How to get your kids to brush their teeth

Question: How can you get the kids to start brushing their teeth?

Your child may say he brushed his teeth tonight and the toothbrush does feel wet when you check, but as a lot of parents have found out the hard way, the age old “wet toothbrush” trick has just arrived to your house! Why would he go through the effort of making it look like he brushed his teeth and not just actually brush them?

There is just some things that only kids themselves can understand, and brushing their teeth is most certainly something they want to avoid. If you find that you’re struggling with this chore, here are some tips for integrating daily brushing into your household.

Start early

The earlier you start brushing your child’s teeth the better. They do not even have to have teeth to start going through the motions. (With or without teeth, you should use toothpaste). Daily brushing normalizes oral health as part of the daily routine so when your child has a full set of teeth you won’t have to introduce a new expectation. The norm will already be set.

For some small children a long plastic toothbrush can be intimidating or even invasive. If that happens to be the case in your household, consider asking your pharmacist for a finger cap and using your finger to brush your child’s teeth and gums.

Modelling, Consistency, Fun

The most successful approaches will combine the strategies of modelling, consistency and making the desired behaviour fun. These strategies can be combined by creating the following daily routine. First, open wide and ask your young child to brush your teeth. This is a good warm-up to holding the toothbrush without actually putting it in the child’s mouth. Then, you brush your child’s teeth. This is a good way to make sure all the teeth actually get brushed as his/her dexterity may still not be fully developed. Finally, as a reward, the child has a turn to brush a teddy bear’s teeth. This way everyone is involved in the process.

“I Make you Brush your Teeth because I Love You”

A little bit of psychology and empathy can work wonders if you are really struggling. The trick is to frame what you say in terms that your child can understand and try to see things from their perspective. You might tell your child, “You love your teddy bear, so you would want him to have clean teeth, right? I love you so I want you to have clean teeth the same way.” Drawing the association between love and oral hygiene as well as the repetition will likely help your child understand that this is not scary or a punishment, but something important to be done out of love.

Imagery and Singing

For young children, sometimes a song can go a long way. Help them to imagine the toothbrush as the wheel on a bus. You can sing to them:

The wheels on the brush go ’round and ‘round

’Round and ‘round, round’ and ‘round

The wheels on the brush go ’round and ‘round

All through our mouths!

This is a lot of fun with a mouth full toothpaste!

For Older Children

For older children, you might let them pick out their own toothbrush and toothpaste, or try an electric toothbrush. You can also ask your pharmacist for a pink dissolving agent, that when swished around in the mouth will reveal spots where plaque has built-up. Children usually think this “magic trick” is interesting and are eager to scrub the pink away. Finally, try teaching your child to use a timer and to keep brushing until the timer goes off – two minutes total. If they find the activity boring then you might read to them while they brush, or offer to play some music.

If you are having a hard time getting your child to adapt this healthy behaviour, take a moment to congratulate yourself for trying and acknowledge that this can be tricky. Then, try some of these new techniques and hopefully your luck will change.



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John Keane is a full time pharmacist and owner of Keanes Pharmacy. Why not discuss this topic confidentially with John anytime in person at Keanes Pharmacy, Austin Friars or 0449342884 ©Keanes Pharmacy 

Question: Does flossing really make a difference?

Answer: Oral health is one of those aspects of our daily lives that is frequently overlooked or downgraded in importance. For most people, brushing twice a day is more than enough to maintain total mouth care, even though this is regularly limited to a cursory, half asleep rub of the toothbrush first thing in the morning. If you’re looking to keep your whole mouth healthy and your breath fresh all the time, a little extra is what is called for, and flossing is one of the most important of those steps.

Reasons for Flossing Daily

Reading the health literature on the benefits of flossing, whether it is a simple WikiHow instruction page or a technical article in an academic journal, the one reason that everyone keeps coming back to for flossing is the simplest: toothbrushes cannot clean between teeth and below the gumline.  This means that if we do not use dental floss, we are effectively ignoring a good proportion of our teeth when we clean. There is no way that anyone would ignore one or two of their teeth every day when they brush and allow them to get unhealthy; but without the added care of flossing, that is exactly what we are doing.  

Short and Long Term Results

The benefits of flossing in the immediate short term are numerous. First off, our teeth will be healthier, so that will mean fewer trips to the dentist suffering from ailments like cavities, gingivitis, and gum disease. In turn, without tooth aches and pains, we can enjoy also the foods we like when we want them. Remember how cold drinks and ice cream don’t go well with sensitivity? Or hard foods with sore gums? Flossing helps make sure that that doesn’t happen, along with getting rid of the trapped food and plaque that can cause bad breath. Even mouthwash cannot do that.

In the longer term, the less tartar and plaque that are allowed to develop in the mouth, the less harmful bacteria there is also. In the past few years, studies have shown that harmful mouth bacteria can have an effect in other parts of the body also, not just the oral area. This can include bacteria travelling to the heart, increasing the chances of heart disease and blocked arteries, but there is also evidence showing a link between a poorly maintained mouth and diabetes and respiratory illness. If there is a history of any of these illnesses in your family, flossing might suddenly look a lot more important than it did previously.

What Can You Do?

The good news is that there are abundant options to get started and make up for lost time. All pharmacies carry a range (flavours etc.) of effective traditional flosses that are great value for money, and staff will only be too happy to help you find one that fits your needs. Aside from the standard roll style dental floss packs, there are also floss picks, which combine a length of dental floss with a tooth pick device on the end (handy if you’re someone who enjoys their steaks!).  Also, if you’re struggling to get the younger members of the family to floss, or even just looking for a change yourself, there are also special flossing wands, which are reusable and come in a range of fun colours and styles.

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John Keane is a full time pharmacist and owner of Keanes Pharmacy. Why not discuss this topic confidentially with John anytime in person at Keanes Pharmacy, Austin Friars or 0449342884 ©Keanes Pharmacy 

Question: Do I need to upgrade from a traditional to an electric toothbrush?

Answer: The short answer to this week’s question is yes!

While traditional toothbrushes get your teeth clean and keep the triple threat of tooth decay, gum disease, and bad breath at bay, the simple fact is that a good quality electric toothbrush (as opposed to a battery charged model) is superior in keeping your teeth looking and feeling better than you thought was possible other than with a professional dentist’s cleaning. Here are five reasons to take a look at what’s out there when comes to upgrading to an electric toothbrush.

Dentists recommend it

The people who look at our teeth all day, every day should know a thing or two about what is best for them, and when it comes to toothbrushes, dentists and dental associations almost unanimously say that electric is the way to go. A lot of this has to do with the fact that most people do not spend the recommended two minutes brushing their teeth at each session. This is easy to understand when the morning rush is on, and if you find that you have to hurry things first thing, then an electric toothbrush will get your teeth cleaner than a manual each time.

They don’t brush too hard

Along with rushing the number of minutes that we spend brushing, another common mistake when it comes to cleaning our teeth is using the brush too hard. Dentists recommend gently rubbing the brush over the teeth in a vertical, up and down motion, rather than digging in at the mouth. Brushing too hard can cause the gums to recede back toward the top of the mouth and the jaw, leaving the tooth in question exposed. Once this happens, it’s irreversible, and the damage is done permanently.

The good news is that new models of electric toothbrush now come with sensors that will beep or even lessen the force they are using if they detect that you’re going to hard. Your beautiful (and in many cases expensive) smile will never be affected by brushing again!

Cupped Bristles and Changeable Heads = Whiter Teeth!

Many electric toothbrushes now come with specially cupped bristles that polish the teeth and guarantee a whiter finish than would be possible with manual toothbrushes. They work with the sonic and ultrasonic movements of higher end electric brushes and leave all of the teeth with a gleam. You can even experiment with different shaped and aligned heads to find the combination that best suits your mouth. Again, the big winner here is your smile.

Arthritis-Limited Mobility-Manual Dexterity Problems

Electric toothbrushes are also better for those with disabilities and mobility problems. This is because the electric models require the user to simply move the brush slowly over the teeth and allow the rotation sonic head to the work. Manual toothbrushes require a much larger effort and range of movement that is just not possible for many people with dexterity problems.

Timers and Sensors- For Kids!

Finally, if you have little ones who are a struggle to get in front of the mirror twice a day for a whole two minutes, then a kids electric toothbrush could be just what you’re looking for. Many models come in bright colours and are themed with popular animals and cartoons, making them a much more attractive proposition than a standard manual brush. Using an electric toothbrush can also be made into a game, as some models now include a timer that rings when the recommended two minutes of brushing have elapsed, along with the ping that sounds when the sensors pick up that the brush is being used overly hard. The timer starts as soon as the brush touches the teeth and is a great to liven up what is otherwise a daily chore for the under twelves.

Electric toothbrushes make a great Christmas present and your local pharmacy will be able to provide qualified advice on the best models for adults, children, and those with special needs in the coming months. 

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John Keane is a full time pharmacist and owner of Keanes Pharmacy. Why not discuss this topic confidentially with John anytime in person at Keanes Pharmacy, Austin Friars or 0449342884 ©Keanes Pharmacy 2015 www.keanespharmacy.com

Do you know what the triggers of childhood obesity are?

Answer: The immediate triggers and danger areas that precipitate the onset of childhood obesity can often seem so simple that they often slip under the radar and go unremarked. The figures on the topic in Ireland certainly make sobering reading for parents. Fully one quarter (25%) of Irish children are now overweight, and as many as eight out of ten are not meeting the recommended amount of daily physical activity. What this means in hard numbers is that there are now 300,000 overweight children throughout the country, with 100,000 of them listed as clinically obese. Per head of population, Ireland is currently in fifth position for childhood obesity from a 2013 survey 27 EU countries.[1] More immediately, with no government supplied treatments on offer, parents who are looking for a programme to help their children face a minimum fee of 600 euro.

It can often be hard for parents to recognise that their child might have a problem until it is too late, so with that in mind here is a quick outline of the triggers that can lead to a greater problem a few years down the line.

Genetics/Family History

Like most of aspects of our physical make up, such as height and eye colour, genetics and family history play a part in the onset of childhood obesity. Heavier parents will most likely have heavier children, but of course exceptions always prove the rule. In addition to genetics, children also learn their habits and behaviours from parents, and so diet and pastimes like the number of hours spent watching TV are also picked up at home. These patterns of behaviour are the frameworks which children will carry into adulthood, and it is at home that good habits like healthy eating and sufficient physical exercise are begun.   

Diet

A bad diet is perhaps the number one trigger for obesity in childhood. The usual causes here are too many sugary or junk foods throughout the week instead of healthy balanced meals. This in turn leads to a calorie overload and weight gain. An often overlooked factor in a child’s diet for many parents, however, is the size of serving portions. While most of us have a good idea of what makes up a healthy dinner and try to limit the amount of empty calories like sweets that our children take in, it is rarely pointed out that younger children under ten do not need large servings at mealtimes. This can encourage overeating and weight gain also.   

Physical Activity

It’s no secret that physical activity among children has been declining for decades. Twenty years ago, half as many children were driven to school as are today and the ever growing choice of video games and TV shows means that once children get home, they are less likely to go out again, especially in the winter months.

It’s recommended that children get sixty minutes of physical activity every day in order to maintain good health, growth, and weight; anything short of that and the potential for problems begins. The good news is that the physical activity in question does not have to be anything particularly exerting, such as team sports or running, but everyday pastimes like walking or active games all contribute to getting the minutes up.

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John Keane is a full time pharmacist and owner of Keanes Pharmacy. Why not discuss this topic confidentially with John anytime in person at Keanes Pharmacy, Austin Friars or 0449342884 ©Keanes Pharmacy 2015 www.keanespharmacy.com