C+

In dental hygiene in our house. I couldn't believe it when they told me that Palmer had two areas that needed to be watched for next time as they could turn in to cavities if we are not diligent. Emily had two small cavities. The dentist said that they were between her back teeth and that it was very tight between those teeth which is most likely what caused the cavity. Doesn't matter. I felt like a horrible parent and of course Emily burst into tears. I have to take her on Monday after school to get them filled and I am not sure who is dreading it more Emily or me. Maybe I will send her with Bret. He is much better at that sort of thing.

Bret and I have excellent teeth. In fact only with in the last couple of years did we get our first cavities and neither of us has ever had anything other than fillings done (no crowns, root canals, etc). Our kids brush their teeth everyday and almost always twice a day. Flossing is probably our downfall. Neither Bret or I were very good about flossing daily until about a year ago. This was after our first visit where we both ended up with more than just one simple filling. We found these little tools that no longer require you to use the nasty dental floss with your fingers. Gross. Since we found those handy little things (helps that Bret's sister is a dental hygienist) we are much more diligent about our flossing habits.

The kids would floss every now and then but not usually on a daily basis. Let me tell you people this has changed. The next day after Emily's appointment I went to the store and made some dental health purchases for our family.

I found these at Walmart for $2 and the kids really like them a lot. They are very similar to the flossers that Bret and I use but they are fun colors and wild fruit flavored (yuck but the kids love them).

The second thing I bought was this mouth rinse. The kids rinse their mouth with it before they brush and it turns their mouth blue. Supposedly it covers areas with more plaque a darker blue so the kids will know where to brush extra. I'm not sure about that but it does turn their teeth blue and especially for Palmer it really helps me and him both see where he needs to brush more. The back molars are usually the culprits still needing extra brushing but it turns it in to kind of a game to make sure they got it all. I am not sure how long the new fun feelings will last before I have to figure something else out (maybe a different color) but for now we are all trying a little harder.

This is one of those things that should have been in that parenting instruction book I never got. Most adults have a hard time keeping on top of their own oral hygiene let alone three little ones too. The list of things a parent is responsible for (making sure their kids are eating healthy, staying active, limiting television, learning how to read/write/math, staying safe, staying healthy, becoming a good human being) is endless. This mom was an A & B student her whole life and doesn't plan to change that now. All we can do is try harder and hope that some day our kids look back and think "my mom did her very best".