Teeth

Believe it or not we both graduated with our bachelor’s degrees in dental hygiene so we really just couldn't help giving our kiddos a lesson on teeth.  

Education

What are we supposed to be doing to take good care of our teeth? We should:

• Brush our teeth 2 times a day for a full 2 minutes! I always tell my patients that 2 is the magic number when it comes to brushing! ; ) Make sure not to scrub too hard...over time you can brush away your gums causing recession.
• Floss Daily. Make sure you are wrapping the floss like the letter "C" around each tooth. Even the very back ones.
• See your dentist regularly, every 6 months.
• Replace your toothbrush every 3-4 months.

We also recommend Fluoride especially if it is not in the water where you live.

For details on the correct way to brush and floss click here.

Have you ever wondered when teeth are supposed to come in and fall out? Here is a helpful link!

These timers are wonderful for helping kids to brush longer...the full 2 minutes. Another helpful hint is to turn off the water while they brush. It not only saves water but they tend to brush longer!

Kids tend to get excited about new toothbrushes and special toothpastes. If you want your kids to have a visual of the areas they are missing when they brush have them chew on a disclosing tablet- it will turn the plaque on their teeth red and show them where they need to brush.

A lot of parents have difficulty brushing little ones teeth because they fight it. This is one of our favorite positions for brushing young children s teeth. (Put their hands under your legs)

Activities

We had a lot of fun doing these activities and tried to be creative. We made these yummy snacks to eat from a roll and candy corn and made an activity out of it too by flossing in between the teeth/candy corn.

We made these mouths by cutting a big oval out of paper and then folding it in half. We then added marshmallows for teeth. You could also make this a game by having your kids take turns rolling a dice to determine how many teeth they can add to the paper.

We made this toothbrush out of a tissue and construction paper.

We also had a lot of fun practicing our flossing with play-doe, string and a muffin pan. The play-doe acts like plaque on the side of the pan. Teach your child that the string is like floss. It helps us to get the plaque out from between our teeth

Make oral hygiene fun by brushing together as a family

Let your kids dress up like a dentist and talk to them about visiting the dentist

Egg in vinegar
Put an egg in a jar of vinegar. Ask your child about the purpose of the shell. Discuss how the egg shell helps to protect the rest of the egg and compare the egg shell to your teeth. Ask what will happen to the egg in the vinegar. After a night or day (at least 10 hours) remove the egg. Explain that the same thing happens to our teeth if we don't take care of them. That's why it's so important to brush and floss regularly!

Above: Notice the egg on the Right is soft, it also looks more yellow then the other one.

Some other fun activities ideas are:

Teach your child about the tooth fairy-make a pillow or drawing.

Put on a puppet show all about teeth and how to take care of them.

Examine your toothbrush and determine if you need a new one. The toothbrush on the left is still good to use. The orange one on the right needs to be replaced.

Take care of your smile and it will take care of you:)

Snack: smile snack with apples, peanut butter and marshmallows.

Another great snack is Cheese or Milk...both help to neutralize the PH in the mouth which helps to fight cavities.

Oh, and just one more little tip. When it comes to the health of your teeth....It's all about the amount of times you eat or FREQUENCY. Every single time you eat something realize that your teeth are under acid attack for about 15 minutes after the food has been swallowed. It's best to eat everything at one sitting vs the alternative of taking little bits throughout the entire day.