With 3 out of 4 Parents Admitting Their Kids Forget to Brush their Teeth, Kids’ Healthy Mouths Campaign Continues to Encourage Kids to Brush for Two Minutes, Twice a Day

My son can be a real pest in the “teeth brushing” department- he wants to do it by himself, and he should at 7 years old.  I tell him to go brush- he pretends he does, and I end up going in with him to “make sure”. He gets mad at me….it’s a lovely cycle.  He also likes to do a halfway job- a quick one, that misses many spots.  He gets mad when I make him have a “do-over”, but it’s necessary.  I always tell him if he did it right the first time, but you know how kids can be.  We’ve tried putting timers on, giving him toothbrushes that play songs for the recommended minutes- so far, the daily battle continues. One day he’ll get it, and it’s a battle worth fighting.

More than 51 million school hours are lost each year due to dental related illness, resulting in parents losing 25 million work hours annually. Cavities and oral infections can cause severe pain and can increase a child’s risk for dental issues and poor health throughout their lives.

3 in 4 parents report that their kids sometimes or frequently forget to brush their teeth. In an effort to help parents better understand why ignoring dental health can have serious consequences, and educate families about good dental health habits, the Ad Council and The Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives created Public Service Ads (PSAs) for their Kids’ Healthy Mouths campaign. The PSAs are humorous depictions of life lessons which make the point that while parenting can be tricky at times, getting kids to brush for two minutes, twice a day can be easier than most other things parents will try to teach their children.
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