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Toothbrushing is not the most fun activity for children but it is absolutely necessary for a healthy life. Here’s how parents can encourage their children to brush by making toothbrushing fun!

1 – Brush Together

One great way to making brushing fun for young brushers is by brushing with them. This helps you get into a fun routine with your child and have a bit more time together, and allows you to give them specific brushing tips, as well as keep an eye on how long they’re brushing.

2 – Find Fun Brushing Videos

For children, it can be tough to brush for two minutes at a time. This is because it’s difficult to keep young children still and focused on brushing their teeth for two minutes. You can help your child have more fun while they brush by letting them brush while watching a tooth brushing video. These educational videos help guide children through brushing their teeth, and each lasts at least two minutes. We suggest finding one that you deem appropriate for your child, and one that they will enjoy watching.

3 – Try an Electric Toothbrush

An electric toothbrush is an appealing option for children just beginning to brush, since they require less dexterity and physical motion to operate. Additionally, most electric toothbrushes feature brushing timers ensures that they brush for two minutes at a time. We suggest looking for an electric toothbrush specifically made for children that is easy for them to hold, and has a head that fits in their mouth comfortably.

Care for Teeth the Right Way 

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry advises that everyone brushes their teeth twice per day, for two minutes at a time. The time limit helps ensure that all of the bad bacteria is scrubbed off of teeth, which prevents plaque buildup and cavities. Make sure your child brushes their entire tooth surface, including the backside of teeth – which is often neglected. 

Brushing isn’t all your child needs to do to maintain a healthy mouth, flossing is also very important. Debris left in between teeth can cause plaque buildup and cavities, which is why it’s important that your child flosses once per day, and cleans below the gumline.

We Help Make Brushing Fun 

Our office specializes in caring for children, and helping them understand the importance of oral health. If you have a reluctant toothbrusher, visit our office. We can show your child how fun toothbrushing can be, and how important it is for a healthy life.  

Some of the greatest scientific discoveries occurred by accident. From falling apples, to sandwiches that don’t mold, some of our greatest achievements began as simple analysis of the natural surroundings. Fluoride, one of dentistry’s most powerful tools in the fight against cavities, also has a similar origin story.  

The Colorado Brown Stain

In 1901, a young dental school graduate named Frederick McKay moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado to open a dental practice. Upon his arrival, he was astounded to observe that many of the locals suffered from brown stains on their teeth. After observing this, McKay searched for information about the disorder causing the stains, but couldn’t find anything sufficient.  

Teeth mottling and Dental Fluorosis 

For six years, McKay worked and found that nearly 90% of children native to Colorado Springs suffered from the stain. He gave the brown stain a more technical name (tooth mottling, which was later changed to fluorosis) and were surprised to discover that mottled teeth were highly resistant to tooth decay. While they couldn’t identify a cause for tooth mottling, they noted the anti-cavity effects of the stain and moved on.  

Rocky Mountain Brown Water 

In 1923, McKay went from Colorado Springs to Oakley, Idaho to investigate a recent uptick in tooth mottling in Oakley. The parents told him that the stains began appearing shortly after Oakley constructed a communal water pipeline to a warm spring five miles away. McKay observed the water and found it to be slightly browned by the pipeline. McKay advised town leaders to abandon the pipeline and use a nearby spring as their water source. The town obliged, and within a few years the brown stains disappeared. McKay still hadn’t found the exact cause, but he isolated the source of tooth mottling. 

What Causes the Stain? 

McKay then travelled to Bauxite, Arkansas, where the residents were afflicted with mottled teeth, but nearby towns were not. McKay asked the town to conduct a study on the water, and returned to Colorado. A town chemist named H.V. Churchill analyzed the water with more powerful tools than available to McKay when he was in Oakley. He found high levels of fluoride in the water at Bauxite, which compelled Churchill to write a 5 page letter to McKay, urging him to test samples from Colorado Spring and Oakley for increased levels of fluoride. McKay obliged, and within months, he found the answer to the brown stain problem: increased levels of fluoride were in fact staining teeth.  

National Institute of Health Refines Measurements 

Upon learning of McKay and Churchill’s findings, the National Institute of Health (NIH) decided to investigate water-borne fluoride, and the effects on teeth. The NIH developed a state-of-the-art method to measure fluoride levels in water with an accuracy of 0.1 parts per million (ppm). By the late 1930’s the NIH concluded that fluoride levels up to 1.0 ppm could not cause enamel fluorosis, or brown teeth.  

Schedule an Appointment with Us 

Today, fluoride is added to many communal water sources to improve the quality of water, and aid in the fight against tooth decay. Fluoride is included in many toothpaste, mouthwashes and other oral health care products to help people fight tooth decay at home.  

Visit our office to learn more about how fluoride works, and how it affects your children’s teeth.

Summer time presents parents with an excellent chance to help their kids get ahead on their oral health. Here’s how you can help your children have a cavity-free summer. 

1 - Maintain an Active Oral Health Routine 

It can be hard for kids to get into a summer brushing routine if they don’t have to wake up for school. Relaxed schedule aside, it’s important that your child brushes their teeth twice per day for two minutes at a time, and flosses once per day to clean debris from the hard-to-reach areas of their teeth. Brushing and flossing is the most important way to keep your mouth healthy, and fight plaque that causes cavities. If you have braces or other orthodontic equipment, try a proxabrush, which is designed to clean in between brackets and orthodontic devices.

2 - Eat Food that Teeth Love 

Starchy carbs like potato chips and crackers can stick to teeth and cause unhealthy acid buildup that fuels cavities. Instead of snacking on food that sticks to teeth, try eating food that cleans teeth as it’s being eaten. Fibrous vegetables like carrots, celery and bell pepper are excellent snacking alternatives to unhealthy chips and crackers. Their texture actually scrubs tooth enamel, and helps remove unhealthy plaque buildup. 

You can strengthen your teeth with food that’s rich in calcium, magnesium, and protein. Dairy products like milk, cheese and yogurt are all packed with the vitamins and minerals needed to build strong teeth and bones. 

3 - Drink More Water 

Saliva is crucial in the fight against cavities, and it is 99% water! When you are low on saliva, you will most likely experience dry mouth – a condition that makes it hard to swallow and chew because of a lack of saliva. By drinking enough water, you can prevent dry mouth and ensure that your saliva is produced at an optimal rate. 

Additionally, saliva and water also help keep teeth free of starchy food-debris that can eat away at tooth enamel. In fact, we suggest swishing with clean cool water for thirty seconds after meals to get rid of excess food debris, and prevent food-debris from turning into acid buildup on your tooth enamel.

4 - Travel with Oral Care in Mind 

If you’re travelling this summer, be sure that your family packs everything they need to maintain their oral health. A mouth-healthy travel kit is a great way to keep teeth clean while on the road. We suggest packing it with a toothbrush in a travel case, travel-sized dental floss, toothpaste, and a proxabrush or floss threaders if you have an oral appliance. When planning your summer travel, be sure to block off about 10 minutes each day for your family to take care of their oral care and personal maintenance.

Visit Our Office

Summer time gives you a great opportunity to catch up on your family’s oral health status by visiting our office for a checkup. Call us today to schedule an appointment so that we can evaluate the state of your children’s teeth, and help them reach healthier smile this summer.

Thumb sucking and finger sucking are habits common in many children. In fact, nearly one third of all children suck on their thumbs or fingers in their first year of life. Sadly, thumb sucking is an unhealthy oral habit that can have many different consequences down the line.

Thumb Sucking can Cause Oral Health Problems 

Unfortunately, thumb sucking can lead to many oral developmental issues that negatively affect the development of the mouth. Thumb sucking can casue an open bite, where the top and bottom teeth do not toch when the mouth is closed. It can lead to a narrowing and distortion of the palate and cause abnormal speech and misaligned bite patterns are common.

What Causes Thumb Sucking? 

Boredom, anxiety, anger, hunger, or even sadness can all cause children to suck on their fingers for comfort. Children mostly suck on their thumbs or fingers for comfort from an uncomfortable emotional state or stressful situation. 

Quick Tips to Defeat Thumb Sucking 

If your child hasn’t stopped sucking their thumb or fingers by age 4, then you must wean them from the habit so that they can develop a healthy young smile. By 4 years of age, your child’s mouth will be rapidly developing and thumb sucking can interfere with that process.

Identify their Thumb Sucking Triggers 

The simplest way to prevent thumb sucking is by figuring out what triggers your child to suck their fingers in the first place. If you can identify that, then you can help them adapt their behavior with positive reinforcement, or prepare them for the situation ahead of time. 

Intervene 

The best way to end thumb sucking is by intervening when your child is in the act. Explain to them that thumb sucking is a bad habit, and that it needs to stop so that they can be as healthy as possible.

Take a Family Approach 

You can’t be everywhere at once, so employ the help of your family to help rid your child of the bad habit. Make sure everyone is using the same language and intervention technique so that your child has a consistent understanding of why they need to break the habit.

Divert their Attention 

Diversion is another great method to overcome thumb sucking. If you catch your child sucking their finger, try diverting their attention with their favorite stuffed animal or toy, something that involves their attention and hands, to get them to quit right then and there.

Cover their Thumbs 

You can also make their thumbs less appetizing by wrapping them with Band-Aids, or cloth. This surprisingly simple method works well, and incentivizes children to get their uncovered thumbs back as soon as possible.

Visit Our Office 

Thumb sucking is a bad oral habit that can be fixed with proper knowledge and healthy habits. Schedule an appointment with our office so we can teach your child about the benefits of a healthy smile, and how they can work on one through healthy brushing and flossing, and a mouth-healthy diet.