32

How many teeth do you have?

This is a question that the boys ask me at least twice a year. Why? Because one of the things that our dentist does is count their teeth. They then know that they have 20 teeth and want to know how many teeth their Mommy has. I have 32 - which is four more than most adults because I have all four of my wisdom teeth (you probably had yours pulled, right?).

I then take time to remind them that it doesn't really matter how many teeth are in your mouth but how you care for the ones that you have. Thankfully, they are very good about brushing their teeth every night - we are working on greater consistency for every morning as well. Jeter has also begun to floss more regularly - very important since he has 6 permanent teeth now. Barber is a bit more resistant to the whole thing - complaining that two minutes is just t-o-o l-o-n-g to brush. We've used the egg timer that we purchased at the dentists office but I'm thinking of employing a tip or two that I recently received from Oral-B - specifically finding a song that can become their getting ready for bed song. The difficulty will be finding one that they will actually brush their teeth rather then stop and sing. It might also be good to find a song that qualifies as getting ready for the day to be used in the morning.

Here are some other great tips from Oral-B:

• Brush your teeth with your child to set a good example. This also helps your child to learn by watching and imitating you.
• Choose toothbrushes and toothpaste with popular kids’ characters, like Oral-B Stages, to help establish positive oral care routines with familiar friends like Winnie the Pooh or Disney Princesses.
• Sing your child’s favorite song, such as “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” for two minutes to encourage brushing for the dentist-recommended time. For older children, play a song from their favorite pop singer for two minutes.
• Making your child’s brushing routine fun will encourage proper habits early and help prevent oral care issues later in life.
• For more information please visit, www.oralb.com/kidscare.

The second tip deals with choosing the right toothbrush for your child. Have you ever wondered if there is really a significant difference between the toothbrushes? I know I have.

The video below was taken at a blogger event in New York at a fun, kid-friendly venue and features some great information from Dr. Laura Jana, M.D., author and founder of Practical Parenting Consulting, LLC – she is also mother of three. I encourage you to take time to watch it. It helped me to understand the differences between the toothbrushes that are made for children and determine what toothbrush I need for each of my boys. Guess what has been added to my shopping list?