in bed'.  So He goes and does his bits and I go and do my bits...and then....we meet in bed.  Brushing teeth happens then.  

 

I also have it on my star chart.  It's a good one because I get TWO whole stars a day for that one!

 

The thing about routines and habits is that it actually takes 55 -122 days to cement in a habit and it needs to be rooted in a routine/trigger time for it to be effective.  My trigger time is when Daddy says 'shall we meet in bed in 15 minutes?'.  I mean he takes two minutes but I do my face and all my bits...and my teeth...and creams....and it takes longer.  

[Stujw]

So it's personal for everyone.  

 

Firstly, I fell out of the habit of brushing my teeth twice a day.  There was never a routine growing up.  SO my little....had the same issue.  This isn't actually something Daddy and I have talked about at all.  

 

I put it into my morning routine (that was easy) and Daddy and I always go to bed at the same time (different houses) to help me with bedtime.  So we agree to 'meet in bed'.  So He goes and does his bits and I go and do my bits...and then....we meet in bed.  Brushing teeth happens then.  

 

I also have it on my star chart.  It's a good one because I get TWO whole stars a day for that one!

 

The thing about routines and habits is that it actually takes 55 -122 days to cement in a habit and it needs to be rooted in a routine/trigger time for it to be effective.  My trigger time is when Daddy says 'shall we meet in bed in 15 minutes?'.  I mean he takes two minutes but I do my face and all my bits...and my teeth...and creams....and it takes longer.  

First of all yay a local little.and 2nd love ur star chart

Edited July 24, 2020 by Stujw

[littleprincessbbw]

First of all yay a local little.and 2nd love ur star chart

Hi!!!!!  I'm new here so kind of finding my feet a bit.  I LOVE my star chart most of the time except when it gets me spankings.

 

Naughty star chart.  

[LilDemonBaby]

This is one of my hardest things to do, al9ng w drinking water. I use LOLs strawberry smoothie toothpaste and a chargable kids toothbrush to help. You can make a project to decorate the brush and make a reward system maybe? I cant do strong flavors and its hard to floss as im abnormally sensitive (autistic), but i try to motivate myself. It doesnt help that i actually have a small mouth and HAVE to use a kids brush.