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Using mouthwash is an effective practice for killing bacteria, removing plaque and loosening bits of food that have gotten stuck in your child’s teeth. But, there are also negative factors to consider about the use of mouthwash.

Many adults use some version of oral rinse, and it’s natural for children to want to emulate their parents or older siblings. The contents that make mouthwash so effective are also the components that can damage your child’s dental health.

It’s vital to remember that tooth development is a sensitive process. To keep that development going safely, know all the facts and really consider if your child is ready to use mouthwash.

Mouthwash Can Be Hazardous

Children from ages 6-12 should only use mouthwash with clear directions on its use and while under adult supervision.

• If a child tries to use mouthwash and doesn’t know how to or isn’t able to spit it back out, the situation could be serious. Mouthwash can contain denatured or methyl alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or menthol.

Effects from ingesting those chemicals can range from an upset stomach to vomiting, or worse.

• A cosmetic consequence of children using mouthwash too early or too often is fluorosis. Fluorosis is the streaking, spotting or pitting of a child’s permanent teeth during development under the gums. It only affects children younger than 8 years old.

Recommended Best Practices

• The best way to evaluate if your child is ready to use mouthwash is to perform a water swish test. Give them a small cup of water and ask them to swish it around their mouth and spit it back out.

If they can successfully complete this test, they might be ready to add mouthwash to their dental care routine.

• Some older children may want to start using mouthwash as another way to keep their teeth clean around their braces. If they can perform the water swish test, then it’s OK to let them use mouthwash.
• Tell your child not to use mouthwash right after they brush their teeth. Doing so rinses any fluoride from toothpaste off their teeth. Instruct your child to let the fluoride from toothpaste do its job, even if they use a fluoride mouthwash.

Halloween is a fun day to dress up and interact with your community, but it also encourages unhealthy eating habits. The hordes of sweets children get while trick-or-treating are mainly teeth-damaging, sugary candies.

In those candies is sucrose, a type of sugar generally found in sweet or sticky foods. Sucrose is generally blamed for sugar-related tooth decay. However, children look forward to this opportunity to dress up in costumes and go out for weeks or even months.

We've compiled lists of tooth-friendly snacks before, but this is our first Halloween edition! So, here is our list of healthier options to hand out this year.

Help fight tooth decay and try replacing your home’s candy stash with these Halloween candy alternatives.

• Sugar-free gum takes the number one spot. Not only is sugar-free gum regularly encouraged by dental health professionals, it’s also a hit with everyone, from kids to adults.

• Trail mix is something that you can buy in small packages and is perfect for handing out. It’s also a food that has something for everyone – raisins, nuts, granola and chocolate are all found in bags.

• Raisins come in snack-sized boxes, and have been found to actually help fight cavities. Plus, they’re delicious!

• YumEarth Organics Fruit Snacks are vegan and aren’t sticky like traditional fruit gummies but are still full of flavor. They don’t contain gluten, dairy, nuts, soy or artificial colors or dyes.

• Finally, if you want to stand out this All Hallows’ Eve, give out festive trinkets instead of food items. Check out spooky temporary tattoos, Silly Bandz, stickers, fake fangs or glow sticks.

Most people have a sweet tooth, developed through a lifetime of licking the cookie dough mixer or having a bowl of ice cream with their favorite TV show. And unfortunately, control is the name of the sweet tooth game.

And as apples don’t fall far from the tree, most children also develop a sweet tooth. But, they don’t have a lifetime of experience teaching them that too much chocolate will make their stomachs hurt.

That’s where you come in. Explain to your child or teenager that sweets are packed with refined sugars, which are addictive and harmful to their teeth.

But the question remains – how do you curb your child’s existing sweet tooth?

Dentists’ Most Wanted

Sugary beverages like soda, sports drinks and energy drinks all contribute to your child’s sugar intake. The more sugar they ingest, the more their bodies crave it. The same goes for most junk foods so try to stay away!

A good way to instill healthier eating habits when your kids aren’t at home is to pack their lunches instead of buying them at school. Helping them build a healthy, balanced lunch can create a lifelong habit of healthy eating.

Good Sugar Exists

The goal isn’t to cut out all sugars. Instead, encourage your child to consume sugars that are found naturally within certain foods, like fruit. The sugar in fruit is balanced by the other nutrients in the food, like fiber.

Fun choices, like chocolate covered strawberries or chocolate and granola covered bananas, are great ways to introduce balance into your children’s diet. A small amount of chocolate is there, but the core of the snack is fruit.

Start Eating Better Today

Curbing a sweet tooth can be simple when you arm yourself with nutritious alternatives. If your child’s stomach is full of healthy food, they won’t crave sweets.

The biggest obstacle is buying the right items at the grocery store. Consider purchasing foods filled with healthy fats like nuts, avocados, dairy products, eggs or turkey.

Here in the St. Charles and Creve Coeur areas, school is back in full swing for most kids. After a long summer break, it can be difficult to get your kids back in the routine of getting up early, being ready on time each day and in bed at the right time every night.

Setting the tone for your child’s routine can be quite a chore, especially when it comes to ensuring they are brushing their teeth daily. So, this blog provides some helpful tips to keep your child’s smile bright throughout the school year.

1. Brush before or after breakfast. Whichever you choose, make sure to stick to it. Some people find it easier to have kids brush right after they wake up; while others find it’s better to wait until their children are more alert. But, keep in mind that you should wait to brush until 30 minutes after they eat breakfast if it includes anything acidic like orange juice. These acids soften tooth enamel so brushing right afterward may cause erosion.

1. Brush before homework. Does your child often complain that once their homework is done they are too tired to brush their teeth? An easy fix is to have them brush before they start. If you can fit it into a routine that allots brushing time 30 minutes after dinner, that’s even better.

1. Get to bed. Making sure your children are well-rested is key to getting them out of bed in the mornings. According to the National Sleep Foundation, preschoolers typically sleep 11 to 13 hours. From ages 6-13, children should sleep 9 to 11 hours and beyond age 13 they should be getting the standard 8 hours of rest.

1. Floss at night. Don’t stack a lot of items in the mornings when you and your child may feel rushed. Instead, have your child floss when they brush at night and can focus on doing it right. Supervising your children and showing them the proper ways to brush and floss will help them develop good habits.

That’s really all there is to it! Keeping a good routine is all about practice; the more you do it, the better you will be at it!