Green Treehouse

With three children, I realize it’s likely that I’ll hear the C word–CAVITY–uttered from a dentist sometime before the nest empties. After all, research shows that 79 percent of children will have a cavity by age 17. But even with this dark statistic, I know that with regular brushing, there is still hope for avoiding drills or lasers.

Thankfully, in my household, my children love to brush their teeth. Not that I’m bragging, but I’ve yet to experience a battle. But, I realize this is not the case for many families. Often there is a lot of fuss around the toothbrush. Some parents make up jolly “brushy-brushy” songs, as a way to convince little ones to brush. Some simply let their children (usually toddlers) chew on a toothbrush while mirroring brushing technique in front of them. Some parents use sticker charts as incentives. Some even play dentist, taking turns brushing each others’ teeth. Some buy gigantic toothbrushes and oversized, plastic teeth for the playroom. Some resort to bribery.

While there is certainly no substitute for good hygiene and developing positive brushing habits, a researcher at UCLA has come up with a lollipop solution to cavities. Apparently the “candy” combines ancient Eastern medicine and cutting-edge technology to create a cavity combating, kid-friendly answer to preventing cavities.

I’m surprised to think that the lollipop concept is new. But from a parenting perspective, it does sound like a brilliant idea–provided the lollipops actually taste yummy.

What do you think? Would you buy anti-cavity lollipops? Do you think these lollipops send the “wrong” message about candy?

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