Free Dental Apps and Questioning the Tooth Fairy

This is exactly how my daughter looked when she came running to me on Tuesday to tell me about a tooth that was loose. She was SUPER excited! However, yesterday was a very emotional day for our family. Alyssa actually lost her first tooth. I didn't realize it was going to come out so fast. She used her tongue to wiggle it around ALL day - seriously it was a HUGE distraction. LOL. She told her daddy that he was NOT allowed to pull it out. The next day I served carrots for lunch. Mean mama! She bit into a carrot and her face flushed red with concern. She said her tooth felt "awkward." I asked her to open her mouth so that I could see her tooth. As soon as she opened her mouth, the tooth plopped out with pieces of carrot! At first she cried happy tears which immediately turned into sad tears. She is very attached to her tooth.

She decided that she was NOT going to leave her tooth under the pillow for the tooth fairy even though she secured it inside two containers as seen below. My hubby started talking about the tooth fairy. Out of curiosity she asked more him to tell her more about the tooth fairy. He said she usually brings children money and reminded her of the movie "Rise of the Guardians." Jeff told her she might get a quarter or a piece of candy. She said, "My tooth is too important to give to the tooth fairy especially since it was my first tooth to come out." She may change her mind in a few days. She even asked if she could write the tooth fairy a letter (if she did give it to her) asking to give back the tooth so mommy can have it as a memory of the special day. She also asked me if the tooth fairy was real or not. Honestly, I didn't know how to answer because I know the truth.

What do you tell your children about the tooth fairy? Please share your thought in the comments. 

Stored her tooth in a heart container inside a large Easter egg

The tooth obviously meant a lot to her and was very important.  

She wanted to know more about what was going on with her body so this turned into a mini lesson about teeth. I have a feeling we'll be covering this topic in more depth very soon. I read a couple dental books I had on hand. Are there any books you suggest reading to a five year old? We used a tooth eruption chart so that she could figure out the name of the baby tooth she lost. We discussed primary (baby) teeth and permanent (adult) teeth. Not too long ago, we realized that two teeth erupted on her bottom jaw. She has both of her first permanent (5-6 year) molars now. I rushed her into the doctor's office a couple months ago when her temperature was extremely high. I immediately noticed that she had white erupting from her gums. I knew at that point that she wasn't sick . . . when her baby teeth were coming her temperature always increased. I was even silly enough to think they were wisdom teeth (even though I knew better) until I asked my friends on a forum. Hey, this is my first child - that's my excuse and I'm stickin' to it.  

Free Dental Apps

Alyssa explored the features of her FREE Kids' Dental app. She learned more about her teeth and how to care for them. The wonderful app teaches her how to brush and floss. Different conditions are explained including cavities, early and late loss, broken teeth, abscessed teeth, and gum disease. Furthermore, it discusses healthy foods and good habits. Additionally, the app contains a section called "My Teeth" which allows us to track the dates for her lost teeth on a personal calendar chart. She just added her lost tooth to the calendar today. We were able to add the date and a smiling photo.

Reading about different conditions

Created a "My Teeth" calendar for Alyssa. 

She also used the FREE Time 2 Brush app while brushing her teeth. Before this app, she was constantly asking me "Did I brush my teeth long enough?" Time 2 Brush has put a stop to this question, because a timer counts down two minutes as she brushes and dances to a song. She earns points to customize her Nurdle. She brushes her teeth twice a day with supervision and then we thoroughly brush her teeth at night.    

Star Teeth is a new app we recently downloaded but haven't yet explored. As with any and all apps mentioned on this blog, please review the app for accuracy and appropriateness before allowing your children to explore them.

Which dental apps do you use and recommend? 

We are currently only using FREE dental apps, but we would love to hear all of your suggestions.

I will link this post at Marcy's Blogging Through the Alphabet Link-Up. I was actually working on a completely different post for the letter D, but then I realized D is for Dental Apps so I wanted to share the post with you all.