BrushyBall – The Toothbrush Training Coach is now available at Amazon.com.  It turned out to be a seven-year project. I had never brought a product to market before.  It was a mountain to climb, but in the end I am proud to introduce the first parent-invented sink top brushing coach for brushers.

Every parent knows that it is sometimes challenging to motivate our young brushers to the sink. Then, do they brush long enough? Do they brush ALL of their teeth and all of the surfaces? I thought of the concept of BrushyBall when my daughter was four and learning to brush on her own.  I can tell you from my experience and from discussions with many other parents, the truth is many children seldom brush for two minutes and not all of the teeth are touched. We know that the health of our teeth is directly related to our overall health, particularly as we age.  BrushyBall was designed to help kids with a better start at learning to brush well for a healthy life.

Singing toothbrushes and timers are able to time a two-minute session, but they fail to address what a brusher should actually be doing for two minutes.  That is the key benefit of BrushyBall. Teeth light up in six sections as BrushyBall speaks to guide brushers to remember the inside, outside and chewing surfaces of all teeth. Brushing COMPLETELY is now a follow-the-leader game!

Brushers can choose to hear BrushyBall in English, Spanish or music solo each time they brush (I’m working on additional languages). The 5-inch size is designed to fit comfortably on most sinks and serves as a toothbrush holder for classic brushes. Who needs expensive Bluetooth contraptions and bulky singing toothbrushes when you have a personal coach waiting on the sink!?

Happy Brushing!

Rob Malen

WHAT IS XYLITOL? | A SWEET CAVITY FIGHTER

Xylitol is a naturally occurring substance found in most fruits and vegetables as well as plant and tree fibers.  Our bodies even produce Xylitol in small quantities as part of normal metabolic processes.  Since the 1970s, it has been distilled from corn husks and trees like Birch for use in consumer products.  So, despite its chemically charged name, keep in mind that Xylitol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol, not an artificial sweetener.

So, let's get to the toothy stuff....Xylitol is an ingredient in many food products as a sweetener, and in many oral care products like gum, mints, toothpaste, and mouthwash.  Xylitol is a bit of paradox because it is used like sugar while it maintains some unique anti-cavity properties.  Check out Xylitol's special cavity fighting strengths:

1. Cannot be digested by bacteria in our mouths, so it does not produce acids which cause cavities

2. Has unique physical properties which prevent bacteria from sticking to your teeth

3. Boosts saliva's alkaline properties which enhances saliva to rebuild enamel on your teeth

The best course of dental hygiene use seems to be using Xylitol often, so chewing xylitol gum makes sense.  In large amounts Xylitol can make your stomach queasy, and this may be an issue in the consumption of food products.  However, you can look at product ingredients to see that very small quantities of Xylitol are used to make effective dental care products.

 Some more quick facts:

• Toxic to dogs (possible cat conspiracy)
• Used in treating and preventing ear infections in children
• As a nasal spray, prevents bacteria from sticking to nasal passage

 KIDS' TEETH AND CONTAGIOUS CAVITIES

It’s true! Cavities are contagious and you can unintentionally infect your children's teeth with the bacteria culprit.  A common misunderstanding is that cavities are simply caused when sugar is directly exposed to teeth. The truth, unfortunately, is just like a case of strep throat and it is very easy to pass cavity causing bacteria on to our children.  In fact, three strains of bacteria are responsible for human tooth decay; Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sobrinus, and Lactobacilli. Once the bacteria take up residence in a mouth they metabolize the simple sugars from chewed food. Their metabolic waste product is lactic acid, and that is what eats away at tooth enamel eventually causing cavities.You can lower the potential for passing along cavity producing bacteria to your child by not sharing your toothbrushes and eating utensils.Brushing your teeth at twice per day helps to fight the bacteria in a few ways:
1 Removes the plaque where bacteria thrive
2 Removes the presence of sugar on our teeth so it cannot feed the bacteria
3 Using fluoridated toothpaste supports the rebuilding of the acid eroded enamel
4 Studies also show that fluoride may have direct anti-bacterial properties that kill bacteria

P.S. Brushing with BrushyBall helps too

Stay tuned for a post with some interesting facts about Xylitol . . .

U.S. CAVITY EPIDEMIC? | BRUSHYBALL TO THE RESCUE!

A recent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been getting some attention in the press.  It shows a disturbing uptick in the number of cavities among children aged 5 to 19 yrs old and within that group the largest uptick is in the three to five year old age group.

Surely the last twenty years show a dramatic shift in drinking water consumption from fluoridated public water systems to filtered non-fluoridated bottled water.  Less fluoride equals less mineralization of tooth enamel.

Other causes are likely to be simple behavioral shifts and this is where BrushyBall can play a helpful role.  Busy, faster paced lifestyles are encroaching on the historical twice-per-day ritual of teeth brushing. Typically, the beginning of the day and the end of the day are critical chore filled fast-paced moments for parents and children with demanding schedules.  Motivating our children to brush easily becomes a daily challenge requiring countless negotiating tactics and the well-known plea, “Brush your teeth!”

Then, the training job comes in, and let me be clear; preparing my daughter for the big and small challenges in life is one of the most fulfilling parts of being a parent.  But, I have to admit the toothbrush routine can get a little stale and frustrating, particularly on the busy mornings and at the end of long days.  I remember watching my daughter, then five years old, happily brushing one side of her lower right set of teeth for about 30 seconds.…..and that was it.  Singing a cute brushing song she spent the rest of her toothbrush time looking in the mirror, making faces, singing songs and pushing the drain stop down to watch the sink fill up.  I’m pretty sure she swallowed the toothpaste too

Problems Solved! With BrushyBall waiting on the sink top, “Time to brush your teeth!” is easily transformed into your child’s ‘follow-the-leader’ game time.  The little yellow toothbrush coach engages your child’s attention visually and audibly to guide the brushing routine through all teeth.  BrushyBall actually speaks with words of direction and positive reinforcement while individual sections of teeth light up to ensure that all teeth are brushed completely (click for demo video).  Younger children can use BrushyBall for a 1-minute brushing session and older children can benefit from the 2-minute session.

BrushyBall’s unmatched coaching system brings a little relief to parents and a lot of benefit to children as they form a healthy brushing habit.