Teeth Cleaning Ideas?

Hi Everyone,
I have twins about to turn 4 and we're having trouble getting them to clean their teeth properly. They'll happily brush the fronts for a few seconds, but then would rather just chew the brush and suck the tooth paste off! I find I have to give them a good brush myself to make sure they're clean.

Has anyone got any tips for teaching them how to clean other than trying to explain? We clean our teeth in front of them to show them what to do, but they just don't seem to get it! We've been trying for quite a while now and its just getting frustrating that we don't seem to be making any progress.

Thankyou!

Andy

Sounds less to me that they are not getting it as they just are not interested. Have you tried making teeth cleaning time fun? Maybe you could somehow turn proper brushing into a game and include a small prize at the end. Stickers might be a good idea. You could possible tape a sheet with your kids' names on it next to the mirror, and keep a large sticker book in the bathroom. After successfully brushing their teeth they would have the fun of picking a sticker as well as the sticker itself. The extra incentive might be just what they need.

Love what Morted said about making it fun. Sticker charts seem to be really good for children of a lot of ages - the idea of visual tangible rewards seems to work really well for a lot of my friends and their little ones.

Our child's dentist also said little things like letting your children pick out their own toothbrush, maybe with their favourite colour or a certain cartoon character they like on it is a good way to go about it too.

Friends of mine also use a song method where they tell their children that they need to brush their teeth for the duration of a certain song that goes for a couple of minutes. It seems to keep them engaged and on task!

The reward chart might be a good idea, thanks! I also really like the idea of playing a song to brush to for a time limit, thats fantastic! I'll try this tonight, I'd better get out the Frozen soundtrack I think!