Our Kid’s Dental Health in Times of COVID

My kid’s dental health is something I really take seriously. The #FabSkye regularly visits her pedia dentist for cleaning and flouride since she’s 1. She has a really good relationship with her dentist actually. But because of COVID, my kid’s wasn’t able to visit our beloved pedia.

The #FabSkye was due for a visit months ago but we weren’t able to. My son, the #GabMazing is 1 year 6 months old already but still no experience of pedia dentist visit. I really want to but because of the crazy COVID cases we are currently having, I don’t think I could take the risk.

So what’s a mumma to do? Of course, as I patiently wait for this crazy to end I need to make sure that we do our part to my kid’s teeth and gums healthy.

And I’m here to share with you some tips on how to care for our kid’s dental health in times of COVID.

1. Regularly brush their teeth. Of course! Our dental health should always start with as simple as brushing. But if you think it’s easy, think again! The #FabSkye is at her age where she doesn’t like taking a bath, let alone brush her teeth. And my toddler would fight tooth and nails if you try to put something inside his mouth. So here are my tried and tested tips on how to make brushing fun.

1.a. Set a schedule for your gradeschooler. And make sure that brushing is part of her schedule. Creating a schedule is something our pedia recommended when this whole ECQ started. She said that making a schedule and sticking to it put some form of normalcy to their everyday lives. For us it works! And of course, I make sure that our schedule includes morning brush time and evening brush time so she could be reminded of this activity.

1.b. Use a soft and fun toothbrush. For the #FabSkye, we use a Colgate Wonder Woman toothbrush because Wonder Woman is her favorite. And for the #GabMazing, we use this cute butterfly toothrbush/teether from Colgate as well. Both toothbrushes are perfectly designed for their age and is soft and gentle on their baby teeth.

1.c. Use yummy and age appropriate toothpaste. For toddlers, it is best to use a flouride-free flavoured toothpaste coz our toddlers doesn’t know how to spit yet and ingesting flouride is not good for our kids. And for my gradeschooler, we use age-appropriate toothpaste with flouride. We use Colgate as well.

2. Floss regularly. I try to floss my toddler’s teeth every week. He still refuses to do it but we try to make it fun for him and is patiently waiting until he is 100% okay with it. As for the #FabSkye, since she is eating much more, we floss everyday. Usually in the evening. I also try to make sure that the younger one sees his Ate enjoying floss time so he would thing it is also okay. We are not yet there but getting better everyday.

3. Drink lots of water. My kids are encouraged to drink water in the morning, before going to bed, and after every meal or snacks. This is to ensure that their mouth are washed regularly.

4. Eat healthy. As much as possible, I feed my kids healthy food like veggies and fruits and less sweets. Sugary treats are not totally banned in my house but they are eaten in moderation and should always be washed off by drinking lots of water.

As far as I know, 97% of Filipino kids have cavities, I am proud that my kids belong to the 3% and I plan to keep it that way. While we can’t visit our pedia dentist, there are a lot of ways I could keep their teeth and gums healthy here at home.

#FabSkye #GabMazing COVID Motherhood Parenting Tip