13 Interesting Facts About Kids’ Dental Care

Do you want your children to be more interested in the health of their teeth?

We do too! We have compiled a list of interesting facts about kids’ dental care that is sure to peak your child’s curiosity. Warning: By sharing these fun facts with your kids, you may invite endless questions about visiting the dentist. The only way to cure this is to schedule an appointment with your favorite local kids dentist.

Let’s start with some fascinating dental health statistics:

1. Americans, on average, spend a total of 38.5 days brushing their teeth in their lifetime.
2. Kids in North America spend almost half a million dollars on chewing gum every year.
3. Women smile 62 times a day on average, while men only smile about eight times a day. Meanwhile, kids laugh about 400 times a day, while adults laugh just 15 times a day.
4. People generally spend 45 to 70 seconds brushing at a time.  We recommend brushing two to three minutes each time.
5. Sadly, seventy-eight percent of Americans have had at least one cavity by the time they turn 17 years old.

How about some fun facts you can discuss with your kids

1. The enamel on your teeth is the hardest substance in your body. That doesn’t mean though that you should use your teeth to open bottle caps as you may have seen some tough guys do. Always protect those pearly whites!
2. Test this out. Right-handed people tend to chew food on the right side of their mouth. Lefties, on the other hand, will chew on the left side of their mouth.
3. People gravitate more toward blue toothbrushes than red ones.
4. Tooth prints and tongue prints are unique to each individual much like fingerprints are. Hopefully, they’ll just stick to fingerprints at the police station.
5. The most valuable tooth ever was Sir Isaac Newton’s. It fetched a grand sum of $3,633 in London back in 1816. That’s equivalent to $35,700 today. Just like a precious stone, it was set in a ring. The owner must have been a big fan of gravity.

Here is an unhealthy habit you may be guilty of. If so, be sure to discuss it with your little ones to curb the behavior early. Encouraging them to make their own good choices is a great way to get them to create positive habits.

1. People who like to drink soda are likely to have 62 percent more tooth decay, sport fillings, and suffer from tooth loss than others. Keep your teeth healthy by sticking to plain water instead.

Meanwhile, if you have yet to get your child excited about this healthy habit, start right now.

1. Flossing takes care of 40 percent of your tooth surfaces that brushing doesn’t normally reach. That’s almost half your tooth surfaces you fail to clean when you don’t floss.

Finally, enjoy this bit of dentistry trivia.

1. Hesi-Re is the earliest dentist known by name. He lived more than 5,000 years ago in Egypt. WOW!

Hopefully, these 13 amazing facts about kids’ dental care amused you and inspired your children to be more invested in their dental health. Print this list and keep it near your kids toothbrush and when they complain about brushing you can spark a new topic with them to help create those good oral care routines.