Re: Cleaning teeth/ listening

[Guest guest]

mike

i had a similair issue with my 12 yo son. with his OCD he checks everything

and has abslutely no sense of time or urgencey.once we were brushing our teeth

together (at the same time) and he noted how quickly i brushed. and i am a

dental assistant! i pointed out to him that he was brushing for much too long

and i bought him a timer. now he sets the time before he brushes (for 5 minutes)

and when it rings he MUST stop brushing. it isnt foolproof (sometimes he cant

stop anyway... ) but it definitely helps!

good luck

judy

Cleaning teeth/ listening

My 11 year old daughter has OCD, although not severe. She recently went to

the dentist who

told her she was susceptible to decay. Since then she has been cleaning her

teeth frequently,

checking everything for sugar, and no matter how hard I try I can't reassure

her that her

teeth will be o.k.

She also finds it very hard to listen to me, especially in the morning when

she is getting

ready for school, doesn't seem to appreciate time, and has no sense of

urgency.

Can anyone suggest anything I can do to help her?

Thanks

Mike (UK)

[Guest guest]

hi again mike

i wanted to also point out that you should make sure your daughter is using a

soft or extra soft toothbrush (not hard or medium). this is true for almost

everyone, but especially for someone who may be brushing 'too much'. damage to

the teeth can occur (a person can actually create grooves in the enamil from

brushing too hard) and it is much more likely to do this with a medium or hard

toothbrush. in general its best for almost everyone to go for a soft toothbrush.

as far as 'checking the labels for sugar', you might want to point out to your

daughter that the bacteria in the mouth do not distinguish between where the

sugar comes from . ie, fruit, while much healthier for the body than 'junk

food', also contains sugar which can also cause decay if not brushed off. my

point it, if your daughter is obsessing over the sugar in packaged foods because

the dentist told her she susceptible to decay, perhaps if you explain to her

that checking the packaging wont help because any food that she eats which

contains sugar can cause the same decay, maybe she will check less. in addition,

recent studies have shown that carbs (pasta etc..) also 'attract ' the bacteria

to create a cavity.. the point is that MOST things we eat (even good healthy

things) can cause decay if the food is left on the teeth, so theres no point to

keep checking for sugar. the main thing is to brush well (but gently)

hope this helps

judy

Cleaning teeth/ listening

>

>

> My 11 year old daughter has OCD, although not severe.

> She recently went to the dentist who

> told her she was susceptible to decay. Since then she

> has been cleaning her teeth frequently,

> checking everything for sugar, and no matter how hard I

> try I can't reassure her that her

> teeth will be o.k.

>

> She also finds it very hard to listen to me, especially

> in the morning when she is getting

> ready for school, doesn't seem to appreciate time,

> and has no sense of urgency.

>

> Can anyone suggest anything I can do to help her?

>

> Thanks

>

> Mike (UK)

>

>

>

>

>

>

>