Advancements in dental care technology means that taking care of our pearly whites is easier now than ever before. However, when it comes to encouraging our children to brush their teeth regularly, there is still an element of: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make the horse drink”.
Tooth decay in decline
A recent government report shows that due to good dental care education and practice, tooth decay among children is in decline. However, there is still more work to be done. In the article, Director of Dental Public Health at PHE -Dr Sandra White – is pleased with the findings and states:
“This is great news. However, one child with tooth decay is one too many and there is still much inequality in dental health around the country. Tooth decay is painful and too often results in teeth extraction, some under general anesthetic.”
“This is further evidence that we can stop tooth decay in its tracks. Limiting sugary food and drink, supporting children to brush their teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and regular trips to the dentist, will help prevent a great many more children suffering at the hands of tooth decay.”
To encourage good practice in oral care, dental care product suppliers -HealthCare4all, look at ways to bring some fun into dental care education:
Boiled egg and cola experiment
A great experiment to demonstrate to children how sugar affects teeth that can be done at home. All you need to do is allow a boiled egg to soak overnight in cola. Next morning, ask your child to brush the egg with a toothbrush and toothpaste. As the discoloration is removed, ask your children how they think the stain got there and why they think brushing their teeth is so important after eating.
Happy faces at meal times
Making meal times fun is a great opportunity to teach children the value of eating healthily. Ask your children to form happy faces from healthy foods such as carrots, broccoli and slices of fruit. Take a photo of the finished article and perhaps even attach to the fridge. Afterwards, engage your children in a discussion on the benefits of eating healthy foods against eating sweets.
Tooth Brushing Chart
A great way to teach your children the importance of brushing daily is to draw a face with a large smiling mouth and hang on a poster board. Each day after your child has brushed their teeth they can stick a dried white navy been into the mouth. This is repeated each day until the mouth is filled completely and is left with a brilliant white smile.
HealthCare4all supplies dental care products for all ages. They provide a fun range of electric toothbrushes for children that bring characters from Disney into the washroom:
Braun Oral-B Stages Kids Electric Rechargeable Toothbrush FROZEN:£29.98
This children’s toothbrush makes tooth brushing fun with the characters from Frozen. The Extra soft bristles cater for sensitive young teeth and gums. It is compatible with the Disney magic timer app by Oral B. The timer educates children to brush for the recommended two minutes, thus ingraining a life-long best practice.
Braun Oral-B Advance Power Kids Toothbrush Disney Cars: £13.99 Teeth brushing fun-time for 5 year olds and older with the characters from Disney’s Cars. This children’s toothbrush is moderately priced and has advanced power. The brushing heads are replaceable and are designed to clean chewing surfaces.
