Teach Your Baby to Open Her Mouth
Smart parents keep a few tricks up their sleeves. Here’s one that will make doctor exams easier. Even better, it will help ease your mind when she puts every toy and trinket into her mouth.
How? It’s easy. Just open your mouth very wide, stick out your tongue and say "Ahhh." Because toddler learning is based on repetition, she will soon try to copy you. Make a game of it. Then, when you see her put something dangerous in her mouth, you won’t need to panic and startle her into swallowing it. Instead, play the "Ahhh" game. If she thinks you want to play, she’ll copy you and you can take a peek inside. Teach this to your caregivers, too.
Source: Parenting the First Year, Month 10–11, University of Wisconsin–Extension, NCR Publication.