Helping your child learn to care for his teeth does a lot more than prevent cavities. Maybe more importantly it helps guard against gum disease and the problems associated with that -such as heart disease and diabetes.
Here are a few habits geared toward a healthy mouth that you might not have heard of:
*When you can’t have your child brush or floss, my dentist recommends chewing a stick of sugarless gum. It increases saliva and whisks away bacteria. Gum varieties that contain xylitol make the mouth’s pH less hospitable to germs.
*Eat cheese. Scientists think Cheddar, American and other popular varieties contain fatty acids that the bacteria in the mouth do not like.
*Bacteria feed on sugar; so brush before you eat sweets as well as after. This means there will be fewer of them hanging around to do any damage.
A fun toothbrush will also entice kids to brush better and longer. I just walked through the dental care aisle of my grocery store and saw these. Each of the four Crayola Games toothbrushes from GUM comes with kid-friendly games in the handles. Some tooth brushes have timers to be sure kids brush long enough and the Hasbro Tooth Tunes brushes play songs that keep kids brushing for as long as the music plays. The handle of the Dr. Fresh Firefly Toothbrush flickers on and off for 60 seconds to keep kids at the sink longer.
I think I’m going to try the cheddar cheese idea for better dental and gum health and maybe get a toothbrush that Hannah Montana sings on. Why let the kids have all the fun??
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