It’s a new year and a good time to try to reinforce healthy habits. My ten year-old daughter is not a tooth brusher. Some people aren’t bed makers, some aren’t good at sports, some aren’t good students, you can’t be good at everything, right? Although unfortunately, trying to get out of brushing your teeth takes a toll on one’s teeth after a while.
I remember going into my dentist’s office as a child and seeing a poster similar to this every time:
It really struck me. I didn’t want to have false teeth. I have been an avid brusher ever since. But my daughter didn’t have the same experience. My countless times of repeating this cute phrase to her seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Her little brother gets it, he brushes, but she could care less. If I didn’t ask her to go brush her teeth everyday, I scarce to think if she’d have any teeth at all! Even still, her brushing job is minimal, I’m sure.
Getting kids to brush their teeth is no easy task. We all have tried different resources. My daughter has a ton of the cute kid toothbrushes. She even has Crayola toothpaste to make it fun, but to no avail. I have often thought of buying her an electronic toothbrush, but they are so expensive. The kid oriented battery operated ones look good, but the thought of replacing all those batteries (assuming she’s using it!), doesn’t appeal to me.
During my recent shopping trip to Walmart, I found the perfect solution. It’s a toothbrush made from Arm & Hammer called the Spinbrush. It is an electric toothbrush that is also rechargeable and costs $19.17 with tax. Wow, I didn’t know they made rechargeable toothbrushes this cheap.
And it toothbrush head comes with two moving heads, one to polish your teeth and the other to clean deep between the teeth and along the gumline.
According to the package, this toothbrush will remove up to 70% more plaque….probably more in my daughter’s case!!! The head is also replaceable with color-wear bristles so I know when it’s time to replace it.
My daughter was thrilled to receive her very own electric toothbrush, which looked similar to the ones my husband and I use.
Observations after my Daughter Started Using Spinbrush
- She doesn’t complain…as much…about having to brush her teeth
- I no longer worry that she is not brushing her teeth well enough
- I know that she can’t just suck on the toothbrush like she’s famous for, as the Spinbrush spins too much
- She kinda likes using the brush now that she has the same type of toothbrush as Mom and Dad
- She also feels more grown-up, as her 8-year-old brother still uses the old manual toothbrush
A Mom’s Perspective
Although I brush my teeth regularly now, I still have a number of cavities, nearly all of which resulted as a child…before I took the heart the “Be True to Your Teeth” poster. My husband also has a number resulting from his childhood. Fortunately, today, dentists can seal your child’s teeth with a dental sealant to help protect against probably cavities. And I know it works because both of my children have no cavities. In looking through some data on the government’s Center for Disease Control (CDC) website, I learned that sealing a child’s teeth is not nearly as common as you’d think throughout the US…
This graph shows the percentage of third grade students throughout the States with dental sealants. I was shocked to see how low the percentage is for California. How does your state rate? More importantly, do your children have sealants on their teeth? According to CDC,
Tooth decay affects:
- More than one-fourth of U.S. children aged 2–5 years
- Half of those aged 12–15 years
And did you know that 1/4 of all American adults aged 65 or older have lost all of their teeth? Wow, that’s a big percentage. Dental care is so important and learning it’s importance early will help your children keep good brushing habits throughout life.
It’s too soon to tell whether she’ll take toothbrushing to heart after the novelty wears off, but in the meantime, my daughter is happier and I’m happier.
If you have some kids tips on how you keep your kids happy brushing their teeth, let us know!
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great tips, I am very thankful to you for providing these fantastic tips which works greatly. Its very difficult to tell the benefits of brushing to children because they does not like to do similar and boring thing daily. But after reading these tips my children are exited to do this boring stuff. This is really a great and helpful post. The cosmetic dentist which is best for Los angeles people’s is
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I had no idea that tooth decay affected so many kids these days! It is especially startling to read that half of today’s teenagers are affected by tooth decay! By the time they’re that old, they have their permanent teeth and I hate to image what it would be like to ruin your teeth so young! My sister has been trying to get her children in the habit of brushing their teeth twice a day, as well as regularly visiting the dentist! She’s hoping that if she instills these habits in them while they are young, they will still have healthy teeth by the time they reach adulthood–and hopefully long after!
It is very important that your kids brush their teeth regularly and properly. There are a lot of kids that are actually suffering from tooth decay. That isn’t something that a child should have to go through. The tips in this article can definitely be useful in the fight against tooth decay.
I actually heard that it is better to get the toothbrushes that have the moving parts. They say is make sure that you scrubbed really well. I know that sometimes I feel way too lazy to brush my teeth thoroughly, but this should be a the answer to my problems.
Thank you so much for the tips on how to get my kids to brush their teeth. For some reason my kids don’t want to brush. I didn’t know that rechargeable toothbrushes were that cheap either. I should get some of those for my kids. Maybe they will want to use the spin brush so much that they will finally brush their teeth. Thank you so much again for the tips!
I agree that getting kids to brush their teeth can be difficult sometimes. My little girl doesn’t like to brush her teeth either but I found that letting her pick her toothbrush helps get her a little more excited. Hopefully our kids can realize how important it is to take care of their teeth.
I liked that quote about being true to your teeth or they will be false to you. That is a good way to get your children to brush! People need to start taking their dental care more seriously! You have your teeth for your whole life. If you get good habits now, you will save a lot of money on future cosmetic dentistry procedures.
I think it’s really important to figure out a way to do this. I know that I would struggle to have good dental hygiene if my mom didn’t do this to me as a kid. Finding a good way to get that figured out is a great way to start. I know that it could have a really big impact on the way we do things.
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The phrase that caught my attention was “It’s a new year and a good time to try and reinforce healthy habits”. Regardless of it being a new year or not, good habits probably ought to be reinforced often when kids are younger. Taking care of your teeth and oral health is something that requires practice, so it would seem like starting early could help to avoid potential problems in the future.
I’m sure a new toothbrush would make my kids want to brush more. It would at least work for a little while. It might help a lot to let the kids pick out their toothbrush by themselves too. http://www.districtdentalcentre.ca
I have always thought that the best way to get a child to do something is to convince them that it is fun. If my little boy doesn’t think of something as fun, then he will quickly lose interest in it. But, if I give him a fun toothbrush, like the one you got for your daughter, then he loves brushing his teeth! As you alluded to, many great dental habits should be built as a child. That way, they won’t have too many dental issues as they age. http://www.tomsealdds.com
Oh hey, I remember having a talk with the general dentist about using electrical toothbrushes. it seemed like the toothbrushes is something that kids prefer the most because of how easy it is to handle it. According to what the general dentist told me is that the electrical toothbrush has the capacity to clean from each angle of the tooth.
Having good and strong teeth needs to start at a young age. Teaching children the importance of keeping their teeth healthy will help them have overall good health as they grow up. This article has awesome points that can help parents show their kids the importance of this.
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