National Brush Day
Fall is a wonderful time of the year. The leaves are changing, the mornings are crisp and cool, smells of apple pies and pumpkin spice fill the air; not to mention hayrides, corn mazes and of course, Halloween. Now that the excitement of trick-or treating is over, parents often dread the idea of pounds of candy hanging around the house for weeks to come. Most people understand that sugar in excess is not good for your health, but we often forget about how much damage it can do to our teeth.
Dental decay is the most common chronic childhood disease, affecting 16.5 million children in the United States. Oral disease causes kids to miss 51 million school hours and their parents to lose 25 million work hours annually. Some reports indicate that up to 75% of parents report their kids sometimes (or frequently) forget to brush their teeth.
After indulging in all of that Halloween candy, it’s even more important to maintain healthy tooth brushing habits. That is why the Kids Healthy Mouth Campaign has designated November 1st as National Brush Day, a day to reinforce good habits such as brushing 2 times per day for 2 minutes (2min2x).
Two minutes to kids can seem like an eternity. Many young kids have a hard time sitting still for one minute let alone two. There are a lot of great resources and websites (2minx2x) which use creative tools and videos kids can watch while they brush their teeth to ensure they’ve brushed long enough. There are also games and Apps available which reward children’s efforts for brushing.
Let’s help our children achieve healthier teeth, have good breath, fewer cavities, and avoid painful dental problems in the future.
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