I participated in this campaign on behalf of Scholastic I received compensation as a thank you for participating. All opinions are my own.
As a mom who has had two teeth extracted, too many cavities to remember and countless root canals I knew I wanted my kid’s dental health to be different. I want them to smile and be proud of what beautiful little smiles they have. I have always had my kids brush their teeth, but when they would only do it for about twenty seconds I would shrug it off and think “well at least they don’t eat a lot of sweets; their teeth should still be really healthy” then came one of my daughters checkups and the dentist turned to me and said “looks like she has about six cavities” SIX CAVITIES!! I think I almost fainted. I was naïve in thinking a little bit of brushing and cutting back on sweets would somehow save them from cavities.
(I want to protect that beautiful little smile!)
I knew I had to make a change for them and we had to really focus on how long we brush our teeth. Recently I found a really cool Toothsavers app to not only help my kids get their teeth really clean, but also make it super fun! Toothsavers has several different options for play; you can brush the characters teeth and get all the quirky items, food particles and germs off their teeth in two minutes, set up an animation for brushing your own teeth and you can also play with two players.
This little app has been a huge help in making it more fun and interactive for my kids to keep their mouths healthy. We now as a family start the app to help us make sure we brush for two minutes and I have never seen my kiddos so excited and happy to brush, they ask almost every time if they can do it again. That’s success!! Brushing teeth would always get lost in the shuffle of the morning for us, but not anymore. What kid wouldn't want to start out the day with fun characters brushing their teeth?
You can grab the app here for your child!
Here are some oral health facts that should be pretty startling and hopefully will help get your kiddos oral health in check:
Children’s Oral Health Facts:
• Tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease in the U.S.
• Dental decay is 5 times more common than asthma.
• The mouth is the gateway to a person’s overall health, and an unhealthy mouth can be associated with obesity, diabetes and even heart disease.
• In the U.S., oral disease causes kids to miss 51 million school hours and their parents to lose 25 million work hours annually.
• The CDC estimates nearly 1 in 4 children under the age of five already have cavities.
• Cavities and oral infections can cause severe pain and can increase a child’s risk for dental issues and poor health throughout their lives.
• Poor oral health can impact a child’s ability to learn, develop self-esteem and speak properly.
• Despite the high rates of oral disease in children, research shows that many parents lack information about oral health.
• The Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives recommends that you help or watch over your kids’ brushing until they’re 8.
• Brushing for 2 minutes, twice a day can avoid cavities, dental problems, and help to have overall healthier teeth.
Pretty crazy right? So next time you send your kids off to brush their teeth make sure you go with them and together get those two minutes done. Good oral health is a habit that needs to be established while kids are young and if they see parents setting a good example they will keep up their oral health for the rest of their lives.
Does your kiddo need a little help in the brushing department? [Why pay more money at the dentist if you don't need to!]
Want to learn more? Scholastic and the Advertising Council have teamed up to provide lessons and activities to establish strong oral health habits.
Check out what you can do for your child’s oral health here and teachers can go here.
Be sure to also check out the Kids' Healthy Mouths Campaign Facebook and Twitter for tips and great advice!
