Treat Your Kids to a Tooth-Friendly Valentine’s Day

Valentine's Day is just a week away — do you have plans to celebrate with your little ones? Here's how you can treat your kids to a tooth-friendly Valentine's Day this year!

Tell your kids they’re floss-some! — How? Easy! The ADA has provided some printable oral health related Valentine’s Day cards for your convenience. Trust us, they’re tooth-cute!

Show some lunchtime love. — Using a stainless steel, heart shaped cookie cutter, you can quickly turn their favorite sandwich into a friendly reminder that you care! You can even use smaller cutters for cheese slices or use a knife to easily cut some strawberries into hearts!

Choose tooth-friendly alternatives. — Another easy way to show your little one how sweet you think they are(without sugar)! Give them a new stuffed animal or coloring book with your Valentine’s Day card this year. You can even find some Valentine’s Day themed clothes or accessories — like this heart printed scarf for girls or this Star Wars themed, “Ewok my world” shirt for boys.

Limit the bad sweets. — Caramels, taffy and other sticky sweets can easily adhere to your kids’ teeth. Help prevent mouth monsters this Valentine’s Day, let your kids have the better of the candy varieties. Dark chocolate for example contains antioxidants that are beneficial to your mouth and teeth. Just remember to have them brush for two minutes after consumption!

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s dental health, contact us today. We specialize in caring for children’s teeth in a comfortable and caring environment. Don’t forget to LIKE us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter for updates and industry news!

Tooth-Friendly Valentine's Day Treats

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Celebrating Valentine’s Day with your family this weekend? While we know chocolate and sugary sweets are often the norm, they don’t have to be. This year, enjoy some tooth friendly alternatives! 

Apple Chips and Dip: You'll need two ingredients, and heart shaped cookie cutter. Slice apples crosswise into 1/4 inch wide slices. Lay them flat on a cutting board and with a small heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out apple hearts! Serve them with your favorite strawberry yogurt for dipping. 

Heart Toast: Grab a piece of bread, an egg, a heart shaped cookie cutter (or knife), and a frying pan and you’re ready to go! This dish is very easy to make and doesn’t take much more prep time than your typical egg breakfast.

Healthy Valentine’s Day Cookies: This recipe calls for all the health swaps. They’re full of protein, fiber, antioxidants, and have a natural sweetness from honey. Find the full recipe on Chocolates and Carrots » 

Strawberry Pancake Skewers: While these may take a little more effort than your typical pancake breakfast - we can bet they’ll be well received!  Create your pancakes and whipped cream from scratch, cut up some strawberries, and you’ll be ready to go! Find the full recipe on Bargain Briana »

We know it may be unrealistic to completely avoid sweet treats this Valentine’s Day. So in addition to the above, make sure you choose the better of the candy varieties. Dark chocolate for example contains antioxidants that are beneficial to your mouth and teeth. Learn more about your options in last year’s blog!

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s dental health, give any of our three locations a call. We specialize in caring for children’s teeth in a comfortable and caring environment. Call (516) 798-1111 or visit our website to schedule an appointment. Don't forget to LIKE us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter for updates and industry news! 

DOs and DONTs This Valentine’s Day

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We know that expecting your kids (or yourself) to avoid sweet treats this Valentine’s Day isn’t realistic - but the good news is there are plenty of healthier and tooth friendlier choices you can make without sacrificing the holiday.

Show your teeth some love this Valentine’s Day by keeping these DOs and DONTs in mind!

DO eat dark chocolate: The cocoa bean in chocolate has tannins, polyphenols, and flavonoids - all of which are antioxidants that can benefit your mouth and teeth! The darker the chocolate, the least processed and closed to the cocoa bean it is.

DONT choose hard or sticky sweets: Caramels, taffy, and others like it can all easily adhere to the tooth’s surface, allowing the mouth monsters to come out to play.

DO limit the amount of candies: Allow sweets in moderation. Set aside a few pieces to have as an after meal treat, don’t ravage the chocolate box in one sitting!

DONT forget to brush! Regardless of what you are consuming this weekend, brushing for 2 minutes, twice a day is the best way to promote good oral health.

DO try some non-candy alternatives: Halve some strawberries to display their natural heart shape, stick some chocolate chips in raspberries, or slice some cheese into heart shapes(with a cookie cutter) and serve with whole grain crackers. 

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s dental health, give any of our three locations a call. We specialize in caring for children’s teeth in a comfortable and caring environment. Call (516) 798-1111 or visit our website to schedule an appointment. Don't forget to LIKE us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter for updates and industry news.

Explaining Oral Hygiene to Children

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Sometimes explaining the importance of good oral health to your younger children isn’t always easy. And if your child receives a box of sweets from their Valentine tomorrow, they may not understand why you won’t let them eat it all right up.

The sweetness of Valentine’s Day shouldn’t overshadow the importance of February being National Children’s Dental Health Month. So we decided to provide some tips on how to simplify explaining oral hygiene to your little ones so they can better understand why they need to take care of their teeth:

The Basics – Children probably won’t comprehend tooth decay and gum disease. So simplify the concepts to a pre-school level. Explain that when sugar sticks to teeth, tiny ‘sugar bugs’ form and eat away at the teeth leaving small holes (aka cavities). These holes are unhealthy and painful.

Brush Away the Sugar Bugs – Explain to your child that if they brush their teeth really well on both sides and on the bottom, the sugar bugs will be washed away! And that flossing really helps rid them of those sneaky bugs that try and hide. Be sure to tell them they need to brush and floss twice a day in order for it to work!

Say No to Sticky Sweets – Remind your child that sugar rich foods, like candy, cookies, and soda, attract more bugs. And that super sticky sweets like caramel or taffy make it difficult to clean off, leaving the sugar bugs to stay.

Remember, sweets are OK in moderation, just remind your kids after eating some Valentine’s Day treats tomorrow to brush and floss their teeth to rid them of sugar bugs! We hope the above explanations help in your household. Do you have a way of explaining oral health that you use in your family? Share with us on our Facebook page!