Share your tips & tricks on keeping your children's teeth healthy for Colgate - chance to win a £250 voucher! *NOW CLOSED*

[KathrynMumsnet]

Colgate has asked us to find out about your thoughts and concerns about dental hygiene and how you keep your children’s teeth healthy.

Here’s what Colgate says: “Did you know that 84% of children and all adults suffer from cavities at some point in their life*?

“Cavities, also known as tooth decay, are the most common chronic disease on the planet. But cavities are preventable and this is why Colgate® has created a breakthrough new anti-cavity toothpaste called Colgate® Maximum Cavity Protection plus Sugar Acid Neutraliser™.

“Providing close to double protection against early decay**, Colgate® Maximum Cavity Protection is the first and only toothpaste to contain Sugar Acid Neutraliser™ technology, that goes beyond the protection of fluoride, neutralising sugar acids in plaque – the #1 cause of cavities.

“Colgate’s Head of Scientific Affairs, Foti Panagakos comments:
“More and more we’re aware of the increasing levels of sugar in our diets and the negative impact this has on our health. The need for a toothpaste with built in Sugar Acid Neutraliser™ technology has never been so urgent. Colgate® Maximum Cavity Protection plus Sugar Acid Neutraliser™ will have a tremendous impact on the oral health of the nation.””

*UK Adult Dental Health Survey 2009, The Health and Social Care Information Centre
** Toothpaste with fluoride alone reduced by 32%
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Below are a few points to get you started, but feel free to add any other comments you have:

• What are your top tips for getting your DCs to clean their teeth properly?
• What kind of excuses do your DCs give you about why they don't need to clean their teeth?
• How do you teach your DCs about good dental hygiene?
• Do you worry about your DCs teeth? What do you do to help them keep their teeth healthy?
• Do you actively try to reduce the sugar intake of your DCs? If so, how?

Fears, tips, whatever it is, we’d love to hear it!

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky Mumsnetter will win a £250 voucher of a supermarket of their choice*.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

*except Aldi and Lidl

I always try to make it fun we pick the toothpaste together and i let the kids get the toothbrushes they want, they both have spiderman colgate electric brushes at the minute which they love and i never have a probe getting them to brush they actually enjoy it x

My son is 2 and hates his teeth being brushed however I do persevere twice a day as it's important to me that he has good dental hygiene. I am 33 and have never had a filling and its important to me that he looks after his teeth. I did discover an electric toothbrush suitable for his age which has made quite a bit of difference to his tolerance of teeth brushing so it's a step in the right direction. Hopefully soon I will be able to explain to him why it's important and he will understand.

When DS was a toddler, I used to pretend to see characters from his favourite TV programmes in his mouth "oooh, look is that Thomas hiding up there? Let's give him a tickle with the brush! Is Gordon down there? Give him a scrub!" etc etc. I also used to pretend to see bits of food that he'd eaten throughout the day too.

Now he's older and able to brush his own teeth, he uses a cheap 2 min timer to make sure he brushes for long enough.

-What are your top tips for getting your DCs to clean their teeth properly?

Using different flavoured toothpaste as they don't like mint

-What kind of excuses do your DCs give you about why they don't need to clean their teeth?

They don't make excuses but pretend they have already done it, I have to go in and supervise them otherwise they sit in the bathroom and emerge ten minutes later having done nothing!

-How do you teach your DCs about good dental hygiene?

We had a booklet which described tooth decay and bacteria and also watched tutorials on Youtube.

-Do you worry about your DCs teeth? What do you do to help them keep their teeth healthy?

Regular dentist visits and using an electric toothbrush.

-Do you actively try to reduce the sugar intake of your DCs? If so, how?

Mostly drink water or diluted juice. Only occasional sweets on special occasions.

Teach by example - limit sugary snacks and drinks and make sure you clean their teeth after breakfast and before bedtime. Get them to clean their own first then I will clean them after to make sure, then smile :) x

I think its really important to get them in the habit at a young age and also try to make it fun rather than a chore. This way they just get used to doing it as part of their routine.

We made a point of always brushing our teeth at the same time as we were teaching the kids and turned it intoa bit of fun where they could check ours were clean and purposely missing some out so the still needed cleaned and I must say the kids loved telling us off and getting us to do it again. Then we done the same to theirs. Those teeth tablets are brilliant too for once in a while and keeping us all on our toes.

My son is a nightmare when it comes to cleaning his teeth, he seems to stick the toothpaste in the middle of his mouth and clean his teeth with a toothpaste free brush as a result!! I am trying to limit his sugar intake but he is such a fussy eater that its proving difficult as sugar is in so many things, I also try to get him to clean his teeth at the same time as me so that he can see that it shouldn't last five seconds!

Clean our teeth together. They copy me and do it for much longer than if I leave them to do it on their own as it makes it more fun and watching me clean mine is a distraction. It becomes a bit of a competition sonetimes on who's teeth have been done the best.

Dental hygene is really important and I make sure my DDs (2&4) have their teeth brushed regularly. I want them to be independent but as they are still very young I do make sure I brush their teeth the majority of the time. We attend regular dental appts and I always mention their dentist's name if I need to encourage them to brush by saying "Ian' will be happy with you if you look after your teeth" (it works!). On advice from our dentist, any sweet treats are given in one go so that the sugar 'hit' on the teeth is only the once (rather than spread our across the day). I also get them to drink milk or eat some cheese in between meals to help nutralise any acid.

I make sure my daughter brushes twice a day, I have to tell her what's in her teeth, basically try to remember everything she's eaten beforehand and she reminds me of what I've missed, she finds it funny and before you know it she's done a pretty good job, I also take her to the dentist every 6 months for a check up and he's been pleased so far! Apparently we are in the worse London borough for children's dental problems so I want to ensure my daughter is not another addition to that statistic!

I brush my teeth at the same time as the children, and we do both morning and night, as my son is older he uses a Sonicare electric toothbrush like we do, fizzy sweet drink and sweets are kept to a minimum and have always encouraged milk for them both, which they both love, we have regular trips to the dentist which I have always done for them both from an early age so they don't become fearful of going plus I always remind them they have to look after their teeth so they don't get false ones like Grandad!

I think its really important to get them in the habit at a young age and also try to make it fun rather than a chore. This way they just get used to doing it as part of their routine

I worry about my two year old's teeth, she doesn't let me brush them, she just sucks the toothpaste off the brush and wastes a lot of water;-) We've switched to sugar free squash, we try not to give her too many sweet snacks.

Regular brushing and trips to the dentist. I also explain to them what foods and drinks are bad for teeth and generally try to model good dental health in front of them.

I found a wonderful brush in Home Bargains (made by Wisdom) that flashes for 2 minutes. My daughter loves seeing how well she can brush her teeth before the light stops. It really encourages her to concentrate on brushing her teeth and she loves doing it in front of the mirror to see the flashing light. Miraculously, my daughter never has an excuse to not brush her teeth. She even wants to brush again when she sees me doing mine. I teach my daughter that its important to brush twice a day and to get the teeth at the back of the mouth that are often hard to reach. I don't worry about my daughters teeth. I limit her intake of sugary fruit juices and she doesn't drink fizzy drinks. She does have sweets occasionally, but will brush her teeth after having them.

My baby has just turned one so she only has a few teeth. I always make sure she cleans them with her special brush. It's one she uses herself to give her the independence to do it herself when she'd older.

She doesn't really have sugary things but she does eat a lot of fruit which can be bad for her teeth. Not too bothered about the fruit though as its good for her.

I tell my child that the tooth fairy only takes nice white clean teeth it is doing the trick.

DCs have grown up knowing that sweets & sugary drinks are bad for their teeth and have now got to the stage where they will actively refuse them when offered, so I think this part has worked. If there's ever any doubt about sugary stuff, then a quick story about or look at OH's fillings does the trick!

Both of my daughters hated brushing their teeth when they were young (my youngest still does!). I think it's partly an independence thing and that they feel out of control when somebody else is brushing their teeth, so I find it helps to let them feel as in control as possible (letting them do it by themselves at first, letting them help to hold the brush etc), whilst still making sure they are getting cleaned properly!

I never thought sweets etc were too bad for teeth until my sons tooth basically rotted away one summer when he was having lollipops a couple of times a week.

Then in knew to take it seriously.

Now they save all their sweets to eat once a week or once every couple of weeks so that the frequency of sugar is reduced.

We stick to water and milk as main drinks for them too.

-What are your top tips for getting your DCs to clean their teeth properly?
Basically we do it to ensure properly cleaned and we use electric toothbrush for older two kids.
We occasionally use disclosing tablets too to show bits missed.
-What kind of excuses do your DCs give you about why they don't need to clean their teeth?
they have been taught from a young age to clean teeth and why its important so they are always keen.
-How do you teach your DCs about good dental hygiene?
explain to them and show them teeth as they come out to show what a healthy tooth vs a rotten tooth looks like. talk about my own experience of needing fillings, toothache etc.
-Do you worry about your DCs teeth? What do you do to help them keep their teeth healthy?
yes - big concern after seeing how quickly cavities can happen. Brush twice a day. older kids allowed chewing gum.
-Do you actively try to reduce the sugar intake of your DCs? If so, how? see above.

have a set time to brush teeth, that way they can't "forget" :)

My son only really drinks water and doesn't like sweets (he loves chocolate though, so that is limited). He's 16 now and (touch wood) hasn't needed any dental treatment yet apart from cleaning some plaque off as he's not reaching right to the back of his back teeth....

I have used disclosing tablets before but they're not much good for the back of his back teeth !

So, I stick with nagging as the best method of getting him to clean the back of his back teeth (and also remind him how much he disliked the dentist cleaning the plaque off!)

My top tip is to use plaque-disclosing tablets: I did this recently with my younger son and he loved it. He thought it was fun staining his teeth red, then brushing all the red dye off. He is home educated and we have just finished a topic on teeth. We looked at how to keep our teeth healthy by avoiding sugary food and drink, as well as how to look after our teeth by brushing regularly. We have a two-minute timer in the bathroom and he uses a battery-operated toothbrush.

My son drew a picture about looking after your teeth. His top tips are:

1. Avoid sugary food and drinks.
2. Brush twice a day for two minutes.
3. Visit your dentist twice a year.

I have to completely nag my kids to brush their teeth, it really winds me up! I do keep sweets and fizzy drinks etc to a minimum too.