How I got little dude to brush his teeth

Some toddlers love to brush their teeth. Unfortunately, little dude isn't one of them. Even if I manage to coax him to stand at the sink, all ready with his toothbrush and toothpaste, he will refuse to open his mouth. Even if he opens his mouth, he may bite on the toothbrush so that it cannot move. Grinning at my tired old face, he has that "come on mama, convince me to brush my teeth!" look.

Well. You know I recently got a new baby. This is her:

She's lovely. And she has no teeth. See?

I put my baby in her bouncy chair and sat facing her, armed with a piece of Lindt chocolate. Little dude didn't miss the treat I had in my hand, and came up to me with his eyes lighted up.

I beamed and said, "let's share the chocolate!". And as little dude and I started to indulge, my lovely baby started to fuss.

Little dude looked concerned about his sister, and I said "Baby's not happy because she can't have the chocolate, you know why?"

Little dude slowly savored his chocolate, looking grave.

"Because she didn't brush her teeth and all her teeth dropped off! So she can't eat chocolate because she has no teeth!"

Little dude was in deep thought.

"So you've got to brush your teeth, otherwise you'll end up like baby," I said in a serious tone.

I didn't have much trouble with teeth brushing after that. If the effect wears off, I'll post an after-note.