Brusha, brusha, brusha
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 I receive hundreds of press releases in my Grandma's Briefs mailbox each week. I get lots of info on lots of things: good things, scary things, important things, fun things, nifty-gadgety things. And more often than you might think, bizarro things that make me wonder why in the world the PR folks thought I'd appreciate such information.
One of the recent scary-but-important things I received was a press release relaying the information that, according to top U.S. dental associations, the United States is experiencing a resurgence in childhood tooth decay. An especially interesting stat was that dental disease is now the top chronic health problem for children, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Part of the reason dental disease is such a problem nowadays, according to the information, lies in the fact many parents don’t think baby teeth are important, as they’ll be replaced by a child’s permanent teeth. Also, some pediatricians—my grandsons’ included—typically recommend a child first visit the dentist at three years of age. Dental associations, though, have recently updated their recommendation for dentist visits, saying it should happen once the very first tooth erupts.
Which means Bubby, at four years old and with a mouthful of teeth, was way late in getting to the dentist. And that even Mac, at 13 months but well on his way to a full mouth, needs to get in the dentist's chair pronto.
Dental care is a parent's duty, not a grandparent's. In light of the stats and the updated info, though, here are a few ways grandparents can help promote good brushing habits and cavity prevention in their grandchildren:
• Encourage parents (without overstepping your boundaries, of course) to take the kiddos to the dentist as soon as that first tooth is celebrated.
• Be sure grandchildren brush morning and night when staying at your house. Have fun (and spare) toothbrushes on hand, as well as flavored toothpastes that appeal to the little ones. Perhaps make a game of it and brush together. Also, be sure to supervise the older ones and do the actual brushing for little ones.
• When seeking small gift ideas, consider giving new toothbrushes and toothpastes featuring a child’s favorite characters. Or maybe a battery powered one, if a grandchild doesn’t have one at home.
• Limit candy, soda, and sweet treats that aren’t good for teeth.
• Same goes for fast food and processed foods, which are typically high in sugar.
• Never share eating utensils with children as that can transfer cavity-producing bacteria from your mouth to theirs.
• Keep on the lookout for tooth decay and halitosis (bad breath). If noticed, mention it—again, tactfully—to Mom or Dad.
• Read books together that focus on good dental habits. Consider ABC Dentist: Healthy Teeth from A to Z by Harriet Ziefert as well as the numerous books in which favorite characters—Dora the Explorer, Berenstain Bears, Elmo, Spongebob—visit the dentist.
Unless you’re in the dental field, you probably don’t spend a lot of time focusing on the dental care of your grandchildren. Grandparents are in a perfect position to help promote good brushing habits and cavity prevention, though, so it can't hurt and will surely help.
Bubby and Mac best prepare to get a fair share of toothbrushes from Gramma going forward. Though I have a feeling gifts of toothbrushes will be accepted by my grandsons in a manner similar to that of Bubby's robot dishes.
If nothing else, they'll have healthy teeth to grit while expressing their (forced) appreciation for Gramma's gifts.
Today’s question:
What's the going rate per tooth from the Tooth Fairy in your family, in the past or nowadays?
Reader Comments (14)
I've always heard to take them in at a year, so that's what we have done so far. My middle child knocked out a tooth before she turned 2. We decided since she was so little we would wait until the oldest lost his first tooth to do the tooth fairy for her. Years later when that finally happened we couldn't find the tooth! A neighbor helped her write a really cute note to the tooth fairy so she could still get her reward. Which is a gold one dollar coin, always. I later found the tooth. I've always been curious what other parents do with all those teeth. So far my son's are sitting in a tiny baggie in my desk drawer. LOL!
Char: That is too funny about the baggie full of teeth in your desk drawer. I have a baggie full of teeth, too. And my girls are in their late 20s! Most of the teeth are scrunched up in tissue, just as they were when pulled from under the pillow. Thing is, I always threw them all in the same baggie and now have no idea which teeth belong to whom. But, yeah, what do others do with them? It just seems wrong to throw them away.
So glad your little boys will place a high priority on keeping their teeth healthy, with help from all you parents and grandparents.
My kids are in their forties and fifties and I have no idea where their baby teeth are, those for which a dime, then a quarter were paid all those years ago.
I did not know 50 years ago to take my children to the dentist early. But my kids know to take them early before anything needs to be done just to get them oriented to the experience. Great advice and yes when they we little and at our house always the brushing ritual. A nickel to a dime was all ours got which was many years ago. Great post.
QMM
One of Amara's favorite books is "Behold, No Cavities " starring Sponge Bob! I have read that thing so many times I think I know it by heart. Bubby would love it! And she has her very own battery powered Princess Ariel toothbrush that lives in Grandma's bathroom -- as you could bet we have a whole ritual that goes with the brushing. Grandma is required to sing the brushing song which I just kind of make up as we go.
As for the overly generous Tooth Fairy that lives at her house -- she gets 5 bucks!!!!
Wow, if $5 a tooth is the going rate adjusted for inflation, I'm glad the Tooth Fairy doesn't visit here anymore!
Princess toothbrush and toothpaste in the bathroom for visits. I'll add a 'Cars' one soon. However, this Gma's cookie jar stays full and I really don't care what the ADA says.
HI!!!
I found the link!!!!
I am following now!!!!
And you should now have my e-mail address!!!
I luckily do not have to worry about teeth issues....daughter and Mom of my lovely Grands is a wonderful dental hygienist and has been now for 10 years!!!!She has a great job and only works 3 days a week!!!Hoping to cut back more when the kids go to school....she wants to be off by 4 on those days!!!
Glad we can talk now!!!And I will chat with you on facebook!!!
hugs,
jamie
Good article Lisa, thanks for posting it.
One of the first things that I did when Lucy came to us was take her to the dentist. The poor wee soul had 14 holes in 10 teeth all due to chocolate milk that her mother was giving her. She had them repaired under general anathestic, not a pleasant experience for any of us. The dentist recommended Tooth Mousse which helps prevent decay & it does work. There are different flavours available. Lucy uses it every night as do I.
Lucy gets NZ$2.00 per tooth, the last one the tooth fairy gave her $3.00, think she was feeling very generous.
Great post! There's a lot of helpful info.
When I was a kid (back in the olden days) I raked in a quarter for each tooth. My kids got a dollar per tooth. Not sure what my grandkids get, but if it's more than a dollar, I'm glad to be retired from Tooth Fairy duties. LOL
Oh yeah! I'm in agreement with you ladies — I'm so thankful the Tooth Fairy doesn't live at my place anymore. And Sally: Not only are you an awesome grandma, you're an awesome Tooth Fairy. Kudos to you!
This is such great information! I don't have grandkids yet but we are really good about dental visits with our kids. I really like your gentle approach to sharing this info with the parents which can be a tricky situation! :)
Both of our kids made it through college without ever having a cavity. We had their molars sealed as soon as they came in.
Our Princesses both love to brush their teeth, but I'm not sure if they've been to the dentist yet or not. I'll be asking Katy at the first opportunity. I always have new toothbrushes and toothpaste for them when they visit.
I did not know that sharing eating utensils could spread cavities.
One interesting thing that I learned taking my kids to the dentist is that it's ok to use toothpaste with fluoride even though the kid will probably swallow it. Maybe you knew this already, but I thought you were supposed to buy that baby toothpaste that doesn't have fluoride in it. My kids' dentist told us that studies showed that kids who brushed with fluoridated toothpaste from the get-go had fewer cavities and didn't have the white spots on their teeth that dentists were afraid they'd have.