photo & craft by Tonya Staab

Do you know how often to change your toothbrush and how to get your kid excited about oral care? Here is what Colgate, Dr. Oz and real moms say about it!

One of the campaigns that I have been working in my job with Collective Bias is the Invisible Nasties campaign for Colgate focusing on teaching children about oral health and the importance of getting a new toothbrush every three months. This project has been so close to our hearts and hit close to home to many of our team members and even our CEO John Andrews wrote a blog post how he was able to engage his daughter into talking about oral care for two hours. During this campaign I have heard so many great ideas from other parents how they have gotten their kids to get interested in brushing their teeth, and today I also had a chance to interview Dr. Oz of The Dr. Oz Tv Show and ask his tips as well.

Toothbrushing Tips for Kids from Dr. Oz

Dr. Oz pointed about that your over all health really starts from your mouth, and if children have inflammation in their mouths, it can even lead to altered bone structure as they grow older. Here are his top tips for children’s oral care.

1. Dr. Oz agrees that toothbrush should be changed every three months, but he adds that every time you have a flu, you get sick, you should either sterilize your toothbrush afterwards – or easier thing is just to buy a new one. This is a great tip especially right before the flu season!

2. Don’t buy a hard brush for kids, buy a soft one. Many kids brush too hard with the hard brush and can actually harm the gums.

3. Monitor children’s toothpaste usage – many children use too much toothpaste, and only a tiny bit is needed. Check your city water’s fluoride amounts to see how important it is for your child to get the needed fluoride to protect the teeth from toothpaste. If the fluoride content in the water is high, be careful not to give too much toothpaste for kids, too much fluoride can make those white spots for your teeth.

4. Dr. Oz wants to remind that kids need to brush teeth for two minutes and his trick has always been to play music for his children so they know when the song is over, the two minutes is over too.

How to really get kids involved – tips from Moms!

1. One of my favorite ways for moms to talk to kids about “invisible nasties” is to create fun art projects and drawings of the “monsters” that will eventually take over your toothbrush – and your mouth. My children have been drawing these monsters for a month now, and what I noticed when the school started – they also talk about it at school for their friends. The concept of Invisible Nasties is so simple for kids to understand, and so easy for us moms to talk about for the kids. See what kind of invisible nasties the kids made, my favorite is what Tonya Staab did with her kids out of felt.

2. “I try to find and buy fun products that will keep them occupied over the sink while the toothbrush is in their mouths,” says Audrey McClelland of Mom Generations and she shops for fun toothbrushes like the ones with her boys’ favorite cartoon characters like Bakugan, Spiderman and Diego, which she bought from Walmart.

3. Daisy Sutherland, also known as the Dr. Mommy reminds that we need to be examples for our children. “Remember our children will learn from us, the parents, so it’s important to display healthy choices for them to easily adapt into their lives. Let’s avoid the ‘do as I say’ mentality and simply ‘do’ things together. You will both benefit and you will be proud of the healthy choices your children will make in the future.”

4. Jen from the Crafting Chicks got her kids into talking about invisible nasties while doing some really cool crafts about these monsters. Her tips “Read some fun books about toothbrushing – and – create a toothbrushing routine that they can follow each day (music, getting things set up,etc.)”

Watch The Dr. Oz Show on Friday when he talks about oral health care and sign up for the toothbrush reminder so you will remember to get a new toothbrush every three months!

Disclosure: Colgate is a client of mine, but I was not asked to post this, nor paid for the post. Our family has been using Colgate for years and I think issue of oral health care is important.

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About the author

Katja Presnal
Katja Presnal is an international lifestyle expert who inspires you to live life to the fullest. She has been featured in NY Times, Glamour, Redbook and Woman's Day magazines among many other national and international publications and written for MTV3 and Lifetime TV networks. Read Katja's full bio and connect with Katja on Twitter @katjapresnal

2 Comments for Tips from Moms & Dr. Oz:
How to Get Kids to Brush Their Teeth

CanCan

We have battery powered toothbrushes for the kids and they love them…if only the 3 year old would stop biting the heck out of his.

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Alaina Frederick

My kids are still little and find anything that they can do for themselves and by themselves as “big boy” things. So that time of getting ready in the morning or before bed when they can brush their own teeth and wash their own faces and hands is special for them.

Combine this with a “super awesome” toothbrush that they picked out and it’s a great combo! They love the funny shaped, superhero, brightly colored toothbrushes!

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