Young children are very innocent. They do not know a lot about the world around them or how they are supposed to act in the world around them. They are born with no knowledge and because of this it puts a great responsibility on the parent to teach them things they need to know. One of these things is brushing their teeth. If left to themselves children would not know that they should brush their teeth and their teeth would probably go bad. Here are some tips to teaching your children how to effectively brush their teeth:

The age you should start teaching your children to brush their teeth:

The period from three years of age to seven years of age is the age when you should teach your children to brush their teeth. Their teeth should be kept clean all before this time, but once they hit three they should start learning to do it on their own. Three is a good age to start because three years old is when all the baby teeth should be grown in. Once they have a full set of teeth it is important to teach them to keep those teeth strong. Baby teeth serve an important function in helping to shape the face and prepare for permanent teeth to grow in. You do not want the children to do anything that would prevent these things from happening how they are supposed to. Children will probably have caught on how to take care of teeth and not let them go bad by the time they are seven.

Developing important skills to help them in their teeth brushing:

In order for children to brush effectively and get their teeth very clean they will have had to have developed hand coordination. At three this will probably not be fully developed yet. Until they develop the coordination to hold the tooth brush by themselves and brush effectively you should do the brushing for them. Every now and then you should give them the opportunity to try so they can start getting the hang of it. As their hand coordination develops you will be able to tell that they can handle the toothbrush better. As it develops to become easier and easier for them to handle it you will need to help them less and less. By the time they are seven they should be able to handle it very well.

Important things to teach them and to look for when they brush:

It is very important to teach children to brush thoroughly. You need to be sure that they reach all areas of their mouths. Young children will get into the habit of brushing very lightly over their teeth and forgetting to reach all areas of the mouth. A lot of times they will not brush far enough to the back of their teeth. They need to learn to brush their top teeth, their bottom teeth, their front teeth and their back teeth. They also need to learn to brush all around their teeth, not just the tops of their teeth. The most important place for them to brush is down next to their gums. Next to the gums is where they will have the most plaque build-up and the most food get caught. They need to brush hard and close to the gums so that they can clean all this stuff out. Otherwise they will develop cavities. Lastly, make sure that they do not swallow the toothpaste and also be sure to always checks for spots on their teeth that could turn into cavities.

Young children are very innocent. They do not know a lot about the world around them or how they are supposed to act in the world around them. They are born with no knowledge and because of this it puts a great responsibility on the parent to teach them things they need to know. One of these things is brushing their teeth. If left to themselves children would not know that they should brush their teeth and their teeth would probably go bad. Here are some tips to teaching your children how to effectively brush their teeth:

The age you should start teaching your children to brush their teeth:

The period from three years of age to seven years of age is the age when you should teach your children to brush their teeth. Their teeth should be kept clean all before this time, but once they hit three they should start learning to do it on their own. Three is a good age to start because three years old is when all the baby teeth should be grown in. Once they have a full set of teeth it is important to teach them to keep those teeth strong. Baby teeth serve an important function in helping to shape the face and prepare for permanent teeth to grow in. You do not want the children to do anything that would prevent these things from happening how they are supposed to. Children will probably have caught on how to take care of teeth and not let them go bad by the time they are seven.

Developing important skills to help them in their teeth brushing:

In order for children to brush effectively and get their teeth very clean they will have had to have developed hand coordination. At three this will probably not be fully developed yet. Until they develop the coordination to hold the tooth brush by themselves and brush effectively you should do the brushing for them. Every now and then you should give them the opportunity to try so they can start getting the hang of it. As their hand coordination develops you will be able to tell that they can handle the toothbrush better. As it develops to become easier and easier for them to handle it you will need to help them less and less. By the time they are seven they should be able to handle it very well.

Important things to teach them and to look for when they brush:

It is very important to teach children to brush thoroughly. You need to be sure that they reach all areas of their mouths. Young children will get into the habit of brushing very lightly over their teeth and forgetting to reach all areas of the mouth. A lot of times they will not brush far enough to the back of their teeth. They need to learn to brush their top teeth, their bottom teeth, their front teeth and their back teeth. They also need to learn to brush all around their teeth, not just the tops of their teeth. The most important place for them to brush is down next to their gums. Next to the gums is where they will have the most plaque build-up and the most food get caught. They need to brush hard and close to the gums so that they can clean all this stuff out. Otherwise they will develop cavities. Lastly, make sure that they do not swallow the toothpaste and also be sure to always checks for spots on their teeth that could turn into cavities.

Gum disease is the leading cause of tooth loss. But the scariest news is that it does not stop there. Gum disease, which is a bacterial infection in the gums, has been linked to some cases of diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and premature birth. This can happen because if you do not take the proper steps in caring for your teeth the bacteria can enter your bloodstream, where it is then passed on to major organs, where it can do a high amount of damage. Practicing good oral hygiene can help prevent these problems.

The most effective way to help prevent gum disease is to limit the amount of plaque that is on our teeth. The most effective thing we can do at home is to brush our teeth. While brushing alone is not going to remove all of the plaque, it is probably the most important part of good oral hygiene. The problem is that some people do not know how to correctly brush their teeth or others are just lazy and do not brush their teeth properly.

Here are some tips to follow to correctly brush your teeth.

Tip one:
Brush your teeth at least two times a day; some people brush their teeth every time they eat. This helps to remove food that might get stuck between teeth or food particles that can led to a build up on the outside of your teeth. Brush your teeth in a circular motion for two to three minutes. Be sure to get both sides of your teeth, as well as the gum line. Hold your toothbrush at a forty-five degree angle to help ensure that the bristles reach beneath the gums. Many people forget to brush the backs of their front teeth, when brushing the backs of your teeth use the tip of the toothbrush and an up and down motion.

Tip two:
Use toothpaste that contains fluoride. Fluoride helps to keep teeth healthy and strong, while removing plaque. Fluoride also helps to prevent tooth decay and fights cavities. Also be sure that the toothpaste you choose has the ADA Seal, this seal tells you that the toothpaste meets the ADA criteria and safety guidelines.

Tip three:
Choose the right toothbrush. Not every toothbrush will work for you. You might go through about for or five toothbrushes before you find one that works the best, but having the right toothbrush is just as important as brushing your teeth. Without the correct toothbrush you can not correctly brush your teeth.

Here are some guidelines for choosing the correct toothbrush.
    You want to choose a toothbrush that has soft nylon bristles.
    The head of the toothbrush should be small enough to access the hard to reach areas of your mouth.

Tip four:
When brushing your teeth do not forget to include your tongue. Like your teeth your tongue collects food particles that can turn into bacteria.

Tip five:
Replace your toothbrush every three months or whenever it gets worn, frayed or dirty. Some toothbrushes have an indicator to let you know when you should replace them, but on average they last about three months. Children's toothbrushes should be replaced more often because they will wear out faster. When your toothbrush gets old it does not work as effectively as when it is new.

Tip six:
Electronic toothbrushes can be a benefit to properly brushing your teeth. You do not have to worry about the correct motion because the motorized head does that. All you have to worry about is making sure you get all of the surfaces of your teeth. Some electronic toothbrushes also have a timer that shuts the toothbrush off after two to three minutes.

There are so many buzz words and phrases used in advertising these days.  It can be tough to weed out the genuine from the fraud.  But then again, looking over the quarter-mile-long toothpaste aisle, maybe we hope that one of those buzz words will reach out and jump into the cart so we can continue along on our way.  Well, what about this buzz word phrase: "fluoride enhanced"?  Does fluoride enhanced toothpaste really make a difference?

Everyone knows that fluoride is good for teeth; it keeps them healthy and fights against tooth decay.  Isn't that why cities add fluoride to the public water systems?  Yes, fluoride is a great thing to drink or eat because it keeps teeth healthy, but scientists have found that the best benefits of fluoride come when it is both ingested and when it is applied directly to teeth.

Well, since fluoride in the water system takes care of ingesting fluoride, how do teeth come into direct contact with fluoride?  This is where fluoride enhanced toothpaste and fluoride treatments at the dentist's office come in.  These two activities in regular dental care routines make a big difference.  They reduce the number of cavities and amount of tooth decay, which translates to smoother visits to the dentist.

The purpose of toothpaste and teeth brushing is to remove pieces of food hiding around the teeth.  The brushing also removes plaque build-up.  All of this helps to prevent tooth decay, but fluoride enhanced toothpastes have a little extra boost that is in fact very effective. 

The main ingredient in most fluoride enhanced toothpastes is either sodium fluoride or sodium monofluorophosphate.  Both of these compounds deliver the necessary fluoride directly to teeth.  Interestingly, most brands of toothpaste offer the same amount of these important ingredients - so name brands don't necessarily mean better toothpaste.  Maybe that will help when picking a box from the toothpaste aisle. 

So how does fluoride reduce cavities?  Fluoride is absorbed by the tooth which strengthens the enamel or the hard glossy outer coating that protects teeth.  What do teeth need protection from?  Teeth needed to be protected from plaque, a sticky clear film that occurs because of bacteria.  Plaque emits an acid that mixes with the compounds in food, especially sugars, and creates an acidic level that eats away at tooth enamel and destroys the inside material including the root of a tooth.  Fluoride helps to make the enamel on a tooth strong, and it also helps to repair early stages of tooth decay.  So in reality, fluoride enhanced toothpastes are a great way to effectively protect teeth from cavities.

Some people worry that the fluoride in toothpaste products is not safe for their kids, but fluoride enhanced toothpaste is not dangerous for children.  The American Dental Association has commented that the warning labels on some fluoride containing toothpaste tubes are extreme.  The Association says that children cannot take in enough fluoride from toothpaste to cause any serious problems.

It is important, however, to make sure that children do not swallow toothpaste.  Parents should watch their children and teach them how to properly brush, spit, and rinse.  Even after children have established these habits, parents should check in on them occasionally to ensure that they are still following this process.

Science has shown that fluoride enhanced toothpastes are very effective at fighting tooth decay.  The American Dental Association also recognizes this great benefit and has developed a seal of acceptance to indicate to the public which dental products meet the needs of consumers.  So when searching for that perfect tube of toothpaste, make sure that it is fluoride enhanced and marked with the ADA's seal of acceptance.