Help Your Children Maintain Lifelong Healthy Teeth!

Tip Of The Day…Help Your Children

Maintain Lifelong Healthy Teeth!

Ever met someone with a winning smile?

Well, it started with healthy teeth and gums as a child.

Parents ask when they should begin to brush their children’s teeth.

Healthy teeth start at the time your baby is “teething.” Studies show that children that begin before they’re one have less decay than those who start later.

Decay can start as soon as the gum breaks, even before the tooth is visible, simply because bacteria begin to grow in the child’s mouth.

But here’s the problem…

Children can’t brush their teeth adequately until they are about five years old (this will vary with each child) so parents should supervise their brushing until they are about eight years old. 

Obviously if your kids are like mine and many small children they will resist having their teeth brushed and it’s something that just has to be done so here are some ideas to make it more fun!

*Use baby or child toothpaste and try different flavors. Many children dislike peppermint, possibly because it can taste hot!

* Let them watch you brush your teeth! (Kids love to play copycat)

* Take them to buy a toothbrush, perhaps a musical one or one with a handle that changes color. Let them put it in their mouth and chew on it even before they have teeth - so they get used to having a brush in their mouth. 

* Make a game of it - let them clean your teeth while you do theirs.

* Sing a silly song, look in a mirror, pretend their mouth is a tunnel and the brush is a train or a hangar with an airplane.

* Let them sit on your lap. If you approach from in front, some children can feel intimidated.

* If you brush your teeth with them, pretend the white foam is slobber - ahead and be a little silly.

* Say I bet I can open my mouth wider than you can - make a silly contest out of it.

* If you can make them laugh, they’ll associate fun with this event, and it will make future brushings easier!

* Use a brushing chart with a small reward - gold stars or a healthy treat.

* Don't let them have anything sweet unless they have their teeth cleaned.

* As they brush, talk through each food item they ate, and tell them they are cleaning it off now…”there goes the carrots!”

           

Teeth brushing must be a regular ritual for children. If you do what you can to make it more fun for them, it’s guaranteed to be more fun for you too! Also, you are setting them up for a healthy mouth for life!

Did You Know?...

1. The discs in your spine are great shock absorbers! You have 24 vertebrae in your spine, and each is separated from one another by these shock absorbers called discs. These discs are pads of cartilage, and have a fairly tough outer layer and a soft interior to cushion against the shocks and strains created by you during everyday activities.
-The discs are subject to injury, disease, and degeneration with use over time. Certain activities and types of work increase the risk your discs can be damaged or deteriorate. If the soft interior material of a disc pushes out through a tear or weakening in the outer covering, you have a slipped disc.
-A slipped disc goes by a number of names; it is also called herniated, protruding, bulging, ruptured, prolapsed, or degenerated discs. There are fine distinctions between these terms, but all really refer to a disc that is no longer in its normal condition and/or position. Slipped discs cause pain by intruding on or pinching and even injuring nerves in the spinal column.
2. Calcium is the most common mineral in your body. It’s essential to the growth and maintenance of strong, healthy teeth and bones. It’s also necessary for regulating the heartbeat and lowering cholesterol levels.
-But what if you don’t get enough calcium? You may suffer from aching joints, dry, brittle nails, tooth decay, high blood pressure/high cholesterol levels in the blood, and even muscle cramps. Perhaps the most significant potential complication from inadequate calcium intake is bone loss, often leading to osteoporosis and increasing the risk for bone fractures. These are real dangers for women who have gone through menopause already. So play it safe, and get plenty of Calcium in your diet!

“I wish more and more that health were studied half as much as disease is. Why, with all the endowment of research against cancer is no study made of those who are free from cancer? Why not inquire what foods they eat, what habits of body and mind cultivate? And why never study animals in health and natural surroundings? Why always sickened and in an environment of strangeness and artificiality?”~ Sarah N. Cleghorn