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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Oral Health Affects Self-Image {GIVEAWAY}


My son has a cavity. It's in that hard to see spot directly behind his bottom front teeth. When I discovered this, I wanted to pull out my hair, because we spent a good portion of the beginning of the year dealing with my daughter's dental visits because she had SIX cavities in her mouth.

I was so upset because we are not lax in brushing our teeth. My kids brush at least once a day, frequently twice. But as it turns out, my kids have really soft enamel. (Who knew?) And even though my daughter is 8 years old, our dentist said I still needed to be brushing her teeth myself. I don't usually, because I knew that I had taught her the right way to brush years ago. She also said that my kids needed to be using a non-alcoholic mouthwash and flossing daily. Sigh.

So you can imagine my aggravation when I discovered a cavity behind my son's front teeth while I was brushing them. Actually, I wouldn't have even seen it then, except that he squealed when I brushed the area. And after a good bit of twisting and maneuvering (he has a tiny mouth!) I caught a glimpse of a discolored area at the base of those teeth.

Now I'm grinding mine.

When I was a little girl, I can remember lots of visits to the dentist. And I don't think I had a good one because my teeth are not beautifully straight even after all that time and money. I've always been self-conscious about them and keep saying that one of these days I'm going to get them all taken care of, even if it means braces at my age (which we just won't mention here). But as many of you can probably relate, once you have children, things like that take a back seat, and now my own children's oral health takes precedence.

I don't want them growing up self-conscious about their beautiful smiles. I want them to smile with assurance and not even think twice about their teeth, because I don't want it affecting their relationships or anything else.


Needless to say, we are staying on top of things now. And one way is by my brushing their teeth at least once a day - they can brush the first time, and I do their teeth every evening before bed. They also use mouthwash and floss in between their teeth. AND we are being careful to make regular check-ups.

My kids were reluctant at first, but they had a much better attitude about it once they learned that during the summer games, Olympic athletes received free dental screenings, consultations and oral hygiene products. Now they just pretend they are Olympians stopping in to get (their teeth) pampered!

A few weeks ago I shared an interview I had with Ondina López, a mother to Olympians Steven and Diana López. This was made possible by P&G Oral Care and their Olympic Games partnership. (They're also the ones who supplied the dental screenings and products mentioned above.)

Anyway, as a result of that campaign , I received a Crest Complete Deep Clean Prize Pack in the mail. It included a tube of Crest Complete Multi-Benefit Whitening and Deep Clean toothpaste, an Oral-B Complete Deep Clean toothbrush, a bag of Oral-B Complete Glide floss picks, and a bottle of Scope dual blast mouthwash. The wouthwash has alcohol in it so my husband and I are using it, while my kids can use the floss picks and toothpaste. I'm using the toothbrush since it is too big for their little mouths.

To learn more about P&G Oral Care Olympic Games partnership, please "Like" Crest 3D White, Crest and Oral-B on Facebook.

THE GIVEAWAY

Crest is offering one lucky MommyMaestra reader the same Crest Complete Deep Clean Prize Pack.

To enter, simply leave a comment below.

The deadline to enter is 11:59 EST, Wednesday, August 22nd. The winner will be chosen using Random.org. and contacted via email - so be sure to leave a valid email address in your comment! (If I have no way to contact you, I'll have to choose someone else!)

And to increase your chances of winning, you can:

1) Follow the Crest on Facebook.

Don't forget to let me know by posting a separate comment for each entry!

By entering this giveaway, you agree to the Official Sweepstakes Rules. No purchase required. Void where prohibited.

¡Buena suerte!


Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a test drive campaign by Latina Mom Bloggers on behalf of Crest and Oral-B and received product samples to facilitate my candid review. Latina Mom Bloggers sent me a promotional gift to thank me for taking the time to participate. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

This giveaway is now closed.