Parents and their role in protecting children’s “Superteeth”
by: Dr. Bu Buenazedacruz

Our teeth are considered to be the strongest and hardest part of our body. But even the strongest one, like Superman, has a weakness. While Superman has kryptonite, our strongest tooth also falls apart with one weakness— dental caries, or what we more commonly know as cavities.

But the solution is simple: brush teeth. When? Every time we eat or drink, especially flavored beverages.

There are four causes of cavities:

1. The nature or formation of the tooth surface
2. bacteria inside our mouth that forms into what we call plaque (or tartar)
3. carbohydrates, which bacteria eats and ferments, causing our saliva to be acidic, and
4. the amount of time our teeth are exposed to these factors

So what do food and flavored beverages have to do with these? Research has shown that teeth start to de-mineralize or lose the calcium and other minerals about 30 seconds after we eat or drink flavored beverages. But before thinking of complicated ways to restore dental vanity, consider this: the best way is to prevent dental caries by brushing your teeth immediately after eating! There’s really no point in waiting an hour before brushing our teeth, knowing that they will start to become weak in less than a minute after eating.

For parents out there, a good tip to make brushing teeth easier for children, particularly active ones, is to make sure your child brings a toothbrush and toothpaste to school. (And not just bring them but use them!) I know that most kids don’t like brushing their teeth, they would rather play around and do some other things. But just like any other habit, we have to discipline and train them to do it.

And it doesn’t stop there. Parents have a great role in taking care of the child’s teeth. Make sure to check their teeth when they arrive home from school. It would also help them if they have some sort of consequence or a reward if they have been obedient or not. Do this also before going to sleep, since it is very important that our teeth be thoroughly clean before sleeping. (Look back to no.4!) Don’t let your kids say goodnight without you checking their teeth.

And lastly, parents have to be a good example. Children often imitate what their parents are doing. It is easier to teach them if they see you doing what you say. There should always be integrity to what we are saying.

The purpose of this segment is to educated parents in regards to their children’s oral health. Watch out for the next post, that will answer the question to “what should we eat to avoid dental cavities?”

Dr. Bu Buenazedacruz’ Dental Clinic is located at 52 Villa Ortigas Granada St. Q.C. You can contact him through 721 89 37 or 725 00 77. You can also email him at bubs_elite@yahoo.com.