It is hard to believe Halloween is almost here! I can admit, I’ve already been checking out the Halloween candy and we’ve grabbed a few bags to enjoy.
With all that sugar of course, keeping our teeth clean is an absolute must. I have always been cautious and attentive to making sure my children have good oral hygiene. When I had the chance to learn more about the America’s ToothFairy campaign, it is terrifying to hear as a parent how many children suffer from dental disease and live in pain every day.
Just some of the scary facts I learned about children and the lack of oral healthcare included:
- 44 percent of American kids will suffer from pediatric dental disease before they reach kindergarten
- Of the 4 million kids born each year, more than half will have cavities by the time they reach 2nd grade
- 43% of Americans lack dental insurance
- All in all, 16 million kids suffer from untreated dental disease
With four children, I want to make sure my children have healthy smiles and are proud to smile. For the month of October, we are participating in the Sweet Smart Challenge. It’s important to brush, floss, and rinse twice a day. We are getting the chance to use Listerine SMART RINSE and with the fun designs and products Listerine Kids has created, there’s always excitement to run for the bathroom and grab that toothbrush.
It’s important to always help a child brush their teeth so they can learn the best hygiene habits possible. I always like to let the girls brush their teeth themselves and then Mom goes over top to make sure we got everything taken care of and as clean as possible. Kelsie has just reached the age where she can use SMART RINSE and she loves being able to grab a SMART RINSE and use it with very little help from me.
Sometimes when we’re in a rush, it’s a brush the teeth fast and run but when I think about how much just brushing alone misses (Brushing alones misses 75% of your mouth!), I need to remember to always make sure we rinse. We’ve gotten the girls excited by getting new character toothbrushes and they are excited to keep those teeth clean!
How do you keep your kids excited about taking care of their teeth?
I received products from Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc., and The Motherhood as part of my participation in the LISTERINE SMART RINSE Sweet Smart Challenge. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.
