Brushing your children's teeth for a healthy sparkly smile

The lovely people at Aquafresh have given Tristan and Scarlett new toothbrushes, toothpaste, teether (just for Scarlett), and a giant bath towel each! Thank you Aquafresh.

Family Howe are very committed to healthy teeth (Mummy Howe is very proud to say she has never had a filling!) and we are keen to instill good habits early on with both Tristan and Scarlett.

We're quite lucky, both Tristan and Scarlett enjoy brushing their teeth, but I believe that's because we started early. With Tristan, we initially used a little rubber toothbrush that fitted on my finger to massage his gums as a baby. And of course Scarlett, seeing how much fun her big brother was having, just joined in!

Tristan is still at an age when after he brushes his teeth, I brush them again for him to make sure they are sparkly clean. Scarlett attempts to mimic Tristan by sucking on the brush section, so again, I go in and brush them thoroughly for her.

My tips!
1) Get into good habits early
2) Grab the right equipment: ensure you have the right toothbrush and toothpaste for your little ones age.
3) Make brushing fun & interactive by brushing your teeth as a family. This will also help you teach your child the best techniques
4) If reluctant, try using a reward chart or offer little gold stickers to encourage and motivate your little ones

Good luck!

The research by Aquafresh revealed the following key findings
1) Two thirds of parent's don't know how to take care of their kids teeth
2) 27% of parents would like more support and guidance on teething and first teeth
3) One in 15 parents find it more stressful than putting their kids to bed or getting them to eat fruit or vegetables
4) One on ten mums admit to bribing their kids to brush with a variety of rewards
5) Parent's must used DIY teethers are revealed as: toys (46%), frozen fruit and veg (28%), wash cloths (19%), keys (10%), wooden spoons (9%) and mobile phones (5%)

* Family Howe were given the Aquafresh items but were not obliged to review or post information from their campaign *