Watch Out For Those Sugar Bugs!!

When Jay was smaller, he would let me brush his teeth without any problems, but as he has gotten older, tooth brushing time has become more and more of a chore.  And it is something that I really worry (almost obsessively) about because Jay looks SO much like his Papa...and his Papa has absolutely horrible teeth.     

I was talking to a woman at church about the situation, she has a granddaughter about Jay's age, and I always love to get her advice on things.  She worked in a destists office for many years, and he always played the "Sugar Bug" game with children that came in.

He would tell his patients that whenever they ate sweet things, yucky ole sugar bugs would get into their mouths.  These sugar bugs are serious business...they can make your teeth hurt!  And we brush and floss our teeth to get them out.

I thought this sounded like something right up Jay's alley, so we gave it a try.  Here's our version of the sugar bug game:

After we eat breakfast, and dinner, we hurry to the bathroom to brush all the sugar bugs out of our mouths.  I make it a game by having him check my mouth for yucky ole sugar bugs, and then he lets me check his mouth.  I tell Jay to watch how I brush my teeth so that he can be sure to brush the same way and we can both get all of our sugar bugs out.  Then after we finish brushing, we spit our toothpaste out into the sink.  My toothpaste is kind of an aqua color and Jay's toothpaste is a yellow color, so I point at both colors and say "oh my goodness Jay...look at those sugar bugs we just spit out!  Do you see the yellow one right there..and that big green one over there!?"  Then we floss our teeth to make sure none of the sneaky little sugar bugs are hiding between them.  I bought some of those flosser stick things at the pharmacy, and they work great for this purpose.  I have him watch me floss so he can do the same thing.  And then we both check each others mouths to make sure we got all the sugar bugs out.     

We have been doing this for several weeks now, and it really WORKS!  There are no more screaming tantrums, and I no longer have to try to force Jay to let me check his teeth to make sure they are clean.  Sometimes he will even run to the bathroom after lunch or a snack to brush his teeth.  And he is much better at actually brushing his teeth too.   Watchig me has taught him how to move his toothbrush better and he brushes for longer because he is brushing for the same amount of time that I do.  Flossing his teeth had become impossible, but now he is flossing twice a day!!  Woo Hoo! 

So if you have a stubborn toddler, try the Sugar Bug game!!  It just might make toothbrushing time a little easier for you too!