It may be challenging to teach dental care to preschoolers. They care more about what their toothbrush looks like and what the tooth paste tastes like than anything else. But, it is possible with a little help from you to get them to focus.

Correct Brushing Techniques for Preschoolers

Preschoolers don’t brush well on their own. They need guidance from you. Your assistance in the forms of demonstrations, modeling, and even singing little songs to remind them how long they should brush will all go a long way in helping them to learn properly.

In the beginning, you will probably be letting your preschooler brush their own teeth for a few minutes, with you repeating the task to ensure their teeth are sparkling clean. This is ok – kids learn by repetition. They will learn that this is their responsibility, and will get better and better at it the more they practice.

One cool things that is on the market these days is a colored tooth rinse that shows the ‘dirt’ on the teeth. When the kids brush, they can see where they missed by where they still see color. This helps them to pay better attention to all areas of their mouth.

Flossing for Preschoolers

Difficult is an understatement when describing what it’s like teaching a preschooler how to floss! It is possible, although this task will take longer than teaching them how to brush. With perseverance it can be done. Start by letting them ‘help’ by placing their hands on yours to get a feel for what must be done. Then as they grow, they’ll progress until they can do it by themselves.

Dental health lessons for preschoolers are valuable life lessons that will stay with your children all their lives. Proper dental care leads to improved health, increased self-confidence, and a better self-image for your children. Dental health lessons should be an important part of every parent’s must-do list for their child.

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Dental Health Lessons For Young Children

Choosing the Best Toothpaste for Kids

As long as your kids are brushing, it doesn’t matter what toothpaste they are using, right? Well, it’s important that your kids like to brush and that they do so often. However, if they are using a sugary toothpaste without fluoride, you might want to rethink your toothpaste policy.

There’s nothing wrong with allowing your kids to participate in shopping for and selecting a toothpaste, but you should still provide some guidance and have the final say in any purchases that are made. Steer your kids toward a toothpaste that contains fluoride if they are old enough to use a fluorinated paste. Otherwise, let them select the brand and flavor they will enjoy.

When helping your child to brush his or her teeth, be sure to encourage them not to use too much toothpaste and be careful not to swallow the paste. If they tend to swallow the toothpaste rather than spit it out, switch to a non-fluorinated paste until they are older.

Choosing the Best Toothbrush for Kids

When selecting a toothbrush for you children, be sure to match the size of the toothbrush with each child’s mouth. If they have a smaller mouth, you may need to purchase toddler-sized toothbrushes for several years.

Always choose a soft-bristled toothbrush for your child to avoid damaging the teeth and gums. Instruct your child to brush up and down, and not to put too much pressure on the teeth while brushing. Toothbrushes with grips on the handle can help kids who are still developing fine motor control. It can also help a smaller child keep hold of a wet, slippery toothbrush.

When selecting a toothbrush, let your child have a say in what colors or themes you select. This will help increase their motivation to brush since they have chosen a brush that they can relate to and enjoy.

Choosing the best dental products for kids involves balancing the quality they need with the features they desire. Fruity flavored toothpastes, cartoon character themed toothbrushes, and wacky light up, gimmicky dental products are okay as long as they help motivate your children to brush and are age appropriate.

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Choosing the Best Dental Products for Kids

Determining the value of Dental Insurance

Even the most basic dental insurance policy provides some coverage for routine procedures, exams, and cleanings, but you must read the details of your policy to make sure you are getting your money’s worth out of your policy. Keep in mind that children are likely to visit the dentist every 3-6 months, and adults at least once a year. Add up the savings your policy offers for these services, and subtract the cost of your premiums to get an idea of how much your dental insurance will save you every year. In most cases, dental insurance helps a family save money in the long run.

Inadequate Dental Insurance Options

If you find yourself with an inadequate dental insurance policy, you do have options. When your employer’s dental plan is truly stingy, it may be in your best interest to opt out of your employer-sponsored plan and look for a private dental insurance policy that better suits your needs. Many health or life insurance companies also offer dental policies. Ask your insurance agent about dental policies, and also ask about special discounts for purchasing bundled insurance policies from the same company. You may be able to save money by buying dental insurance from the same company that covers your life, auto, or homeowner’s insurance as well.

Another option is to forgo the dental insurance and set aside what you would pay in monthly premiums in a special account to help pay for dental services when you need them. This plan works best for single persons and can lead to the temptation to skip a dental appointment over the cost. If you are without dental insurance, be sure to let your dentist’s office know. They may offer special pricing brackets or payment plans for individuals and families without dental insurance.

Getting the most out of your dental insurance, like any other insurance policy, requires reading the fine print. Not all dental insurance policies offer good coverage, and a few are simply not worth the bother, but most employers research the plans available before selecting a decent one for employees. If you get the chance to opt into a good dental insurance plan, it can save you hundreds of dollars every year, especially if a member of your family will need any special procedures or orthodontics.

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What You Need to Know About Dental Insurance

Kids consume large quantities of sugary snacks every day like fruit juices, popsicles, jelly, and cereal. These high-sugar foods all pose a threat to your child’s good dental health. Here are a few tips to help you get your child to make dental hygiene a priority.

Dental Hygiene tips for Kids

1. Make brushing fun. One of the best ways to keep your kids brushing is to make the process fun for them. Let them pick out toothbrushes, and buy fun-flavored toothpastes that they enjoy. You can also make brushing an event your kids look forward to by playing brushing games like Simon Says brush this way, or by singing as adapted version of Old MacDonald to include brushing activities.

You can even tell stories about the cow who forgot to floss and the pig who ate too much junk. Taking an interest in brushing and making dental hygiene fun can go a long way toward developing healthy dental care habits that your child will continue as an adult.

2. Model good brushing. Learning experts agree that kids learn by watching the actions of those around them. If you model an interest in good dental hygiene, your kids will take notice. Brush your teeth with your child and model proper brushing techniques for them to follow.

3. Reward your kids. If your child puts forth an admirable effort in caring for his or her own teeth, be sure to reward him or her for their behavior. Rewards can come in the form of a new toothbrush, a special sticker, or even a favorite treat as long as your child remembers to brush again afterwards. Even small rewards can help reinforce your child’s dental hygiene activities, making them more likely to repeat the action day after day.

4. Incorporate dental hygiene into other activities. If you include discussions about caring for your teeth in other activities, such as while grocery shopping, or while playing outside, your children will learn that dental hygiene deserves special attention. Ask your child what foods in the grocery store would be tooth-friendly; help your child to notice similarities and differences between his own teeth and the family dog’s.

Talk about the difference in animal teeth between animals that eat meat and those that eat veggies, and ask your child to compare his finding with his own teeth. If you can get your child thinking about how important his mouth is, he will be more likely to take an added interest in caring for his own dental hygiene.

Dental hygiene is an important part of your child’s good health and good brushing and flossing habits are created early in life. Take the time to make brushing a priority in your house and your children will benefit for the rest of their lives.

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Dental Hygiene Tips for Kids

As babies, children rarely fuss over this type of thing done by a parent and a tooth cleaning is a breeze. But, when the child gets older there is much more work to be done in terms of dental hygiene.

When more and more teeth start presenting themselves, the will need for a soft toothbrush will arrive. Brushing a toddler’s teeth should be done with the aid of parents. Parents can use non-fluoride toothpaste like Baby OraGel to get the job done. It’s created for toddlers and is very safe to use.

Parent And Child Brushing Together
Chances are your child watches your every move and learns things along the way. So, why not making teeth brushing a habit you do together? Set aside time to always brush your teeth together and stick to it. Your child will see how to properly brush their teeth and adore your company.

Small Amount of Paste
TV commercials want you to use 5x more toothpaste than necessary, but kids think the sensation is very strange. Be certain you’re only putting a very small amount (rice sized amount) of toothpaste on your child’s toothbrush when you show them how to properly brush their teeth. Younger kids will swallow the toothpaste and won’t know when to spit out the excess so a small amount is recommended. In addition, your child’s adult teeth can get little white spots should they swallow too much non-fluoride toothpaste.

When parents start having kids old enough to brush their own teeth, things can get a bit tricky. Parents might notice children lying about how great or how often they brush their teeth. The child may feel too old for the parent to assist them with brushing but may not be quite mature enough to do a thorough job on their own.

Give The Child A Chance
Don’t be quick to criticize the child if they aren’t brushing how you’ve instructed them to do. Allow them the time to brush their own teeth. Then take the time to examine their teeth, praise them for a job well done and tell them you just need to finish up a little. This is your chance to get any spots they may have missed.

Some kids are vocal about not wanting to brush their teeth at all. Some will make up lies about brushing their teeth but parents can quickly examine the mouth to see if the teeth search and smell clean.

Let Them Choose Their Brush
Allowing a child to pick out their own toothbrush can be a great idea. They can feel ownership over the brush and be more encouraged to use it as often as they can. It gives them control and they’ll like that. Just be sure whatever kind they choose is the right size for a child and is considered “soft”.

Parents with younger kids who are beginning to brush their teeth without assistance can use these tips to help them get excited about becoming more responsible with their dental health.

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Getting Kids to Brush Properly

In addition to regular sucrose sugar, she also used Stevia - a very sweet plant with leaves 300 times sweeter than regular sugar!  Now that got my attention.

Well, I was taken aback because I have  never heard this before and I do not know that it is valid at all.  How did she learn about this and how could I find out more?  Looking online is tricky because many of the things said about fluoride (something I have experience with) are wrong online.  Carefully looking for articles that have been reviewed by scientists seems the best approach.  Wikipedia seems like a pretty reliable source most of the time.

Several good scientific studies have looked at sugar replacements and one of the best is xylitol.  Xylitol is a “sugar alcohol”, like sorbitol, that has nothing to do with getting drunk, just explains the chemical structure of the molecule.  Xylitol, unlike sorbitol, was initially derived from birch bark and it has some very diverse and potent health benefits.

One of the best things that xylitol can do for your teeth is to stop the bacteria that eat it from growing well and this prevents tooth decay and cavities.  Xylitol gum is effective in stopping cavities in people who chew gum sweetened with xylitol, but only if they eat at least one gram each day.  Xylitol has specifically been shown to reduce the transmission of cavity-causing bacteria from mothers to their babies.

One gram a day is about two packs of gum; and xylitol gum is not cheap.  Fortunately, it is cheaper than fillings!

There are other health benefits from xylitol sweeteners such as reduced blood sugar so diabetics can use it, reduced infections, and reduced osteoporosis in women. 

I try to have an open mind about medical issues and I love the idea of using naturally occuring plants that are low calorie and provide that sweetness that we all crave while offering other health benefits too!  I have used xylitol gum for years  and I will have to try the Stevia too.

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Dietary Supplements for Dental Health

These parents love their babies and want them to have all the good things in life.  Juice is sweet and delicious and healthy too.  Right?

Fruit juice is definitely sweet and babies love it but it is not very healthy for them.  Some babies will get diarrhea from apple or grape juice and many will get cavities from drinking juice in their bottle at night.

Fruit juice has some small amount of vitamin C but it is better to get the vitamins from a slice of fruit than from the juice only.  This is because the fruit has lots of fiber with the juice that fills them up and takes the sugar to the stomach without damaging the teeth.

Juice recommendations for my Portland parents:

• Definitely no juice before 6 months.
• Children should only drink milk or water before age 3.
• Juice should only be in a cup, not a bottle or sippy cup.
• Limit juice to avoid overweight kids.
• Fruit juice in a bottle causes cavities.
• Diarrhea is caused by excessive fruit juice.
• Calcium-fortified juice should not be mixed with fluoride drops.

I joke that babies have to wait until 21 to drink beer but only wait until 3 to drink juice.  This helps drive home the message that it is ok to wait for maturity for many things in life.

Although this article is specifically about fruit juice for babies, it also applies to all other sweet drinks such as Kool Aid, sport drinks like Gatorade, and especially soda.  These sweet drinks all cause cavities and are especially bad if given to children in bottles.

Soda is one of the worst because it is sweet and fizzy.  The carbonation fizz in any drink makes them acidic and acids dissolve teeth to cause cavities.  Simply put, soda causes cavities.

Just remember that milk is the best for almost all children and that water is a wonderful drink that is healthy, cheap, and delicious!  Just remember that water from your tap is the best: safe and environmentally responsible.

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Baby Juice Bottles

The primary baby teeth are important for chewing and biting and speaking and especially for maintaining the space needed for the future permanent adult teeth.

Luckily, missing front teeth do not seem to have as much trouble with space loss as missing back teeth.  A gap-toothed grin in a kid is much cuter than in an adult!

But when a primary molar is lost by infection or trauma, the gingival gum fibers and the angle of the jaws closing together make for a strong tendency for the adjacent teeth to move into the newly open space.

In other words, the space will be lost.

While initially the loss of a primary tooth does not seem like such a terrible thing, the future consequences could be the loss of a permanent tooth, extensive and expensive orthodontic appliances, and even an uncomfortable bite that causes abnormal wear on the poorly positioned teeth.

We routinely make a small appliance that spans the gap to keep the the space open.  This is called a band – loop space maintainer.  It is made with a metal orthodontic band with a wire stretching across the missing tooth’s space.

Adults need to have an artificial tooth made to replace missing permanent teeth because the teeth on the other jaw can over erupt.  Children are growing so much and their adult teeth will come in soon enough that this is usually not a problem for them.  An artifical tooth is not needed.

If more than one tooth is missing, a better way to save the space is to use an appliance that goes from a permanent tooth on one side to one on the other side of the mouth.  These are called a lower lingual arch to replace bottom teeth or a transpalatal arch to replace upper teeth.

If teeth are crowded, sometimes teeth must be extracted to make room for the others to line up.  Often a lower lingual arch or transpalatal arch can keep the room that remains, and even stretch the space.

Taking care of them is easy with only minor restrictions of not playing with them and keeping them clean.  These appliances will stay in place until the permanent teeth erupt.  Usually braces are needed after all the permanent teeth erupt but the treatment will be easier.

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Saving Space

Icy hills are lots of fun to slide down but those smiles can quickly turn to frowns and tears with a bad fall.

If your child gets into an accident that damages teeth, follow these steps:

• Check that there are no skull, neck, or back injuries first.
•  
• Cuts / scrapes on the head will bleed heavily so control any bleeding with pressure.
•  
• Look at the eyes and nose for anything unusual.
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• Move the jaw to see if there is any strange movement or lack of movement.
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• Lips are frequently scraped and swollen.  Apply cold clothes to reduce swelling.
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• Look at the tongue and inside of lips and cheeks for bites or tears.  Call the doctor if bleeding will not stop.
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• Make sure the teeth come together as before and call the dentist if there are changes.
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• If permanent teeth are knocked out of position or out of the mouth, put them back where they came from as soon as possible.  Then call the dentist immediately.
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• Chipped teeth can be fix fairly easily.  If a large piece is found, keep it moist and bring to the dentist.
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• We do not usually worry about baby teeth that get knocked out but an x-ray will often be needed to see if all is well.
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• Teeth commonly get knocked slightly loose with bleeding around the gums.  Do not worry about this.  Watch for future color changes.
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• If you can take ibuprofen, do so.  It is a good pain reliever and an anti-inflammatory swelling reducer too.

If you see any major changes, call your doctor or dentist.

Dental treatment that your child may require:

• Evaluation for concussion or spinal cord injury.
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• Teeth out of the mouth must be replaced and held in place IMMEDIATELY.
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• Cuts or scrapes will have to be cleaned out and possibly stitched.
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• Large chips off teeth can sometimes be glued back on so bring the piece into the dentist.
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• If the nerve is exposed, you will most likely need a root canal treatment some day.
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• If the whole top of the tooth is broken off below the gums, the root may have to be extracted.
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• Reduce swelling by alternating ice in a washcloth on 3 minutes, off 3 minutes.
•  
• Take an anti-inflammatory medicine.

Prevention is always better than restoration.  Always wear a helmet and consider getting an inexpensive mouth guard from the sporting goods store before going sledding, boarding, or skiing.  

Avoid sledding head first.  People with front teeth that stick out or who have difficulty closing their lips over their teeth should be especially careful to avoid injury.

Have fun this winter and show off your pearly whites safely.

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Icy Tooth Accidents in Oregon

Dental plaque is a thick sticky waterproof cream-colored coating that develops on teeth over time.  It is made up of bacteria and their wastes with saliva components. 

Sticky mucopolysaccharides are the mortar of dental plaque.  They protect the bacteria by gluing the whole colony to tooth enamel and making them resistant to washing off with normal eating and drinking.

If you start with perfectly clean teeth, very quickly a glycoprotein coating called pellicle will coat the enamel.  Because bacteria are still present in your mouth and will immediately stick to this pellicle on your tooth enamel. 

The bacteria grow and grow until there are literally trillions of them.  Usually it takes about 24 hours before there are enough to damage your teeth or gums.

After one to three days, another group of bacteria will stick to the first ones.  This makes the plaque more complex with the wastes of some being the food of others.

After plaque has been on teeth for about a week, the dental plaque changes color and texture.  Usually bacoming a dark yellow or light orange color, this plaque is very stiff and may need to be scraped off with a toothpick or dental instrument.

Lactic acid builds up in dental plaque and over time can dissolve the enamel surface of teeth.  Cleaning off the dental plaque gives the enamel access to the minerals present in saliva that can restore enamel strength.

Streptococcus mutans is the most prevalent bacterium in dental plaque.  This bacteria is especially good at converting sugars and starches into lactic acid and so it is responsible for most peoples cavities.

Other bacteria present in dental plaque above the gumline are:

• Streptococcus sanguis
• Actinomyces viscosus
• Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans
• Capnocytophypa species
• Eikenella corrodens

Bacteria only found below the gums to avoid oxygen are:

• Porphyromonas gingivalis
• Fusobacterium nucleatum
• Prevotella intermedia
• Bacteroides forsythus
• Campylobacter rectus

This links to an excellent discussion of dental plaque.

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Plaque in Portland