I am struggling to brush my daughters teeth and her hair, sometimes it is a real problem, her teeth do not look as good as they used to and her hair sometimes looks like it has been dragged through the hedge backwards , has anyone got any tips . she is six years old ;)
If you braid her hair at night it will probably be easier to brush through in the morning at least. Maybe let her pick the colour of her toothbrush and flavour of toothpaste. I hate mint personally.
Get a soft toothbrush, preferably small and start again.
Get a cup of filtered water and keep dipping the brush in and out everytime you move onto a new tooth. It is a sensory issue. Many children with autism like to feel the water bounce off the teeth.
Toothpaste is dry which is why I would start with water again first and then when she is accepting use just a tiny drop of gluten and dairy free toothpaste and keep dipping the brush back into the water.
Many children with autism will bite down on a wet toothbrush because they like to feel the water bounce off the teeth.
My child uses Urtekram fennel toothpaste which is fluoride free as there is a lot of debate about autism and flouride and you need to google this.
I use a very soft baby hairbrush on my childs head, he wont accept a harder brush or comb.
Hi - have you tried various brushes for her teeth + hair? If it's brushes per se then perhaps getting her hair cut short (if it isn't already) might help if she doesn't object + can tolerate the hairdressers. Also there's sugar free chewing gum and mints that contain something called xytol (not sure of spelling) which are useful in preventing tooth decay - also the comments made by puffin are helpful.
Completely understand we have the same problem with my six year old with regards teeth brushing. I bought him an electronic brush, which he choose, as i thought at least if we do not ge to the recommended two minutes twicea day it will be a good brush with the electronic one ! We also bought a colourful bathroom clock and let him see the two minutes he was supposed to brush for, it really helped. Also we use a mouthwash as a backup for hygiene incase he missed bits! The dentist said at the age of six we should really be brushing his teeth for him but there was no way he would let us do that so this is as good as we could get. We supervise as much as possible also.
Hope this is of some help, some really good tooth brushing videos on you tube also for extra encouragement! Grannies false teeth also come in handy as a "this is what happens if you dont brush" example!
