Category: Pediatrics Dentistry

How to get my children to Brush Teeth Properly

Posted on by Holistic Dentist

Brush teeth properlyHow to get my children to Brush Teeth Properly?

There certainly has been no lack of marketing and research money spent for the purpose of encouraging kids to take care of their teeth over the years.

A couple of years ago, some dentists tried getting kids to brush their teeth ‘Gangnam Style’; more recently, the Minions have been recruited to try and make dental hygiene more fun for kids. We wouldn’t be surprised to see a new set of hitting storeshelves later this year, after the new Star Wars movie comes out. Whatever works!

Kids need to brush 35 times on each side of the mouth, using seven strokes in five areas.

Many free or cheap Apps for smartphones designed to encourage kids to brush longer use music as way to try and keep them brushing.

In our household, we’ve had some success in getting a child more interested in brushing her teeth with a new type of chocolate-flavored toothpaste called Theodent. This line of fluoride-free toothpaste is carried at Whole Foods. Despite being chocolate-flavored, Theodent pitches itself as being more healthy than other toothpastes in that it can be swallowed; by contrast, it is not recommended to ingest most toothpastes containing fluoride.

In other kid-related dental news, there’s a website that purports to track how much money parents are leaving under their kids’ pillows whenever the “tooth fairy” comes to visit.

Apparently, the amount of money kids get per tooth has been known to fluctuate up or down in accordance with the S&P 500. In 2014, according to The Original Tooth Fairy Poll, kids received an average of $4.36 per tooth from the Tooth Fairy in 2014, that’s up from $3.50 the previous year. The site estimates that parents (or, the tooth fairy) left kids $255 million in 2014.

There are many different toothpaste options such as Colgate, Tom’s of Maine.  There has been no study done comparing Kids tooth brushing compliance and the taste of tooth paste.

 

2014 Give Kids A Smile Day How to Care For Your Child’s Teeth

Posted on by Holistic Dentist

 

Helping Children Through Give Kids A Smile

The American Dental Association began the Give Kids A Smile program in 2003 as a way for dentists to join with others in the community to provide dental services to underserved children. The program initially began as a one-day event in February, but has since grown to local and national events year-round. Dentists and other team members volunteer their time, and services, to provide screenings, treatments and education to children throughout the United States. Each year, approximately 450,000 children benefit from more than 1500 events, all because of the efforts of 40,000 or more  annual volunteers.

2014 Give Kids A Smile Day National Kickoff Event

Celebrating its 12th year, the national kickoff event will be held at Howard University in Washington, D.C.  More details to follow.

Click Here For More Information

 

How to Care For Your Child’s Teeth

A child’s primary teeth, sometimes called “baby teeth,” are as important as the permanent adult teeth.

  • Primary teeth typically begin to appear when a baby is between age six months and one year.
  • Primary teeth help children chew and speak.  SEE VIDEO
  • Primary teeth hold space in the jaws for permanent teeth that are developing under the gums.

The ADA recommends that a dentist examine a child within six months of the eruption of the first tooth and no later than the first birthday.

  • A dental visit at an early age is a “well baby checkup” for the teeth.
  • Besides checking for tooth decay and other problems, the dentist can demonstrate how to clean the child’s teeth properly and how to evaluate any adverse habits such as thumbsucking.