Five tips to keep healthy smiles!

Dentists can be darn expensive. Luckily, my kids have yet to have a cavity. I like to think it has something to do with our habits and what we eat. Here are five tips that we try to practice on a regular basis. Have they been the reason why our girls have had zero cavities? I do not know...but they are working for us so far!

1. Brush two times a day and make sure the kids brush right! This is an obvious one. We may have to remind the girls to brush, but we make sure they do, and when they do it, we make sure it's right.

2. Use a mouthwash. Another one we are pretty good with, but a lot of the reason we use it because the girls love it! We try to remember that all mouthwashes vary the time you should use it. Some suggest you swish before you brush and some suggest after you brush. Regardless, we try to use one.

3. Get those teeth cleaned professionally twice a year! Jeremy's insurance covers this. Come January, I am making the appointments for our yearly appointments - dentists, eye doctors...etc. I think if you schedule them every January you are more likely to remember to do it. At least, that is how my mind works.

4. Watch sugar intake at home. We all have a sweet tooth. But if you count the times we cave in to those cravings, you will realize they are few. Something we have found that helps is animal crackers...they satisfy the sweet tooth!

5. Teach kids why you do all of these things. Tell them what is going on when they brush, why you should watch sugars and the importance of getting teeth cleaned at the dentist, along with anything you do at your home for preventive measures. This helps them understand the importance of what we tell them to do instead of them just thinking we do it to 'nag'. Make sense, no?

I am sure many of you have many of your own tips for how you keep you and your families smiles pretty. I hope these tips may help you and if you have any suggestions you would like to share, feel free to do so! I would love to hear them...just leave me a comment below. I don't know about you, but I could use all the help I can get!

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Three Ladies and a Dad Review Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Trident blogging program, making me eligible to get a $25 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.