Tips for Healthier Dental Visits, Plus a Giveaway for Kids’ Crayola Oral Care Products (10 Winners!)

Regular dental appointments are important for good oral health, but it’s also crucial to practice basic preventive care at home, such as daily brushing and flossing. Following are some tips that you and your kids can use to increase the chances that you’ll be cavity-free at your next dental appointment!

- Replace your toothbrush approximately every 2-3 months or as soon as the bristles are worn or bent. A worn toothbrush won’t do a good job of cleaning your teeth. You should also replace your toothbrush after every illness, such as a cold or flu.

- Dentists recommend brushing for 60 seconds or longer. When activated, the GUM® Crayola™ Timer Light Toothbrush flashes for 1 minute intervals, so your kids will learn to brush longer.

- Brush your teeth at least twice a day and ideally after every meal, using a toothpaste containing fluoride.

- After cleaning all surfaces of your teeth, don’t forget to brush your tongue, which helps remove bacteria from your mouth.

- Clean between teeth. GUM® Crayola™ flossers are great for kids.

- Eat a balanced diet and limit between-meal snacks.

- Visit your dentist twice a year for professional cleanings and oral exams.

My kids love the Crayola TimerLight Toothbrush because it lights up and flashes while they’re using it, reminding them to brush for a full minute (as recommended by the American Dental Association). It also has a cute little suction cup on the bottom so they can stand it up on the bathroom counter! This helps to keep the bristles cleaner than when the toothbrushes are floating around in a drawer. And the Crayola TimerLight Toothbrush is available in many fun colors so kids can easily claim their own and not mix them up.

Flossing is also easier for children with GUM Crayola Flossers. My kids have difficulty wrapping floss around their little fingers and trying to coordinate it in their mouth. The GUM Crayola Flossers are pre-strung and just the right size for kids’ mouths. Plus they come in fun colors that appeal to kids and are in a resealable bag for easy daily use. My kids have a MUCH easier time flossing now with the GUM Crayola Flossers. No more battling them to floss!

DISCOUNT CODE: From now until July 15, 2011, you can receive 30% off any order of $10 or more at www.gumbrand.com! You can get Crayola TimerLight Toothbrushes, GUM Crayola Flossers, and many more products for the whole family. Just use the promo code CR30 when you place your order!

GIVEAWAY

Ten (10) lucky winners will each receive a GUM Crayola TimerLight Toothbrush and a package of GUM Crayola Flossers! To enter, visit www.gumbrand.com and look around. Then leave a comment on this post with the name of another product that caught your eye. You must do this to enter the giveaway.

After completing the mandatory entry above, you can earn optional, additional entries when you... (leave a separate comment for each)

- Follow @ParentingAuthor on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. You may tweet up to 3x each day. (Please space them at least an hour apart.) Leave a separate comment with the URL of each tweet. (1 entry per tweet)

- Like Susan Heim on Parenting on Facebook and/or follow on Networked Blogs. (1 entry for each)

- Subscribe to Susan Heim on Parenting via email, RSS feed, Google Friend Connect and/or Kindle. Leave a comment for each subscription method. (1 entry for each subscription method for up to 4 entries)

- Place a button for Susan Heim on Parenting on your blog and/or a text link on your blog roll. Post a comment with your blog’s URL. (1 entry for button; 1 entry for text link)

- Enter another current giveaway on Susan Heim on Parenting. (1 entry per giveaway)

- Post about this giveaway on your blog with a link to this page. Leave a comment with a direct link to the post. (3 entries; leave a separate comment for each)

Ten (10) winners will be randomly selected from the qualified comments received by Thursday, July 7, 2011, at 11:59 PM ET. Please leave an email address on one of your comments if it’s not available on your Blogger profile. Winners must respond within 72 hours or another winner will be drawn. Contest is open to US residents only.

CONTEST CLOSED. Congratulations to the winners: s, ticklemetiffyyyy, cbusch, tamiv, sweetpea08, Brittney, esluka, kal, Chris, and Doubly Blessed!



DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Sunstar GUM for providing products to facilitate this review. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are 100% mine.