Can You Spare a Minute? How About Four?

Did you know that on average children will play up to 2.2 hours of video games, watch 1.9 hours of television, spend 2.6 hours on a cell phone or hand held device and 1.5 hours on a computer? With so many of their waking hours being taken up by technology, kindly remind them that their teeth only need 4 minutes a day!

In a recent study, an average of 51 million school hours is missed each year by school age children because of oral disease! Kids are not the only one affected by children’s oral disease, their parents are missing 24 million work hours each year to have their child cared for by the dentist. As busy as our days become and as valuable as our time is, it’s becoming more and more important to take two minutes, two times a day to ensure your children (and you) are properly brushing their teeth. If you think about it, there are 1,440 minutes in a day, so taking 4 minutes to tend to your teeth really isn’t asking much!

The most chronic childhood illness could easily be avoided if more people realized what it is. Tooth decay leads all other illnesses, and dental decay is 5x more common that childhood asthma. If statistics help move you to action, here are some startling facts:

• Over 16 million children live daily with untreated tooth decay
• 39% of kids between the ages of 5 and 11 have at least one filling
• 20% of kids ages 5 to 11 have cavities that have not been removed and filled
• 38% of parents who have children under 5 report that they do not help or monitor their child’s teeth brushing routine
• 60% of parents reported that their children frequently or sometimes forget to brush their teeth

We are born with two sets of teeth, it’s important to take the time to teach good oral hygiene habits at a young age.  You can help set your child up for good dental health by teaching them the importance of taking 2 minutes, twice a day to brush and floss their teeth, trust me – they have the time!