28 Day Dental Challenge

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month.

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month and a great time to focus on providing education, awareness, and practice to develop healthy dental habits to our children. Take the 28-day dental challenge by following the dental tips, tricks, and statistics listed below. Make this a fun and informative 28-days to help our little ones brush, swish, and floss. Who knows, you might learn a few things for yourself along the way.

Good luck!

1. Children can demonstrate brushing on a favorite stuffed animal
2. Check out The Tooth Book by Dr. Seuss
3. Dental Caries is the most common chronic disease in childhood — but it is preventable!
4. 34.4 million school hours are lost annually due to dental emergencies (AAPD.org)
5. Say no to sticky snacks like gummy vitamins, candy, and dried fruits
6. Baby’s first tooth! Visit your local pediatric dentist within 6 months.
7. Try turning on some tunes while brushing for two minutes
8. Hit snooze: never let a child go to bed with a bottle or sippy cup
9. Replace toothbrushes every three months or after an illness
10. If they can tie their shoes, they can brush their teeth – but supervise!
11. Limit snacking to give teeth a break from sugars and acids
12. Pearly whites: braces require extra care to avoid life-long damage
13. Play “pretend dentist” to ease nerves before a first visit
14. Curb thumb-sucking with reminders and positive reinforcement
15. Children with motor skill difficulties may need a wider toothbrush handle – like a toothbrush in a tennis ball
16. Fresh foods like carrots and celery can function as natural toothbrushes
17. Dental sealants prevent 80% of cavities in back teeth (CDC).
18. The Space Race: baby teeth hold space for permanent teeth. Premature loss due to cavities can impact permanent dentition.
19. Dentists recommend children get dental x-rays to see in between teeth
20. Hang on, are x-rays safe? The individual risk from x-ray images is negligible compared to the benefits.
21. Oral health is linked to overall health including systemic conditions like heart disease and diabetes. Early oral health can reduce these risks.
22. The tongue conundrum: tongue brushing removes oral bacteria and freshens breath
23. Host a family tooth-brushing competition to see who can brush for the full 2 minutes
24. Children’s enamel is thin, making it more susceptible to cavities.
25. Tooth pain, oral cavity swelling and fever require emergency attention
26. Saliva waterslides: Saliva protects teeth, washing away food and neutralizing acids
27. Reward anxious little ones after dental visits to encourage bravery
28. Early oral care sets the stage for lifelong healthy smiles!

As you work through this list, think about securing a dental appointment for your child sometime soon. It is important to establish a dentist for your child early on to help minimize fear, shift focus from treatment to preventative care and avoid emergency care setting.

Adopting healthy dental habits and taking care of your teeth with regular appointments with a dentist, are key to a lifetime of dental health.

Author Eve Pomazi, a third-year dental student at the Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine, is a former CSHIP intern with Southern Vermont AHEC.