This is a very important question that deserves special attention. I’m actually inclined to write a whole separate article on this one aspect of children’s oral health. We are firmly against this idea and pray that we can help you realize why pinning a child down to brush their teeth is such a terrible idea. More importantly, we’ll detail ideas to help you navigate a more peaceful, respectful alternative to pinning to brush a toddler’s teeth. First, why would someone argue that controlling your toddler to brush their teeth would be helpful? Well, it’s based on believing the story of ‘the terrible twos’, that a toddler is just, well, resistant. Items To Note Before You Quick-Fix? for more information.That oral hygiene is so important that it must be done regardless of whether you have compliance from the toddler or not. We get it. Working with toddlers isn’t always easy. But we have to realize that this stage in their development is critical for them to realize their unique independence, that they are a separate being from their mother. Unfortunately, applying the ‘might is right’ attitude when it comes to getting your toddler’s teeth clean risks substantial negative impact on that individual and your relationship with them. Yes, of course, the parent who believes in pinning to brush, would argue that they are doing it for the child’s own good. That a toddler doesn’t know what’s best for them and is going to resist anything. “So, you just have to get it done”. However, if we take this approach, we are at risk of causing all sorts of havoc in the child’s life. 1. We establish a very negative association in the child’s consciousness with oral hygiene. 2 dental supplies. We set the stage for other oral fixations like thumb sucking and smoking later in the child’s life. 3. Perhaps most important, we model to the child that when you don’t get your way, the path to success is to force another. Bottom line, the emotional trauma for the family is not worth the one day’s brushing. And, anyone in their right mind, aka not stressed in the moment dealing with an argument from their child, would realize that using this ‘might is right’ approach is only going to make tomorrow’s brushing even more difficult mobile dental unit. There has to be a better way.