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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).

Lesson #4: The Truth Behind Caring for Your Child's Oral Health

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 #4: The Truth Behind Caring for Your Child's Oral Health

Virginia Berman

Lesson #4: Brush Twice a Day, 2 Minutes Each Time

Have you tried getting a preschooler to brush teeth for 2 whole minutes?  If your child attends day care, it’s possible the day care providers brush the child’s teeth once a day- and if so, then you are fortunate! That’s a new service that did not exist when our children were in day care. At the end of each day it was a challenge to get our children to brush teeth or sit with us brushing their teeth, because they were tired and we were too, but toothbrushing still had to go on.  

I spoke with preschoolers and parents about brushing teeth for 2 minutes

I spoke with preschoolers and parents about brushing teeth for 2 minutes

There are options to help children (and adults) to brush long enough, for the 2 minutes: 

--electric toothbrushes with audible timers

--old fashioned sand timers, egg timers

--2 minute toothbrushing video apps. A new 2 minute timer has a new story for kids to brush teeth to, called Chompers from Gimlet media. That’s if you don’t mind having a screen in the bathroom at bedtime; or if you don’t mind downloading and keeping track of the screen.

Parents and kids love the Two Minute Turtle Timer

Brush Teeth for Two Minutes

We tried all of these. None of these toothbrushing timers worked. We didn’t like the sound of the electric toothbrush plus our kids are visual learners and the electric toothbrush is not visual. Replacing electric toothbrush heads every 6 months was also pricey.  Regarding timers on phones, we preferred not to give our kids another screen in the bathroom. Nor did we want to use the screen as an aid to help our kids’ focus when so often it’s more of a distraction. The old fashioned sand timer was a little too slow to keep the kids focused plus it tipped off the sink. We wanted our kids to foster their independence, do their tasks, without relying on a screen.

This is a helpful chart for what to do with kids’ teeth at the different ages and stages.

Necessity is the mother of invention. So my husband and I went to make something for our kids’ toothbrushing, that worked. We designed the Two Minute Turtle Timer, a 2-minute timer that kids can own. Kids like to hold it, press it, feel it in their hands (and it sticks to the mirror). It can get wet. The kids like to press and follow the blinking flippers. They learn to pace themselves while brushing teeth and ultimately, enjoy their 2 minutes of toothbrushing. Kids love to follow the light-up flippers until the Victory Lap, signaling to brush the tongue. And no kid wants to quit a race before a turtle...! They know the old fable, the Tortoise and the Hare.

As of this writing, our children are 14 and 17 years old and have not had a cavity since using the Two Minute Turtle Timer starting years ago. They brush with their Two Minute Turtle Timer every morning and night and pack it on overnights. I hope you can get more peace each day with kids brushing the full 2 minutes without any more reminders!