WAYT: Baby teeth

I’m trying not to jump to conclusions about the news stories just out telling us all about babies with cavities.  I don’t want to get up on my soapbox and lecture about the problems with kids and sugar because I know that a little sugar never hurt anyone!    

But there are parents out there who need a good ol’ “What are you thinking?”  The lessons that can be taken from these stories are pretty simple: If you’re feeding your kid juice, cookies, fruit snacks or similar sugar-filled foods and drinks every day, his dental health is going to suffer.  If you don’t teach your kid to brush his teeth, his dental health is going to suffer.  If you do both – give him sugary food and never brush his teeth – his dental health is definitely going to suffer. 

I’ll admit right now that I could do way better about making sure that my Auggie brushes his teeth.  I think when I get home tonight, I’m going to put Auggie’s toothbrush in his stash of race cars.  He’s sure to find it there, pick it up and get to brushing on his own. 

On the other hand, though, I don’t worry much about his teeth.  He’s got a lot of them for one so small as he, but he doesn’t eat anything that I would classify as junk.  He doesn’t get juice EVER; it’s only milk or water for him.  We feed him primarily what we eat at mealtimes, and we eat healthy.  He hardly ever eats any “packaged” snacks because I favor plain or multi-grain Cheerios for him.  His only treats are an occasional tiny, tiny crumb of any sweets Frank or I decide to eat in his presence, and only when he asks nicely for a bite. 

I was a kid with cavities.  I also had a crook for a dentist who thought I was his personal cash cow and my family only wanted to do good things for me so they believed what he said and followed his recommendations.  So I’m a little leery of fully believing these latest stories.  Not all those in medical professions can be trusted. 

For example, the news told me last night that my son should have started going to the dentist when he turned one.  I missed the deadline to add him to my dental insurance this year and the next deadline won’t come until after he turns two.  I’m not going to have any guilt over that.  His pediatrician has never provided me with a toothbrush for him and I can’t even remember her asking me about his dental hygiene practices at our last meeting.  I simply ask my dentist for a new baby toothbrush when I visit every six months and talk to the hygienist about what I can do for him while he’s so little.  I’ve done my best, put it to rest. 

There is a lot of stuff out there that, as a parent, you have to filter out.  But there are a lot of bad parenting practices that, in my mind, should fall into the category of common sense.  For example, it’s okay to give your kid tap water to drink.  It’s not okay to give him pop!  It’s okay to skip toothpaste when they’re as little as Auggie.  It’s not okay to not even own a toothbrush for your munchkin!  At least if you had the toothbrush laying around, it might jog your memory once in a while. 

No parent can be perfect (I’m not) and no child can be perfect (Auggie’s not).  But there are a lot of parents out there these days who don’t stick to their guns, ones who let their kids run the show.  I’m not that mom.  I have learned that if you’re lax about setting boundaries or if let your guard down for one second and skirt the rules, your child won’t soon forget it.  Sure, no one wants to be the parent of the child who throws a fit because he ended up with a cup of water and Cheerios or because he doesn’t like that toothbrush in his mouth, but do you want to trade in a tantrum for ruined teeth?  I don’t. 

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my grandma, it’s her constant mantra that you have to be healthy top to bottom.  If your teeth are sick, you’re on a slippery slope to getting sick somewhere else in your body.  When news stories like this latest one about kids’ teeth come out, there’s plenty to take in and change about your routine but there’s also plenty to throw out.  What do you think about this latest advice from doctors and dentists?