kids

Sharing Smiles Kid's Day 2019!

It’s that time again! We are hosting our 7th annual Sharing Smiles Kid’s Day on Saturday, August 17th!

We will be providing free dental care to members of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Washington County and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington County as a way to support our community and get our kids ready for the school year!

In addition, from 10am to 2pm we will be having a cookout/brat fry, root beer floats, raffle prizes and games right in our parking lot! All money raised during this time will be split between the two charitable organizations! We will also be collecting school supplies, so come on out!

Grab lunch, have some fun, buy some raffle tickets and support TWO great causes!


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Sharing Smiles from Day One - Your Child's FIRST Dental Visit.

Dr. Hollaway with her little patient, Avery, after her first dental visit!

Dr. Hollaway with her little patient, Avery, after her first dental visit!

Has your child already hit one of these milestones?

  • Did they get their first tooth in?
  • Have they had their first birthday yet?

If they have, they should also be hitting another milestone:

Their FIRST dental visit!

That's right, at Grand Avenue Dental Care, we recommend that you take your child to the dentist when they get their first tooth or when they turn one year old - whichever happens first. 

This is what we call our ‘knee-to-knee’ exam and it’s a great chance for a dentist to take a look at how your child’s teeth are developing. It also allows the child to start getting comfortable at the dentist, and the parent the opportunity to ask questions about at-home care and eating habits. 

Here is Dr. Hollaway performing a knee-to-knee exam for Avery, while Avery rests on her Dad's lap. 

Here is Dr. Hollaway performing a knee-to-knee exam for Avery, while Avery rests on her Dad's lap. 

The goal of this early exam is prevent decay and development problems and to develop a relationship with the patient from a young age. We hope to start the relationship early and encourage even our youngest patients to come every 6 months for their preventative visits. 

For more information about other issues or concerns you might want to discuss with your dentist early, check out an earlier blog post here.

If your child has hit one of their FIRST milestones and still needs their first dental appointment,

call us today at 262-673-7826 to schedule!

How to Get our Kids to Be Better Brushers!

It is a constant challenge to keep kids interested and motivated to do the things that we want them to do: making their beds, doing their homework and getting out the door on time are all things that fall under this category. While we don’t have quick-fixes for all of these challenges, here at Grand Avenue Dental Care, we do have a couple of tips to help you motivate your kids to brush their teeth consistently.

The first way to try to get your kids to do anything, is to be a good example of that activity. That is no different when it come to brushing your teeth. If you are a good example of healthy oral hygiene habits, your kids will see that and be more likely to want to do the same thing! So, be sure YOU are brushing for two minutes, two times a day and flossing once a day! 

Another way to encourage your kids is to make brushing FUN! Getting them engaged in the activity, especially at a young age, can be instrumental in creating positive, lifelong habits. With technology so readily available today, there are quite a few apps that you can download to your phone, iPad or tablet, that were created JUST for this situation. A couple of our favorite tooth brushing apps are the Disney Magic Timer and the Brusheez app! They are both kid-approved but there are many more where they came from! See what works best for your child. Some kids really like the tangible, flip-over, 2 minute timer or they might prefer 2 minutes of dancing, while brushing, to their favorite song. Find out what works best for them, and if they loses their initial excitement, try something new!

Fun is always good, but so are rewards and positive reinforcement. Regardless of how you motivate your child to be a better, more consistent brusher, be sure to take notice! Just complementing how well they are doing is wonderful, but it might also be nice to set up a reward program if they do it well. We’ve created the below Brushing Calendar to help with just that. Feel free to print it out and encourage your child to color each half of the day (morning and night) as they brush. They can use their favorite color, green and gold for their favorite team or even stickers in each section. If they fill out the entire calendar for one month, you can arrange a special reward for them. Or, if they bring it in to Grand Avenue Dental Care, with their parents signature- we will give them a special treat. 

Remember, as soon as your child gets their first tooth, you should start brushing. You should also schedule them for their first dental visit once they have that first tooth, or by the time they are one year old. The earlier good brushing habits are formed, the better kids are at taking care of their teeth and the less cavities they will experience. We hope these few tips help you to build better brushing habits with your kids! Their bed might still be un-made, but at least their smile will sparkle!