My kids had their dentist appointments yesterday. Combined number of cavities for my boys: Nine!! I would like to blame it on genetics, but I would be lying to myself. I never brush their teeth. It's one of those things that I've completely failed to do as a mother. $300 dollars later, I've learned my lesson. Oddly, Ella has been able to escape my neglect and has zero cavities.
How have you failed lately? Ha! What a gloomy question to start your Wednesday. It's just that failure has been on my mind ever since I read
this article in the NYTimes. Actually, I failed at that too. I really just read the first and last page of the article online. But I liked what I read. Do you think failure is the secret to success? Or at least to less cavities?
haha, i love the photo. i have had TONS of cavities in my life (i blame it on my british teeth!). i have ot be better about brushing toby's little ones :)
ReplyDeletegreat post! i am with joanna, i had tons of cavities when i was a kid. but i learned my lesson and have zero cavities as an adult. :)
ReplyDeleteas far as failing as a mother... do you have 3 hours to listen to my list??? ;) first on that list: i'm letting my son watch a probably way too scary scooby doo while i read blogs. x
Out of 5 siblings, only the youngest had a mouth riddled with cavities. Mybe it is genetic because the other four have had zero. Granted, my dad did check our teeth before bed. I've heard cavities have something to do with the mouth chemistry. Some have more bacteria or something. It's a daily struggle trying to brush my 17 month old's teeth. I feel like I am torturing him. I've found that an electric toothbrush is best because he get the control while I guide him along. I feel bad when I skip a brush. So hard to remember everything in the morning when you work full time.
ReplyDeleteDon't beat yourself up over cavities! I majorly fail when it comes to brushing my teeth and flossing yet have never had a cavity. There's no rhyme or reason to - it really is genetic! it
ReplyDeleteLane's dentist when I took her last month: "We basically have to do the equivalent of a baby root canal." OUCH.
ReplyDeleteAs a child my younger brother NEVER brushed his teeth and never seemed to have cavities. I always brushed mine but still seemed to get them! I think it just depends on the kid. We have teeth brushing time at night with my two year old but I can't say it is really doing much good. It results in a lot of tooth brush waving but probably not that much actual cleaning.
ReplyDeleteI almost never brush my kids' teeth. If my husband doesn't do it, it pretty much doesn't happen. I barely brush my own teeth (and DEFINITELY not twice a day, for heaven's sake!). As a kid, I think I went years w/o brushing my teeth and had very few cavities. So I guess success has really ruined me.
ReplyDeleteHere in Norway parents brush their kids teeth twice a day, and all children are called in to dentists once every year. The dentists are really giving parents a hard time if the children has a bad teethsituation.... In Norway kids have free dentist (and doctor) until they are 12 years old.
ReplyDeleteRay's breath stinks.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry! I had 9...NINE cavities in my baby teeth. As a nerdy little kid it motivated me to be diligent about my oral hygiene (I dreamed about the day my dentist would finally say to me, "You have no cavities") and since getting me grown up teeth I have none. We get two chances for a reason!
ReplyDeleteno worries, i get disapproving tut tuts from our dentist every time my #1 goes for his check ups... they totally know how to guilt trip you - maybe that's part of their education?
ReplyDeletewww.simplystylishmom.com
I didn't have any cavities until I started having children. Then I got one right smack dab in my front tooth. That one was barrel full of crap.
ReplyDeletewho needs to brush baby teeth? they fall out anyway :)
ReplyDeleteBrushing teeth is overrated. I learned this after having Claire. I thought my friends with kids were crazy when they said having a baby made even brushing your teeth difficult. I'm pretty sure I brushed my teeth twice that first month.
ReplyDeleteBut hey I think it's genetics with the boys. Sounds like they are taking after their Uncle Deebs. He's got a mouth full of metal!
The last time I took the boys to the dentist I had J and she was only 2 months old. The dentist seriously looked at her and said I should bring her in for a check up before she turned ONE! Seriously? What, are they gonna strap her down and give her a cleaning?? Good luck with that! hahaaa
ReplyDeleteI was brushing my son's teeth and keeping him away from sugar, and guess what? He got his 4 front teeth corroded (like cavities) from sucking on lemon and drinking water with lemon!
ReplyDeleteMy kids do it themself, I will put the toothpaste on and then they do the work ;)
ReplyDeleteSo if you do not brush your kids teeth, do they not have a bad breath?
Btw, my daugther (9yr) does not have any cavity but my son (7 yr) always have one in his one year checkup.....
Gyda.
I didn't have any cavities as a kid but as an adult I have had so many, it seems like every time I go the dentist I have another one :( I blame having a brace for 2 years and never quite managing to brush around the wires properly!
ReplyDeleteOh I had so many! I remember going to the dentist with my 3 brothers ALL the freaking time, we hated it! I think you just inspired me to start brushing Matthew's teeth, haven't started yet, he is 18 months, so let's hope I'm still in time! (plus he only has 6!)
ReplyDeleteTeeth brushing is kind of a low mommy priority for me too. It's a topic I always secretly feel semi-guilty about. Glad I'm not alone!
ReplyDeletehi sharon. i'm jessica, one of your readers, and also a dentist. i thought maybe i could share a couple of tips with you, and your readers on looking after the little ones teeth. i think it's great that your boys are already visiting the dentist!! but hopefully, in the future, they will only need to go for the 6 monthly checkup and cleans and no more fillings :)
ReplyDeleteideally, you could bring your infant with you to the dentist once they get their first teeth (usually between 6-9 months of age), even just for a quick 10 second look. that way, we get a quick look at the gums and teeth development, and also your child will progressively become used to having foreign objects/a stranger look into the mouth. the main objective is just to condition them to the environment. one of the most terrifying things for a young child is to attend the a clinical-looking dentist surgery for the very first time in their lives in pain (this is why i hear so many horror stories from patients with childhood dental memories..)
up until about 2 yrs old, it can also be really tricky to brush their teeth (for them, and for you!). the alternative is to use a damp warm flannel washcloth, and gently wipe over their teeth. at this age, you shouldn't need to use toothpaste. past the 2 yrs old mark, they generally tend to have developed the fine motor skills to handle a toothbrush with a smear of toothpaste, so give them a go... but it's best if you follow it up as well, up until school-age usually. the kind of toothbrush doesn't really matter, so long as it's being used in a thorough manner.
finally, if the day is really crazy and there's no time to brush or check their brushing twice, the night-time brush is more important than the morning-brush. without brushing at night, the food particles from daytime meals stick onto the surfaces of the teeth and the mouth tends to dry out, hence less saliva to neutralise cavity-causing acids.
its so important to look after childrens oral hygiene. it sets up their habits for life, really! studies show that kids who have cavities in baby teeth, tend to have more cavities in their adult teeth too. in addition, if the cavity is deep or the tooth is infected and the tooth is removed sooner than it is ready, it interferes with the spacing in their mouth - often leading to crooked adult teeth, and necessary orthodontic (braces) work in the future. also, dental infections, pain and accidents are the 3rd most common cause of emergency childrens hospital admissions!! please please please don't think this is one of the things you can neglect, just 'because baby teeth fall out anyway'
i hope this long,boring and rambly comment was somewhat informative,.... there's a million things that a mother 'should' know and 'should' be doing.. and there's only so many hours in a day. but there you go, another little info nutshell for you :)
Wow, this is disappointing. I hate to be the critical one, but I can't help it on this one. What happened to teaching your children good oral hygiene habits early on? I was honestly shocked at all of these comments. As parents we are all concerned about our childs health and well being and I can't believe one of the most basic personal hygiene needs is being treated as an oversight... To each there own though. But man, think about how your kid feels, constantly having gritty teeth, bad taste in their mouth, being the kid with stinky breath at school...
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