Need advice on brushing teeth of unhappy 3 yr old?

My grandson hates having his teeth cleaned. He has tooth decay on his front teeth and my daughter has been battling this issue for well over a year now. The situation is so bad that he has to be held down while his teeth are being brushed and he kicks and screams the whole process thru. Afterwards he is still really upset for while.
We've tried getting him to do them himself but he refuses or does not do the job properly. We've tried different toothbrushes including electric & novelty ones, different toothpaste and no toothpaste at all but nothing helps. I thought perhaps it was painful for him, but have been told that baby teeth don't have the nerve endings of aduilt teeth, so this is doubtful.
There has to be a better way to care for his teeth! Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

let him brush your teeth if you can brush his

let him brush in the bathtub

develop a rewards system to let him get something he wants. if you brush his teeth 2 times a day for 1 month he gets to go to the movies (game, toy, etc...)

let him pick out his own toothbrush and toothpaste

if he is 3 and has decay he probably should see a dentist. they can also give you tips on how to get him to let you brush.

My sister gets her daughter to clean her teeth by distracting her with a story book or the promise of some crunchy apple/carrot afterwards.
In order to make sure Jasmin cleans her tetth thoroughly my sister sings Baa baa black sheep to her 3 times, making a mistake at the last line 'so having to start over again'. Maybe the brush is too hard?

Tell hi....it is candy....you can also buy....candy flavored toothpaste.....if all of this fails....just don't attempt to brush his teeth anymore....because sooner or later all of his teeth will fall out of his head....and you will not have to worry about ever brushing them again....however if this occurs the youngster will be rich and the tooth-fairy will be happy.....good luck and be an adult and don't let the little 3 year-old out wit you like he has done his mother....Good Luck Gramps...

If he has visible decay on his front teeth, there's a good chance that they HURT, and brushing just intensifies it.

Get that little boy to a pediatric dentist and have the teeth taken care of... once the pain is gone, he'll probably be more cooperative with brushing........ and make sure the bottle is in the trash.

;)