Little known fact about me: I’ve never had a cavity.
Yes, I’m totally bragging about it. When you’ve been alive for 35+ years and have never had a cavity, you get to brag. There’s not much else left for me to have unabashed pride about, so when I find the opportunity to brag, I do.
It’s not like I do anything special with my teeth. I brush twice a day, sometimes rinse, and never floss. I know I should, but I’m just that lazy, and I figure if I’ve gone this long without a cavity, why start flossing now?
Which is pretty much the opposite of everything a dentist tells us to do.
Dentists tell us to brush twice a day, rinse with mouthwash, and floss.
Until very recently, I didn’t realize mouthwash was an actual healthy thing that needed to be done. I figured it was just a secondary thing those marketers wanted us to spend more money on buying. And then I learned that brushing your teeth rids your mouth of only 25% of germs.
Dudes. 25% is a total failing grade when it comes to the toothbrush.
But that’s why God and Listerine invented* mouthwash.
*So maybe God didn’t invent mouthwash, and I don’t know if Listerine actually invented it, but they’ve cornered the market on making a ton of different kinds of good-for-your-mouth mouthwashes.
I’ve already bragged about my never having had a cavity, but I can’t say the same for my 7-year-old. She’s already had one. Talk about a big MOM FAIL moment.
Apparently, she has crowded teeth, and with all of the mouth sores she’s prone to having, she’s not a good teeth brusher. Luckily we found a very good pediatric dentist who has nitrous on tap and took care of my girls.
I can’t say enough about finding a good pediatric dentist. When my girls were 3 & 4, I took them to a dentist who had “pediatric” on his office door, but there was absolutely nothing kid-friendly about his office, unless you count the treasure chest full of Oriental Trading crap.
My girls’ current pediatric dentist is pretty much a kid paradise. TVs hanging from the ceiling, sunglasses, murals, PSPs in the waiting room; I’m thinking of calling in for an appointment of my own. Plus she believes in nitrous, and any doctor who believes in nitrous is a doctor I like.
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month, and in partnering with Johnson & Johnson, Walmart, and The Motherhood, we’re bringing about awareness to the importance of proper dental habits like these from pediatric dentist, Dr. Kaneta Lott, DDS:
Tips for your kids for having a healthy mouth:
- Make oral care fun (e.g., make it a game; brush, floss and rinse to music; etc).
- Reward their behavior (e.g., give gold stars for good oral care).
- Show, don’t tell – make oral care a family affair.
- Involve them in their own oral care routine by providing products like LISTERINE® Smart Rinse, which can make the daily routine more fun, provides 12-hour cavity protection for kids and strengthens teeth 99 percent better than brushing alone.
Since I we discovered that my eldest daughter had a cavity and “crowded teeth,” we started our girls on a mouthwash routine. OK, so I’ll confess. It wasn’t “we started our girls” but “they saw commercials on TV that made them want to have healthy teeth” so we bought them some mouthwash.
We just went back for a follow-up dentist visit this week, and much to my PRIDE, no cavities! Plus, bribing my kids with $2 each for no crying during the dentist visit totally worked for a peaceful afternoon.
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To learn more about the American Heart Association’s My Heart. My Life.™ initiative, visit www.MyHeartMyLife.org.
To hear more about improving your oral care routine and see an educational message from professional snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler, visit www.Listerine.com. (Coming Soon!)
Disclosure: While this is a sponsored post is in partnership with The Motherhood, Johnson & Johnson, and Walmart, all ideas are my own unless specified.
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