Top teeth tips for toddlers

August is Dental Health month. By pure coincidence I booked the girls into see the dentist yesterday, August 1. How good am I? Well, not really that good as it's the first time either of them had been to the dentist.

I've been a little confused as I've always heard mixed messages about when your supposed to take your child to the dentist for the first time. From as soon as their six months old to when they're four. My dentist said he liked to wait until they're about three. At that point he takes them for a ride in the chair and pokes around and makes sure everything seems OK in their mouth and that's it. Nice and easy.

After I received this advice, I tucked it away and kind of forgot about. Until I suddenly realised that my youngest was three and neither of my kids had been to the dentist. Time to book in.

A few days after I booked the kids (and myself) in, I went to a blogger's brunch put on by Colgate. The morning was really interesting – a mix of talking about dental health, trusted brands and blogging.

For me, the highlight was a chat from the special guest – Mrs Marsh (Barbara Farrell). I mean if you were a kid in the '70s or '80s it was probably Mrs Marsh who taught you the importance of brushing, fluoriguard and 'tough teef'. Remember the chalk? It gets in. Barbara spoke to us about dental health and her positive experience of being involved with a trusted brand (Colgate) for so many years. It was really thought-provoking and could form a whole other post. I was little intimidated by Mrs Marsh, I wanted to impress her, my kids on the other hand were not so impacted by her presence. When Barbara told them to stop swinging on a chair they glanced at her and kept on going. Obviously they had no idea who they were dealing with. Maybe she's more authoritarian when she has her chalk and blue water.

Mrs Marsh

For me, the most interesting part of the day was learning about keeping my kids teeth tip-top. I haven't been as dedicated to their dental health as I probably should have been (hey, I only just took my kids to the dentist for the first time) and I think there were a lot of us who felt a bit guilty in the tooth department that morning. Especially when it was mentioned how badly tooth decay was affecting kids in Australia and how tooth decay can affect other parts of their health.

Colgate top tips
Here are some tips that were recommended and that stood out for me:

* Before your bub has teeth, wipe the inside of their mouth and gums with a wash cloth
* Start brushing with a soft brush as soon as that first tooth appears
* Start using a low-fluoride toothpaste at around the age of 2
* Don't let kids snack or graze all day, this doesn't allow the saliva time to build up and protect their teeth.
* If you're going to give lollies/treats, they're better off eating them all in one go rather than slowly over the whole day.
* Your little one should visit the dentist by the time of their first birthday.

My teeth tips
I was pleased after our visit to the dentist yesterday that all was OK. In fact, he said they had beautiful teeth. There are times when I haven't been the best tooth brusher, but the things that I've done with my kids to look after their teeth are this:

* From an early age, give them a tooth brush to "play" with and get used to in the bath.
* Let them brush my teeth while I brush theirs.
* The kids only really drink milk and water. We've never had cordial in in the house, so it's never an argument. They only have juice on occasion. The only soft drink they've ever had is lemonade and that's only a special treat.
* On advice given to me, Lil-lil stopped bottles at the age of 1 and Goosey never had a bottle at all, just went straight from boob to cup. Giving them a cup from a early age to get used to it, made it an easy transition.
*They've always drunk tap water containing fluoride, rather than spring water.

Hopefully, these things have helped keep their teeth nice. But who knows. I just hope that the girls keep smiling when they go to the dentist.

Goosey's first visit.

For those unfamiliar with Mrs Marsh, check out some of her finest work:


Thanks to Colgate Australia and Brand Meets Blog for inviting me and the kids to brunch!