Quarantine Teeth Brushing

The year is 2020, the Month is April and the day is now unknown.  That is how most of us feel who have been subjected to stay at home orders in our states.  The COVID-19 Pandemic has changed our entire lifestyle.  We now are more homebodies than ever before, the term staycation has become normal life.  Although many of us have to work from home, we all find ourselves in similar situations.  We are eating out less generally now for fear of the Coronavirus, but we are somehow eating more.  There are many consequences to increased eating which have lots of health effects tied to them.  One such issue is the health of your teeth. 

In general Americans are going to each more sugar when they are stuck at home.  One because they like it but more to the fact that it is very addictive.  Hence, once you find yourself eating a cookie or two you simply want more.  The simple nature of the beast is the more trips you make to the refrigerator the more likely you are going to need to see your dentist. 

Unfortunately, with the COVID-19 Pandemic in place, many Americans have lost their jobs or are severely under worked due to stay at home orders.  Unemployment has spike to roughly 6 million applicants per month and in general Americnas have less money to spend.  When Americans feel strapped for cash dentist visits go down dramatically.

The other troubling area is that now many dentists are not able to work.  They have been labeled in many states as unessential.  This label means they are now unable to go to work.  Which means that unless its an emergency situation, the patient will not be able to go see a dentist.  Combine lack of income and an emergency situation being need and you simply have less people going to the dentists to take care of their teeth.

There are some precautions you can take to help eliminate the need to go to the dentists to start with.  First, cut down on the sugar intake you are currently taking.  This means don’t buy cookies or sugary items at the grocery store when you take your essential trip ever week or in some cases three weeks.  Focus on more healthy foods and drink lots of water.  Water can help clean your teeth and keep the decaying effects of sugar from happening so rapidly. So stay safe, and take care of your teeth this quarantine!

Reward your Kids for Dental Hygiene

This year has been different from any other in the history of the United States of America.  We have spent more time at home with our children than ever before as mandated by our local governments.  Our Federal Government put our regulations on how we should be living and dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic.  This in turn has left many Americans without a job or working from home.  What also came home with us is our children. 

Most local government and private schools were dismissed due to the fear of spreading COVID-19.  The corona virus has changed many of our lives and it has left our children at home with us.  They are eating more and may be consuming too much sugar with no way to see a dentist.  So reward them for keeping up with their dental hygiene and you may be regarding your pocketbook later in the year.

Keeping a healthy daily routine is a great way to make rewarding your children easy.  Don’t get convoluted by making a crazy chart of doing this gets you that.  Quid pro quo should not be instigated in teeth hygiene.  Instead be positive and supportive for sticking to the routine.  What ever you do, don’t reward teeth  brushing with sugar.  Yes, this is the most prominent way we trick out children into doing the right thing. But try to change the rules a bit.  

If they are motivated by being with you or quality time.  Then reward them with a few minutes of doing something together right after they brush their teeth.  Yes, this may be twice a day, but if its reading  a quick story to them after they brush their teeth, then it's worth it.  10 minutes a day of reading can save you thousands of dollars each year for cavities or pulling teeth.

Another great way to reward children for keeping their pearly whites clean is to play games.  Making a sticker chart and making it a competition can be a bonus for some kids in the family. Not everyone is motivated by personal time, but some kids love a competition and will in turn keep the rest of the bunch in the game by themselves.  That is the best way in my opinion to keep your kids healthy and keep you safe and a little less light in the wallet. So stay safe this COVID-19 pandemic and keep washing your hands!