Helpful Hygiene Tips: Products I love!

There are a few products that help me stay in tip top smiling shape. And i thought i'd share in case anyone's interested!

First, I simply cannot live without my Oral B Triumph. I love how clean it makes my teeth feel and how I can use it while I'm preggo and not flossing (gasp! yes, i skip flossing in one of the most important times to floss... I'm sick, peeps. Give me a break!) and my gums stay in decent shape.
This brush is NOT cheap, though. It'll run well over $100 at any store! TIP: most electric toothbrushes are a little messy (they splatter toothpaste!) so i keep mine in the shower and just use it in there for the morning and then my manual (oral b crossaction) at night.
But for any patient who I feel can benefit from an electric toothbrush, I recommend the Oral B vitality. An almost equally fabulous brush, but without all the technology, therefore it is priced at a MUCH lower price point. Closer to $25. Now we're talking.
In any case, the things you want to look for in ANY electric brush would be 1. Rechargable 2. Small brush head and 3. A two minute timer. Both of these meet all of those requirements.

Next on my "must have's" list would be these little gems. Butler/GUM's softpicks. They are a flexible plastic that you use kind of like a toothpick instead of floss. Yes, i said instead of floss. Music to some of your ears, i'm sure :-) They are not quite as effective as flossing, but they are WAY better than not cleaning between your teeth at all. While I"m pregnant, these are what i try to use.

I also am in looooove with Crest Pro-Health rinse. It is equally as effective as listerine but without the burn of alcohol. (*side note: listerine's active ingredients are 4 essential oils and the alcohol is simply what keeps the oils mixed. but the alcohol itself is NOT the alcohol.) It comes in a "day" and "night" solution. TIP: they are exactly the same. EXACTLY. It's a gimmic to try to get consumers to by two bottles. (same with the pro-health toothpaste. the same exact paste in a different package). I like the night time best b/c its clear and I prefer the clear for whatever reason.



Finally, my absolute FAVORITE toothpaste is Colgate sensitive. Any sensitive toothpaste seems to work fine for me (except aquafresh sensitive, which is odd b/c aquafresh is made by glaxo-smith-kelin... the same makers of sensodyne!) so I buy whatever is most cost effective. TIP: toothpaste is not really necessary at all. So dont get caught up in which one is "best". Toothpaste is like soap. It makes you smell better and feel better. But its the actual toothbrush (washcloth) that cleans you. Find one that you like the taste of that you dont have any adverse reactions to and go for it. If your teeth are sensitive, avoid whitening toothpastes and tartar control pastes as they will increase sensitivity. Otherwise, find what you like.
Well, thats about it for my must have's. What products can you not live without?!

Some of Rhyan's Favorite Pastimes...

Emailing all her friends is keeping her quite busy these days!

And of course she is still obsessed with puzzles! And she's so good at them! (i need to find some new ones but the old playskool wooden ones are hard to come by!)

And of course accepting gifts from Grammy is a fun thing... especially when the gift is a BARNEY doll!!!! (girl's obsessed!)

She's such a busy girl, as you can see! I also want to remember that at 2 years and 5 months old she can:

• spell "rhyan"
• say all of her abc's
• recognize the #'s 2, 3, 5, 8, 9
• count to 13
• sing pretty much any song, although my personal favorite is "step by step, oooo baby" (yes, nkotb! HA! we like the 90s around here!)
• knows almost all her colors: red, yellow, blue, green, orange, pink, and of course "barney purple"
• can draw a circle and knows these shapes: circle, triange, square, star and heart
• is still a great little eater and loves her veggies. meat is hit or miss, but i cant blame her!
• knows that her name is "rhyan shwayne pord" :-) and that daddy is "jepp pord". I, however, am just "mommy"!

She is a sheer joy. I mean, sure she's a little drama queen... but we'll take her, drama and all :-)

Helpful Hygiene Tips: Getting kids to brush!

My cousin, Tracy, and I decided to have a yard sale this weekend. I'd just like to say that any money we made, we EARNED! Good grief, that was rough! I'd 10x's rather clean teeth :-)

OK! So, a few of you have asked for some tips on getting your kids to brush their teeth! I love having people be concerned about their kids oral hygiene. How wonderful! However, I've not really had a lot of experience in this area. My toddler, Rhyan (who is now 2.5) looooves to brush her teeth! And she always has!

So, I turned to my friends and patients for some idea's. And i got some pretty good ones to share with you! Thank you to all of you who responded and shared your experiences.

The best advice I can give is this:

1. START EARLY! As soon as your little one starts to get his/her first tooth, use a washcloth to wipe it clean each day. This will help baby get used to having someone look around in their mouth and touch their teeth and gums. It also builds routine, which children thrive on!

2. When baby is very young, get a finger cot brush if you'd prefer. Just watch your fingers :-)

3. Make brushing FUN! Let your child pick his/her own toothbrush with their favorite characters.

4. Use training toothpaste. Its fluoride free, which is important for children who can not yet spit. But, it does taste good to them and encourages brushing/makes it tasty!

5. Use a timer to teach kids to brush for AT LEAST a minute. Hour glass timers are cheap and fun but a musical timer works great as well. This could even be your ipod with your kids favorite song! Just do what you can to keep that toothbrush in contact with the teeth as long as possible!

6. DISCLOSE! From time to time (at least once a month!) use a plaque finder of some sort. ACT makes "cool blue" mouth rinse or you can get red disclosing tablets from your dentist (warning: they stain more than just plaque so be sure to help your child!). Have your child brush first, then disclose, and then brush again to get what they missed. It can be a fun challenge!

7. Stay positive! As always, you will find more success (in general) when you encourage in a positive way with your children. I know, i know. It gets old having to remind them all. the. time. to brush! But the fact is, most kids are just forgetful. As adults, we dont understand how they forget. but they do! So be patient. Use sticky notes on their bookbags or lunchbox's or somewhere they will notice so that you dont have to verbally remind them, adding to your annoyance :-) Tell them when it looks like they've done a nice job and have been through!

8. Check your childs teeth. If they are young and still need help, help them. I tell most parents that until a kid is around 3-4 years old that parents should brush for the child first, giving them a "turn" after you. But pay attention to your child. Some children gain dexterity rather quickly and become quite adept at brushing pretty early on. If this is your child, let him/her start and you can finish up for them! But even if your child is 10 years old, an occasional spot check by mom and dad is in order. Kids get lazy. They get sloppy. And lets face it, you BOTH "pay" when kids get cavities!

9. Set a good example. Good brushing habits, along with everything else, should be modeled by the parent first. Gingivitis and gum disease and cavities are NOT genetic! They are familial, though, meaning that it is common for children of parents who have gum disease to also have gum disease because they share in this: poor hygiene. Set a good example for your child. Brush in the same bathroom, if your child seems to enjoy it.

10. Start taking your children to the dentist for regular check-up's around 3 years old, unless you have specific concerns earlier. Yes, your pediatrician will tell you to take a child at 1 year old. But trust me, your dentist will be very limited on what they can "do" to a one year old. I typically tell my patients to just bring their child with them when they come for a routine cleaning and I will look at the childs teeth using a mirror. All we check for at this age is baby bottle tooth decay (do NOT put your baby to bed w/ a bottle of ANY kind!) and that all teeth are erupting as normal (which is so very different from one child to the next). However, it IS important to start when you feel your child will tolerate a cleaning (between 3-4 at the latest!) so that their experiences with the dentist are positive and fun and not based on the idea that "we go to the dentist when our teeth hurt".

For my daughter, i've found that she really likes to be able to look in the mirror while we brush each morning and night. Especially when we first started brushing. Bottom line is this, though... you want brushing to be fun and a positive thing, but some kids are just resistant. For those, I recommend a book called "parenting the strong-willed child" HA!. But in all honesty, hygiene is a part of life. You wouldnt let your child skip a bath if they were dirty just because they didnt want a bath. Children are driven by desires, not by information. They need you, as the parent, to be wise and to require more of themselves than they want to give. So do what you can to help your children enjoy brushing, but in the end, they simply MUST brush. Before or after meals, whatever! Just get the plaque off the teeth twice a day. Believe me, it IS a battle you want to choose!

Happy brushing, peeps!

Some Fav's

Is there anything sweeter than a sleeping baby?!

Rhyan's first official ponytail!

Um, nice smile, Rhy!... heading to awanas where she's a "puggle"!

At our church's 30 year anniversary celebration!

Rhyan looooves to "help" give Mack a bath! love my babies :-)

Helpful Hygiene Tips: Brushing (plus, send me your suggestions!)

First off, I'd like to thank you all for the comments and questions. And for next week's post I'd very much like to address Kristin's request to give tips on getting a toddler/child to participate (or even let mom/dad) brush their teeth. But seeing as how each child is soooo different and all of us Mom's has had to deal with this in different ways, I'd like to hear from YOU! So would you take a moment and email me and share with me how you've gotten your kids to brush. What worked? What didnt? Are you still struggling or have you settled into a good brushing routine? You can leave a comment here but i'd prefer that you just email me your suggestions to: forddygirl@yahoo.com
Thanks in advance!!! I'll be posting on this next saturday so please try to get suggestions in by then!

Ok, my fellow flossing friends! If you're coming back each week looking to continue to improve on your oral health, I must say, I'm proud! Or if this is your first week, keep coming back. I guarantee that your hygienist will be proud at your next cleaning visit and you may even earn a trip to the treasure box or a "most improved" sticker :-)

The second most often piece of advice that i give patients is this: you must brush your gums!

As i said in the "flossing... the why" post, plaque accumulates at the gumline.

The problem is that most people bite their teeth together and make an attempt to brush both top and bottom teeth at once by scrubbing back and forth. But we dont ever really get to the gumline... so we dont remove the plaque. So, then when we head to our every six month hygiene visit and we're all proud that we've been brushing twice a day but still get "fussed at" by our hygienist, we're discouraged. And rightfully so!

I could write for days about brushing. Seriously. But i'll give the most important tip right here.

Angle your bristles towards your gumline. So for the top teeth, you'll angle the bristles just slightly up. Not straight in on your teeth and not straight up. Split the difference... approximately a 45 degree angle. Then brush in small circles focusing on brushing EACH tooth for 2-3 seconds.

Think of your gum tissue as a nice ripe tomato that you just picked from the garden. It may have a little dirt on it that you'd like to get off, but you certainly need to be gentle. But thorough. You dont want to bruise the tomato or cut the skin, but you do want to remove all the dirt. So you clean it gently and take as long as you need in order to get it clean.

Take the same care with your gums!

Brushing should take 2 minutes minimum in order to be thorough. But on average, people brush for 30-45 seconds. So, get out your ipod and play your favorite song and get to brushing. And dont stop till it does! (side note: if you're a rock and roller or heavy metal lover, make sure that your brushing doesnt reflect the style of music you choose! ha!)

Most people fall into the "fast and furious" category of brushing which leaves their gums abraded, swollen and a little tender. Slooooooowww down if this is you!

And then many others tell me that they NEVER see pink in the sink. But as I look at their gums and see how much inflamation they have, I can only come to one conclusion: they're not brushing the gums!

So, impress your hygienist and get those gums! Remember that you may see some bleeding for 7-10 days when you first start being a great brusher. But stick with it! And smile as you see results of all your diligent work!

Cutness!

Looks like somebody likes their thumb!

Actually, Mack has been exploring both hands for the last couple of weeks and while I thought that he had settled on sucking his right thumb, i'm staring at him right now in the video monitor as he sleeps and sucks his left one.

Y'all may think i'm crazy, but i dont care and really, i think its CUTE! Yes, i'll have to work when he's older to break him of the habit, but if you choose the right timing and are consistent, its usually not too bad. At least lets hope not! hehe :-)

Anyhoo, thought i'd share these precious pics!

Food for the Copponex's!

Hi friends! I know we're all excited to FINALLY have baby Copponex in the world! What a precious blessing!

If you would like to provide a meal for Rachael and Greg, you can sign up HERE

Recipient Last name: Copponex

Password: Brady

I know we ALL want to meet little Brady and love on the Copponex's in person, but we may want to give them a chance to get settled before we all start visiting. So if you're one of the first few to sign up, please consider a giftcard or something deliverable!

Giftcards are GREAT and keep the foods simple, please! We DO want them to eat it, right?! :-)

Thanks so much!

Kelly Ford