When my eldest was still a toddler, we had a hard time convincing her to brush her teeth. It seems this is a common struggle for parents. Concerned mommies have been asking experts and parenting sites online for help. Understandably, mothers are worried of the painful consequences poor oral hygiene would bring to their children.
Who wouldn’t be? Nine out of every 10 Filipino children have cavities and suffer from tooth decay, according to the Philippine Dental Association. What’s a little cavity, you say? Well, the same oral health body reveals toothaches as a common cause for children to be absent in school. But if it takes more than that to shake you, Angelo Fernandez of the PDA also revealed in a talk that the country is second in terms of children with dental caries.
Luckily for Filipino mommies, there is a new app that aims to make brushing time for children more fun and easier. Say hello to Candy and Dave’s Dentist’s Diary.
Fun Brushing Time With Candy and Dave’s Dentist’s Diary App
It looks like tech savvy mommies could have a new app to rely on. Dentist’s Diary is an app belonging to the Learning with Candy and Dave app series developed by Beyond Notebooks, a Philippine-based children’s app developer. Other apps in the series include Animal Kingdom Book, Discover Plants, Wonderful World, Health Book 1 and Color Your Life.
Dentist’s Diary is geared toward toddlers and preschoolers or children aged from 1 to 7 years old. It’s a video e-book app that features the characters Candy and Dave. Each video runs for about 1 to 2 minutes, which is great for tots’ short attention span.
The app teaches young children how to properly take care of their teeth. It contains six lessons, namely Brushing Your Teeth, Flossing, Toothache, Cavities, Losing a Tooth, and Gum Disease. Each lesson consists of a video, summary, things to remember, and a quiz or activity for children and their parents to do.
The app was created by Beyond Notebooks in partnership with Megamobile, a mobile and digital applications provider. The Dentist’s Diary app is available at iTunes for $2.99 (around Php130.00).
Dentist’s Diary App Alternatives
If Dentist’s Diary is not to your liking or if your kiddo gets bored easily, here are 2 more recently launched apps for you to try:
Toothsavers
First up is Toothsavers, which looks like a fun game for children, especially those who love fairytales. This free mobile gaming app is available for both iOS and Android users.
In this app, your child takes the role of Toothy who, along with the Toothsavers, will play hero and save the fairytale characters from tooth decay. Yep, Little Red Riding Hood, a dragon and a pirate are among the characters whose teeth you have been tasked to save after a wicked sorceress cast an evil spell on them. You’ll have 2 minutes to complete each task and save the day. Here’s a review if you want to learn more about this app.
Disney Magic Timer App from Oral-B
Another app for a more fun brushing time that is also available on Android and iOS is Oral-B’s Disney Magic Timer. The free app encourages young kids to brush their teeth by rewarding them with digital stickers if they succeed. There’s a brushing calendar as well to help track your child’s progress. There’s a catch here though: You need to have Crest or Oral-B Pro-Health Stage products to start playing.