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128 Birch Street
Boston, MA, 02131
United States

(617) 390-4076

Invent Boston designs and develops original products to add science + whimsy to  every day tasks at home.   Our first product is a Two Minute timer, Two Minute Turtle, a visual timer. The Two Minute Turtle helps children and adults focus on two minute tasks such as brushing teeth, physical therapy, taking a shower and speaking (practicing a presentation or learning a language).

Invent Boston™, Home of the Two Minute Turtle Timer™

Invent Boston™ blog offers tips and stories by parents, for parents of children ages 4-12 to make toothbrushing and other healthy habits at home, more fun. We write about simple tactics to help kids do what they like to do-touch, seeing, play games and strive for independence. We recommend products to help stay healthy while being kids. We share stories to transform daily healthy habits from something kids resist (for example, toothbrushing, handwashing, toilet training, organizing, taking time-out or pausing, yoga, and taking turns) into something children are motivated to do independently, without parents’ reminders. The original physical product Invent Boston has designed for families is the new light-up Two Minute Turtle Timer, an analog, interval toothbrush timer to make brushing teeth fun for kids. Kids like to press the button, follow the flippers and brush until all the lights blink—the Victory Lap signals to brush the tongue.

Lesson #6 The Truth Behind Caring for Your Child's Oral Health

Virginia Berman

Lesson #6: Should you Wait Before Filling A Cavity?
This is possible: reversible tooth decay.

Sometimes Waiting is Best.

A scenario: Our dentist sees a small cavity.  She gives me the option of filling the cavity or waiting.   My instinct was to fill it as soon as a cavity was spotted so it doesn’t get any larger.  

The Two Minute Turtle Timer is good for toothbrushing and for learning to wait or time-outs

Not all cavities need filling. In fact, at their earliest stages, cavities can be stopped so they don’t advance beyond the outer layer of the tooth Cavities on our teeth may actually “remineralize”, disappear on their own, with good oral care. The first layer to wear away is the enamel. It can take 4 years from the first lesion til the cavity progresses to the next layer of the tooth and needs to be filled.

How to stop a cavity? Be a Cavity Cop--and arrest it! When a child brushes twice a day with fluoride, for 2 minutes, and is not high risk on the risk assessment, the cavity may never progress. So when a dentist “keeps an eye on the cavity for the next few visits”, this is another key time to be diligent toothbrushers and flouride -rinse users and to avoid sugary foods. Sometimes waiting is best.

For more great reading on this hopeful topic of oral health care go to the new oral health report:

http://www.dentaquest.com/pdfs/reports/reversible-decay.pdf/

Sometimes being passive -waiting and watching -really is the best policy. Take a lesson from adorable sheep.

Sometimes being passive -waiting and watching -really is the best policy. Take a lesson from adorable sheep.

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categories oral health
tags kids oral health, when to fill a cavity?