Healthy Habits

I come from a line of teeth-focused family members. My grandfather was an orthodontist, my uncle was an orthodontist and my mother was a dental hygienist for many years before raising her children. Oral hygiene is a serious matter among my people – who are also cavity prone, a trait I unfortunately inherited despite my attentive flossing habit.

Aside from the overt attractiveness of brightly polished teeth and fresh minty breath, the long term benefits of taking care of and hence preserving your teeth make it important to instill these habits in children.

My kids like to eat toothpaste – strawberry, banana, mint – they do not discriminate against flavors despite my best efforts. They also love to chew on their toothbrushes and use them to block the running faucet and spray up water across the bathroom. Not exactly the serious tooth-brushers I am trying to condition.

Recently, I found these toothbrushes and it has been quite a difference. The bodies light up from green to yellow to red like a stop sign, signaling the brusher to continue brushing for at least 60 seconds. They are easy to grip and come with a suction bottom that attaches seamlessly to the rim of the sink, or the bathtub, or the wall, or the toilet – basically, they are easy to store and certainly, play with.

The bristles are a little firmer, which has helped them hold up for much longer than some of our other children’s toothbrushes. I also feel like this aids in a deeper clean, even when my kid’s want to ‘try themselves.’

Plus, my kids love the fun characters, colorful graphics and of course, the lights. In fact, sometimes they take the toothbrushes out of their mouths and just watch the lights change. Not exactly the point I guess, but again, my life is all about compromises.