When my daughters were younger, they would sometimes thrash and scream and bite when I tried to brush their teeth. Often, I’d bargain for a shorter brush or possibly a brush without toothpaste, but sometimes – I’ll admit it – I let my kids get away with missing a daily brushing.
And based on a recent New York Times article, it seems I’m not alone. More and more, preschoolers are coming to dentists’ offices with advanced decay in several teeth – in some cases as many as 10-12 cavities at one time. One of the serious outcomes of tooth decay on this scale is that children require general anesthesia (and all the risks associated with it) in order to treat that many teeth at once. I’m sure you’d agree – one or even two fillings are more than enough for one sitting. And in some cases, dentists will be performing not only several fillings but also root canals or other more invasive procedures on these young children.
Dentists interviewed for the Times article say they’re seeing an increase in parental permissiveness regarding dental care. In other words, if little Johnny screams when he gets his teeth brushed, Mom and Dad just don’t brush his teeth. There also seems also to be a lack of understanding with many parents of what constitutes good dental hygiene in babies, toddlers and preschoolers. For instance, many parents don’t know that it’s important for Baby’s first visit to the dentist to be before the age of one. Even if Baby only has one tooth, dentists can help parents prevent the development of decay and the sooner the better.
According to a recent study conducted by Angus Reid on behalf of the makers of LISTERINE® mouthwash, it seems that Canadian parents could also use some help with our kids’ oral health. The study says that 63 per cent of kids between the ages of 6 and 12 have had a cavity, and further, that 61 per cent of children with cavities have two or more. Not surprisingly, 86 per cent of parents report being worried about protecting their kids from cavities. We all know it can be a challenge to get your kids to take care of their teeth and it’s just that much harder to do if they don’t buy in to the reasons why it’s important.
The good news is that according to the Angus Reid survey, 95 per cent of Canadian parents have established a dental care routine for their children. Also, most of us practice what we preach and since kids learn best by example, this is great news!
To honour the importance of a good education, LISTERINE® Brand is sponsoring the LISTERINE® SMART MOUTH KIDS contest on UrbanMoms, with a chance to WIN one of three $1,000 cash prizes that can be used towards your child’s education! The contest starts next week and will run for three consecutive weeks. It’s open to UrbanMoms members and your comment is your ballot, so stay tuned for your first chance to enter this amazing contest.
What about you? Have you struggled with tooth decay in your children? What did you do to address it? Do you have any winning suggestions for enticing kids to pay better attention to their oral care? Share your stories, tips and suggestions in the comments below.
Click here for Contest Rules and Regulations.
UrbanMoms.ca members are eligible to win so don’t forget to sign-in. Not a member yet? Click here to join.
M youngest daughter had 3 cavities when she was 4, and seeing that she had had 2 sugeries and was petrified of the dentist, i didnt want to traumatize her anymore than need be. Our dentis was wonderful he explained that if the cavities werent near the nerves we could just watch then and if they started to bother her then we coudl do something about them. She would be losing them soon enough. They never bothered her and I was so grateful to him.
We struggled and struggled with getting my now 3.5 year old son to agree to have his teeth brushed, but persistance (and a lot of tears) have paid off because finally, for about a year now, he is willing (most days) to have his teeth brushed.
Where we live, we have no flouride in our water and since moving here 7 years ago, I now have over 4 cavities, whereas before I had been cavity free all of my life. I know that there is controversy over flouride, but I can’t help but wonder if a little bit would do us some good?!
So far so good with my 3 year old but it can definitely be a challenge to brush her teeth and we will often have to hold her down to get a good brushing… but as she’s getting older she’s starting to understand why we brush which is leading to better cooperation on her part and good efforts to brush her own teeth. While I’ve been lucky enough to remain cavity free, my husband spent his first few years of life in a developing nation with limited access to dental care and his teeth suffered as a result. He has been open with our daughter about his cavities and she now says she wants to brush to avoid “blackies” in her teeth.
I also work as a family physician and am shocked by the amount of dental decay I see in toddlers. While much of it can be attributed to “bottle rot”, there is also, unfortunately, no fluoride added to the water in our community and the impact of this is huge. After consulting with my dentist, I started a fluoride toothpaste quite early on my daughter (only 1x/week initially when she couldn’t really spit it out to avoid any toxicity) and am hoping this (and avoiding too many sweets) will be enough to keep the caries away.
my oldest had a simple cavity or two, nothing big until her 6 year molars came in. they were both compromised (no enamel on the one tooth and limited amount on the other) and i found out later that it was because of penicillin.
i’m telling everyone now about it since it isn’t usually spoken of until it happens to you (thanks, christine, for giving me all the info you had on this!)