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

My boys are 5 & 7, they are both different. My 7 yo always brushes his teeth no problem. When he was little he would have morning breathe, I would say in a Darth Vader voice, young Luke Skywalker you are killing me. He would run off and brush his teeth.

Little brother needs a whole lot of encouragement. We brush our teeth together, morning and at bedtime. He has a routine now, he must stand on his step, he has to use a mouth wash. He went through a phase of wanting to try different tooth brushes, even adult and electric ones. He currently likes the small kiddy ones, he understands mummy's one is for her huge mouth. But we have had so massive tantrums, he doesnt enjoy it, he used to say, I've done it and run to his bedroom. I would do the tooth check test, mummies have super vision and teeth are green if they havent been done. Thats worked, as he would clench his mouth close. So I started making a point of brushing together.

Taking care of their teeth, I let my boys eat sweets and chocolate, I dont let them eat fudge or toffee sweets. I mix shop bought orange/mango juices with water. I make a lot of juice from fresh too, apple/carrot/tomato, squeezed lemon and water too. My youngest drinks a lot of milk and my older son drinks water too. I have a Virgin Pure machine, its a water purifier/water bar. Its pricey at £19 (but worth every penny) its like having cold, fresh bottled water at home. (tap water is disgusting now - none of us can drink it) My older son drinks and drinks water all day long.
Also the tooth fairy visits and delivers new toothpastes and brushes on a regular bases.

I still occasionally check my youngest's teeth and brushing technique, and he's 12. If I let it slide I reckon he'd still be giving the brush a quick chew before bedtime.

He's heavy-wearing on toothbrushes, so these need to be changed frequently.

My little ones are 6 & 4 & only this year have I allowed them to brush their teeth themselves. I have a funky app that has a little monster on that sings a silly song for 2 minutes. They are getting the hang of it but I always finish off.

My Children are allowed no sweets or fizzy drinks & I cant see that changing. I have terrible teeth due to my parents allowing me to eat anything & drink coke etc. I'm now 27 and have a filling in pretty much every tooth.

My children know the reasons for my 'black teeth' & I think they are ok with me being very careful.

Try to eat fruit as part of a meal and have actual fruit rather than fruit juice, if they do have fruit juice then drinking through a straw does reduce the damage

I brush with our DD's & tend to make a bit of a game out of it, they want to have better teeth than me so that seems be a great incentive for them.

Send a cube of cheeses in to eat after school dinner to neutralise the damaging acids.

S Sugar - limit the amount consumed and only at mealtimes.
M Mirror - watch yourself are you covering every area?
I In between teeth important too not just the fronts
L Leave it half an hr before brushing after eating or drinking.
E Every day ..twice a day always

Because every smile should be a healthy smile

My kids are all now adults with no cavities and I believe following this Smile rule helps.. I on the other hand had to learn the very hard way as a kid of the 70's ..lucky if we had one tootbrush between 10 of us! which is my I did not want my kids to suffer my problems. My kids have great porcelain smiles...im gonna be in dentures...but hey science advances is a great thing, so all is good ..toothy grin x

I had instilled in my kids brushng teeth was as normal and obvious as what you did after going to the bathroom you washed your hands... so they never actually seen it as a job or task it was just part of growing up etc.. I never ever had a compaint about teeth brushing and I am grateful for that. When I had a child for a sleep over once they asked did they really have to brush their teeth at night And in the morning. I said well no of course you dont have to brush your teeth morning and night ...just brush the ones you want to keep!. Bless his face was a picture. His mum loved that one

-What are your top tips for getting your DCs to clean their teeth properly?
Egg timer-like device to make sure they spend long enough brushing

-What kind of excuses do your DCs give you about why they don't need to clean their teeth?
They don't give excuses, they just claim to have done them... a quick "smell test" usually busts that.

-How do you teach your DCs about good dental hygiene?
Just keep on nagging... and regular trips to the dentist for professional nagging/approval of cleanliness.

-Do you worry about your DCs teeth? What do you do to help them keep their teeth healthy?
Supervise brushing, make sure they get checked regularly by the dentist.

-Do you actively try to reduce the sugar intake of your DCs? If so, how?
Not really - I do believe artificial sweeteners are pretty rubbish for kids - but I do try and keep sweets and squash attached to mealtimes, so the sugar is in one "hit" rather than constant exposure.

Dd is 3.5, so needs help to brush.

Got a good tip here to tell her I can see bits of her dinner e.g. "Look, a pea, I'll get it!". Also let her start and I finish off.

I remember from being younger that fillings seemed inevitable - everyone I knew had at least 1 by around the age of 10. Perhaps getting across the fact that they really are preventably by a quick but thorough routine. Also stressing that water is healthy and tasty, leaving fizzy and other sugary drinks only for special occasions, if at all.

I definitely try to reduce sugar intake but it is really hard as my daughter is a sugar fiend and it is everywhere. They get juice with their school dinner which I think is ridiculous but she enjoys eating with her friends and I would't want to single her out to eat on her own.

Teeth brushing has always been fairly easy to do here (when I realised as a baby she hated the kid's toothpaste taste!) but recently she's not brushed them when she told me she had. I've therefore had to start watching her do it and using my toothbrush timer (she's 4).

My top tip would be take them to the dentist from a very young age, and find a decent dentist you trust. Hopefully this will help them for the future. Our dentist is great and even runs classes to show children how to brush their teeth properly.

My DC have lovely teeth and people often comment on them. I ensure they brush morning and night and they are aware of the damage that tooth decay can cause. They generally only drink water occasionally fruit juice or fizzy drinks but always use a straw. We also have a very good dentist who also tells them how looking after your teeth is so important.

I am quite shocked at the number of kids getting their milk teeth removed because of decay, makes you wonder about their adult teeth later in life.

I brushed my DS's teeth morning and night but as he is 6 now I left him do it in the mornings under supervision.

I was worried recently as he has 'shark teeth' at the bottom but dentist assured me everything was fine as they were loose. Right enough one fell out a week later! Happy DS with his visit from the tooth fairy.

I've always tried to brush my teeth in front of my kids. I've tried different types of tooth brushes , the electric one I found was very gimmicky and the DD 5&6 yrs old just couldn't control it effectively around the mouth so we resorted back to the good old tooth brush!!

We also like singing while I help DD's brush their teeth ... "This is the way we brush our teeth on a cold and frosty morning ..."

Water between meals, eat sweets in one hit and don't snack, don't eat dried fruit unless it's after a meal. Floss and use a decent electric toothbrush, I'm pretty strict as my daughter had a filling in her adult tooth aged 9, I was mortified, but the dentist said her enamel was compromised and filling tiny. Oh yes fizzy drinks only as a rare treat!!

I think kids eat way too many sweets these days and as parents it can be difficult to say no, especially when they are so readily available and advertised so aggressively in the media and also at front of shops etc etc. Same with fizzy drinks.

One of the best tips is to use the tablets that show up plaque left on child's teeth after brushing, so they get to know where they need to brush more, which will also help them into adulthood and also, hopefully, reduce the need for fillings etc.

We try and "normalise" it, and use flashy toothbrushes that have a minute timer to make sure they brush for long enough...

Just doing it together, so it's habit :)

i have a peppa pig book about the toothfairy i found that it made teethbrushing more familiar and fun to do because pepper and george brush there teeth too !

They like the taste of Milk Teeth so are keen to brush.

I try to monitor the whole family's sugar intake, we always buy the lowest percent sugar available and get our sweets fix from fruit

With my daughter aged 2 we get her to hold a toothbrush while we clean her teeth then she lets us clean them- she seems to think she's doing it.

With my son aged 4, we have often read the Topsy and Tim book about going to the dentist and he doesn't like the idea of getting toothache or having fillings and so is keen to keep them clean. He enjoys going to the dentist and feels proud when the dentist tells him his teeth are good and he gets a sticker! Father Christmas always gets them both a new toothbrush and toothpaste.

My daughter loves her flashy timer tooth brush, it's the best thing I have bought in a long time!
She cleans her teeth first then I have a go properly, I have been lucky as she has never minded having them done.
I have also started them very young, my 8mth old has been happily chewing his tooth brush at bedtime for a few months. He has no teeth yet but loves to copy his sister and hopefully it will get him in to a routine early.

My 2 clean morning and night at the same time as me so they know how to do it. My DD is 17 months and likes sucking the tooth brush more than brushing, but at least she is learning to put it n her mouth! My DS is nearly 3 and he lets me clean his teeth as well as doing it himself. I hope my DS seeing me do his will encourage her to let me do hers too!!