Five Simple Things You Can Do For Your Child To Help Keep Their Smiles Healthy and Bright

Trident and TwitterMoms have teamed up and are asking us twittermoms to share what 5 simple things you can do for your child to help keep their smiles healthy and bright.

If you’ve read my blog or you know me well you know that this is a hot topic with me. In fact the last time I blogged about something similar it caused a ruckus in my extended family, who apparently was offended that I thought parents should be more proactive in their children’s dental health. Even if that includes not sending your adult child large chocolate bars after they told you they just had a root canal, crown, or anything else that costs a ton of money.

So before I share my tips with you I’d like to share some facts provided by Twittermoms and Trident.

Did you know that each year, more than 51 million school hours are lost as a result of problems related to tooth decay, the most common chronic childhood disease in America [1]? In fact, tooth decay affects approximately half of all second graders and nearly 80 percent of 17-year-olds[2]. That’s why Trident® has partnered with Smiles Across America® to help underprivileged children get the dental care they need.

It’s no surprise that education can play a large role in preventing cavities. Nine in 10 (92%) parents believe cavities in children are preventable, yet a majority of parents (86%) struggle to get a child to take care of their teeth[3].  So how can parents get involved and convince their children to take proper care of his or her teeth?  It is no easy task, but there are simple tips and reminders to keep in mind.  For instance, clinical studies have shown that chewing sugar free gum, like Trident®, after meals helps fight cavities.

My tips obviously only apply to children 2 years and younger and even though Mommy loves Trident and it’s a part of keeping my own teeth clean, my child is just now learning what gum is.

• Parents Need To Start Good Habits Early – As soon as baby get’s their first tooth you are able to use a little gum massager with infant toothpaste that does not contain fluoride. I know it takes patience and time but it’s a must in order to keep babies teeth clean. Remember, by the time they’ve gotten teeth they’re usually eating table food.
• Start Your Child’s Good Habit’s Early – Yes, as parents of toddlers and infants we need to help our children brush their teeth but once they are old enough to hold a toothbrush you can get them started on brushing their own teeth. My son was roughly one years old when I bought him his own little toothbrush. We continued to use the infant toothpaste that lacked flouride until he was comfortable learning how to spit out paste with flouride. Which was around 20 months.
• Sugary Treats Only For Special Occasions, In Moderation, and Never Before Bedtime – You might think I’m talking only about things like pop, candy and suckers. I’m not. I’m talking about fruit juice too. Around here my toddler NEVER drinks full strength fruit juice. Ever. He is limited to a small amount each day. But, we know that it’s not just fruit juice that’s the problem. It can be milk too. Although it can be hard and I had my own issues avoiding it with my son it’s best never to leave a bottle in bed with a child at night, or if you absolutely must, let it just be water (if they’re old enough). Anything that sits on the teeth long enough will eat away at the enamel. So when it comes to things like Cola and candy, you have to be extra vigilant. Personally pop is outlawed here for my child and candy is reserved for potty training (m & m’s). Now if it were up to me my son wouldn’t have even known what that was but leave it to Dr’s offices to offer your kids candy when they’re visiting and commercials to familiarize them with what it is! Haha. Yeah I’m not perfect, my kid eats candy BUT never before bed time, and never after brushing our teeth.
• Be The Model Of Good Behavior – If you tell your child to brush their teeth but you don’t brush your own, or you tell them they can’t eat candy at bedtime but they see you doing it, what does that say? For me it says “when you’re old enough you can behave like this to”. Well to be quite honest I don’t want my child to do those things when they’re small and when they’re an adult. I want them to have healthy teeth and gums and develop good habits that last a lifetime.  Get in there and brush your teeth with your child. Keep candy out of reach (if you have to keep any in the house at all) but most of all, don’t be a hypocrite! Remember, children watch every thing you do.
• Make Brushing Fun – I think the best thing you can do to encourage your child to brush is to make brushing fun. We have bought cute little toothbrushes, given in to using tooth paste with special characters on it that our child is familiar with and we brush our teeth together and have fun while we do. We say “ewww” and “yay” and we get excited. There is a routine. We do it in the morning and we do it in the evening. You’d be amazed how short of a time it took before my 2 year old was the one telling ME it was time to brush MY teeth and you know what? That’s ok because sometimes mommy needs a reminder too.  Just don’t yell and don’t force the issue. Make it a family affair and make it fun. Talk about how happy the dentist will be when they visit and how happy it makes your teeth when they shine. Just a little imagination and more patience is all it takes!  Good luck.

About Trident® Sugar Free Gum

Trident gum has long been a pioneer in providing oral health benefits to consumers.  Trident was the first gum brand of its kind to undergo testing in 1967 with studies showing that people who chewed Trident experienced significantly fewer cavities.  Trident is available in 11 great-tasting flavors:  Original Flavor, Bubble Gum, Spearmint, Tropical Twist, Watermelon Twist, Wild Blueberry Twist, Minty Sweet Twist, Passionberry Twist, Wintergreen, Strawberry Twist and Cinnamon.  All flavors can be purchased in 18-piece packs and 54-piece multi-packs (three 18-piece packages).

About Smiles Across America® (SAA)

SAA is a signature program created by Oral Health America, a national non-profit organization dedicated to changing lives by connecting communities with resources to increase access to care, education and advocacy around oral health.  SAA improves the health of elementary school students by supporting oral disease prevention services in school-based or school-linked settings, and demonstrating to communities that healthy mouths are integral to overall health.  For more information, visit http://www.oralhealthamerica.org.

Footnotes:

[1] Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General, May 2000

[2] National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III

[3] Trident: Oral Health perception survey, June 2010

[4] Deshpande A, Jadad A.  The impact of polyol-containing chewing gums on dental caries:  A systematic review of original randomized controlled trials and observational studies. JADA 2008; 139:1602-1614.

Disclaimer: I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Trident blogging program, making me eligible to get a $25 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.” (link to: http://trident.twittermoms.com/about)