A Sugar Bug On My Tooth: Children’s Book Review
National Children’s Dental Health Month
I am so happy to review A Sugar Bug On My Tooth. As a newish mom who is just experiencing visits to the dentist with my toddler and caring for my step daughter’s teeth, oral health is important to me. Unfortunately, like the main character of the book Natalie Jean I too had a few sugar bugs in my teeth as a child. I’m happy to say with excellent oral hygiene and consistent visits to my dentist, I have not developed any more sugar bugs in my teeth.
A Sugar Bug On My Tooth is written by Dr. Linda Sturrup, a dentist and author who is passionate about opening up the discussion on oral health in children. The book is a great for helping parents put their young children’s minds at ease when going for a dental checkup. I know more than a handful of adults (family included) who are afraid of the dentist. Those fears lead to oral health issues and they also don’t set a good example for children. Reading this book with my toddler and my 8 year old was a fun way to show how much fun it is to go to the dentist and how important it is to take care of our teeth. My toddler is still adjusting to visiting the dentist but the 8 year-old enjoys her visits. Just last week she told me “the dentist said you have to change my toothbrush every 3 days.” Of course I laughed and corrected her explaining the dentist said every 3 months.
CDC Facts About Oral Hygiene
- Nearly half of all children ages 2 to 5 have never been to the dentist
- 42% of children age 2 to 11 have had dental cavities on their primary teeth
- Research suggests that the inflammation from periodontal, or gum disease puts one at a greater risk for diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease
Brushing time is a fun time in our home. Sugar Plum Z (the two year old) gets a kick out of brushing her tongue and spitting. We have our own version of the Brush your teeth song which she knows by heart. Don’t skip the song folks, it’s super important. Sugar Plum Z is adamant about brushing her teeth in the mornings before starting our day and in the evenings before bedtime.
Tips For Children’s Oral Health
- Children should have their teeth brushed as soon as the teeth appear
- Baby bottle tooth decay can be caused by baby formula, milk and juice sitting against the teeth
- Children should begin regular dental visits at age 1 or by six months after their teeth appear
- After the first visit, parents should schedule regular visits every six months or as their dentist recommends
This book is an excellent addition to your child’s library. You can purchase it in paperback or e-book formats at www.asugarbugonmytooth.com in English and Spanish. You can also find it online at Amazon, Author House, Barnes & Noble and Books A Million.
We are also giving away one copy of A Sugar Bug On My Tooth to one lucky Fab Haute Mama fan. Enter to win here:
A Sugar Bug On My Tooth Children’s Book Giveaway
When was your child’s last visit to the dentist? If you don’t have an appointment scheduled, make one today.
27 Comments
Terri Ramsey Beavers
February 27, 2015 at 9:42 AMWhat a sweet and helpful book. I wish I had had this before Abby had to have a cavity treated. She was really frightened and unfortunately the dentist wasn’t kid friendly and we had to find one that was.
M J
March 1, 2015 at 2:14 PMOh Terri, I can imagine how scary that was for your Abby. I’m glad you found a new dentist.
Nancy
February 27, 2015 at 4:03 PMWhen I have kids, I’m going to bring them to a fantastic dentist. What I never knew growing up, was that there were some not-so-good dentists out there. My teeth are horrible now because of the poor dentists I went to in the past 🙁 Luckily Yelp.com exists out there now and we can do our research without having them to work on our own teeth first! Does that make sense? Lol.
M J
March 1, 2015 at 2:15 PMYes Nancy. Makes total sense. A good dentist is a must and being able to research before hand is great in this day and age.
Stacie
February 28, 2015 at 10:52 AMAw, she is so cute! I’ll have to keep this in mind for my Gbaby when she gets a bit older.
M J
March 1, 2015 at 2:16 PMThank you Stacie. I hope you entered the contest. You can keep the book in your GBaby’s library until the time comes.
Beth
March 1, 2015 at 12:51 AMI’ve never heard of this story or author but it looks perfect for any young kid who’s about to lose their tooth! Thanks for sharing the giveaway, I’m sure some little kid is going to love it!
M J
March 1, 2015 at 2:13 PMThanks Beth. It is a great book for kids on their journey to lovely adult teeth.
LaShawn
March 1, 2015 at 2:51 PMPookah loves the dentist! We got this little hour glass that tells him how long to brush his teeth for and he loves it. Of course, mama still goes behind him every few days. LOL
M J
March 6, 2015 at 5:36 AMThat’s excellent your Pooka loves the dentist. And yep mama has to work backup on the healthy teeth mission.
Vashti (veepeejay.com)
March 1, 2015 at 8:21 PMAww…look at my Zoe reading her book. Too cute. Making teeth brushing fun is a great way to develop great oral habits.
M J
March 6, 2015 at 5:34 AMThanks Vee. Yes she was all into the book. She is obsessed with brushing her teeth and with washing her hands. LOL.
Christine @MomsNCharge
March 1, 2015 at 8:42 PMI love it! With my 3 & 5 yr olds I allow them to brush once themselves and then I brush after them. I learned the hard way in that even though we think they’re brushing correctly, they’re probably not. This, after finding out my 7 yr old has a cavity 🙁 This looks like a great book, can’t wait to check it out!
M J
March 6, 2015 at 5:33 AMI am crazy about Zoe’s teeth. I don’t want her to grow up and have to deal with all sorts of dental issues. I love this book as the dentist can be intimidating.
Kiwi
March 4, 2015 at 10:17 PMYour daughter is beautiful! Girl you know i dont have any kids yet but its always good to know in the future. For example…I didnt know that babies need to brush teeth as soon as teeth appear and that baby tooth decay can be the cause of formula. I wonder if its the same for breastmilk?
M J
March 6, 2015 at 5:19 AMThanks Kiwi. Yes, get your library ready. This books is great to have.
judy jbrittain
July 6, 2016 at 3:55 AMHey, great share…..
This looks like a great book. Eagerly waiting to get it for my kid. Great way to teach the importance of oral health. Your post is definitely worth sharing.
Thanks for sharing this post. Keep sharing more….
Cheers!!
M J
July 8, 2016 at 10:13 AMThank you Judy. It is a great book. My daughter took it to her first dentist visit and shared it with her dentist. He was delighted.
Bethany McSherry
February 11, 2017 at 3:02 AMGreat Post!
Thank you so much sharing this informative post.It is vital to make sure that the kid eats nutritious food to maintain a good dental health. Hidden sugars in foods and beverages are more likely to cause cavities. Instead, switch on to real fruits juices which are not only nutritious but also the likelihood of getting cavities are very less. Eating raw fruits and vegetables, non-processed cheese, and milk and yogurt, are healthy food options that can be included in kids diet for a good oral health. Thank you again. Keep sharing.
Sarah
July 14, 2019 at 10:43 AMI now have 2 sons, but it’s hard when I have to tell them to brush their teeth.
M J
August 9, 2019 at 11:53 AMI know the struggle. It does get better though.
Teeth Braces
December 16, 2019 at 11:24 PMI love this blog!!
Thanks for sharing the huge knowledge with us.
Minal Kumari
December 24, 2019 at 5:50 AMMy daughter loves this book. After reading this she got aware about dental hygiene.
M J
December 30, 2019 at 12:30 PMYes it’s a good book for sure.
Faye Riley
April 8, 2020 at 7:32 AMMy children love reading books. They will surely like reading this book too.
Selena Shaw
April 10, 2020 at 7:42 AMI was thinking of getting my hands on this book, so I thought of reading the reviews first. Your review helped me finalize to buy this book soon.
Stephanie McGuire
January 25, 2021 at 6:40 AMConsidering that many kids are afraid of visits to the dentist, this book will surely help them overcome that fear.