Children’s Dental Health Month

As part of Children’s Dental Health Month officials with Dental Associates in Fond du Lac are visiting Fond du Lac area schools to teach close to 1,000 children about the importance of good dental health. Dr. Madeline Walter of Dental Associates says children learn from watching their parents so parents should get them in the habit of brushing their teeth, but they will need your assistance when they are younger. She says, “Obviously we want you to get in there as a parent because until they can tie their own shoes they don’t have the dexterity to get all the surfaces of their teeth, but letting them use the tooth brush and get used to it and even kind of play around with the floss when their younger you know that’s how they learn things is by following example.” She notes children should brush their teeth for about two minutes and there are toothbrushes that will play songs for that long and apps for brushing. There is even brush called Grush, which has a gaming app for brushing. She says, “It’s got a sensor in it to follow the toothbrush while the kid is brushing their teeth and as a parent you get the app that tells you how well they are brushing and if they have actually done it.” She says the app can be used for more than one child so they can compete on how well they are brushing. She recommends bringing your child in for their first dental visit after they get their first tooth or when they reach their first birthday.