As a family, teeth are not really our strong point. Wit, intelligence and modesty yes, strong, straight teeth, not so much. More of my teeth have fillings than not and on my last trip to the dentist he asked if I had ever considered work do ‘balance them out a little bit’.
I am definitely never going to crack America with my teeth. I might crack a tooth, but that’s about it. I sometimes try to blame it on my genes, like overweight people often do whilst eating a chocolate digestive (me again), but I do just like sweets.
You can buy all sorts of clever products and apps now to help encourage children to enjoy brushing their teeth, but Belle has never really bought into the whole ‘teeth cleaning is cool!’ school of thought. In fact, she hates it.
“Have you brushed your teeth?” I will often say as she is on her way to bed.
“I think so,” she will say, looking decidedly shifty. This is her idea of not lying.
“Really?” I will say, eyebrows raised.
“I can’t remember,” she will say, and then, realising I’m not buying it, “I might have forgotten.”
Hmmm.
If you struggle getting your children to keep their teeth clean then you definitely need to take a look at this infographic from Toothpick. Toothpick is a cool new business that lets you search for dentists, read reviews, compare prices and book instantly online. As someone who has done the whole ringing round dentist after dentist trying to find one that will take us, I can vouch for what a great idea this is. They have loads of fun information and resources on their blog too, which is where this infographic comes from.
I learnt all sorts of things from this – did you know for instance that you should have x-rays at age 7 to check for decay between teeth? Or that children who breathe through their mouths are more likely to have crooked teeth? (You can put a humidifier in their bedrooms to try and help.)
Do your children enjoy cleaning their teeth? How do you encourage them?
Disclosure: this is a sponsored post
great tips…. I’ve always been fanatical about making sure mine brush as my sister had issues getting one of her kids to brush their teeth and thye had to have several out due to decay
haha, the ‘i think so’ bit was sooo me when i was little. i don’t remember my parents being overly fussy, but i wish they had been a little more so. i generally took care of my teeth when i was younger and have never been into fizzy drinks or too many sweets but i think (know) my teeth would be a little better if i’d taken just that bit more care as a child.
Eek! Raisins and bananas are bad for milk teeth? I had no idea. This is PROPERLY interesting and useful – going to send it to some of my mum friends.
I had no idea about bananas either – yikes. We go through phases of E really liking brushing and then really hating it (she’ll just chew on her brush for a few seconds and shout ‘finished!’) We often have to do it for her which she hates. Great tips.
This is very useful. I’m hopeful that as I have no fillings (I have no idea why I have none given the amount of sweets I eat!) they will be ok, but getting the to brush their teeth is SUCH hard work. It’s so important though. Thank you for sharing this.
I have to admit we struggle getting my little mans teeth clean, it’s a battle every night but so worth it as it’s so important to keep your teeth clean
Laura x
We’ve both been blessed with the sort of teeth that haven’t required fillings (yet…) so I’m hoping Theo will follow suit. He’s getting a lot better at brushing his teeth, or willing to let it happen, but I have to admit we do forget to do it twice a day quite a lot! This is a really great infographic though, thanks for sharing!
interesting advice about the ‘ol fluoride thing, we seek out fluoride free toothpaste for Wilf and us. I think I must be a bit odd as I really enjoy going to the dentist, doctors on the other hand make me really nervous! x
Great tips! I’m obsessive about brushing, which i’m trying to pass on! My 8 year old especially hates brushing his!