I use an electric toothbrush on my son. It is only like $3 at walmart and it has supper heros on it. Maybe getting her a "cool one" like that will encourage her. I couldn't get my son to brush his teeth for anything till I got that. And it move in circular motion, so it helps aide in brushing his teeth. I always say, " momma's turn first, then Logans turn" He is getting better, but it is still a challange to get him to do it properly himself ( and he just turned 3!)

I have a 2 year old and always make a game out of it, like "Say aaaahhhhhhh open wide like a crocodile or a lion, now say eeeeeee to do the front ones, then i just brush as quick as I can and then let him do it himself which he loves(but he pretty much just sucks on the toothbrush!)

My husband helps with teeth brushing. He holds her facing front. When its time to brush the tops..he tickles her side or knee....she giggles and laughs...the uppers are way accessible.....we joke that in the future she will need laughing gas when she goes to the dentist later in life...hehehehe

Sadly I can't get an electirc toothbrush near her mouth, she freaks out. My fiancee won't hold her because he's a big Marlow suck! lol. I try making a game out of it, and we get some of the teeth. It's always 'mommy first, then Marlow next' and she lets me brush the bottom thoroughly. But the top, ugh. Also, I've noticed her toothbrushes go hard really fast so maybe they are uncomfy? I wash her brush out crazy lots to make sure it's toothpaste free....does the infant toothpaste do it?

I've not noticed our toothpaste making Natalie's toothbrushes hard... could you use a soft cloth on the top teeth? She may be popping a tooth up there and be sensitive, and that's why she won't brush the top teeth.

I tell my son smile big and that works for a little while. I have to keep saying it because he likes to suck the toothpaste off the toothbrush lol

My son has always been awful at letting us brush his teeth! A game works for a day or two until he catches on. However, he LOVES when I make up a story when I brush his teeth. He's let me do that for a week now - he lays there with his mouth wide open content as can be :)

Hand her the toothbrush and see what she does with it. Nina won't let me brush her teeth because she wants to do it herself. The whole "I wanna do it" mindset is what gets in the way.

With the electric ones, take the tip to her finger and turn it on. It might take a few days of trying that before you get it in her mouth. Make a game of it and laugh when you touch her with it.

My daughter was the same- she used to freak out at the electric ones, but now send her into laughing hysterics because they tickle. I keep a small regular toothbrush around just in case she doesn't want the electric one. Persistence really pays off with this and maybe its just the age group she's in. Give it a few months and tooth brushing will become much easier- at least until more teeth come in. Then, its back to square one. ;o)

Like Mel said, telling a story or bringing in a toy for distraction helps!

Marlow loves to brush her own teeth, but only the bottom ones. I brought up using a soft cloth to my doc and he said no because it won't get into the cracks between her teeth.

We try to make a game out of it and she still won't let us do it. We sing the Barney brushing song, we dance, I let her watch herself in the mirror, I try and use toys to distract. Ugh.

On a side note, the other day she went into the washroom, snagged dads toothbrush, and went to town on her top teeth. The brush was dry, and there was no toothpaste on it. So we got dad a new brush and we are keeping that one to the side, I figure if I can get the toothpaste in her mouth, then brush the bottom with her brush, I can let her brush away at her top ones. She brushed at them for 20 minutes with dad's brush.

You might want to buy her a brush of her own rather than sharing her dad's. Its more of a danger to teeth than not brushing teeth at all. Adults have more plaque buildup and it can be transferred into a child's mouth very easily. That is one of the more common causes of tooth decay.

If she likes the bigger brushes, get an adult sized super soft bristle. I remember as a kid that the dentist used to hand out "kids" brushes after checkups (LOL makes me feel old saying that).The only difference between a kids brush and adult brush back then was the longer handle. Younger kids used washcloths if the brushes didn't fit into the mouth. I don't see why it would do any harm. I have a barbie electric one for my daughter and its the same size as mine. DD also uses regular sized ones for when she's teething. She'll chew on it for hours.

His is an electric brush with a changable head, so we just put on a new head when she wasn't around to see so she still thinks its daddy's brush.