A Case Western Reserve University dentistry professor says a good brushing in the morning and again in the evening, with a flossing before jumping into bed, will help you and your children stay healthier and keep their teeth longer.

While dentists remind their patients throughout the year about good oral hygiene, February-the American Dental Association's National Children's Dental Health Month-provides a special time to focus on what parents can do to help their children keep their smiles healthy.

The month-long focus on good oral health started as a one-day event in Cleveland on February 3, 1941. It gathered momentum and evolved by 1981 into its current and national month-long celebration. This year's theme is "Give Kids a Smile."

Nabil Bissada, chair of the department of periodontics at the CWRU School of Dentistry, said research findings point to the need to begin healthy oral health habits at a young age and regularly practice them throughout life.

Over the past decade, researchers like Bissada have found that healthy teeth and gums can reduce risks for heart problems, diabetes, certain respiratory diseases and even premature labor with low-weight babies. Many patients with these conditions exhibit the presence of gum diseases.

The number one defense against gum disease and tooth decay is appropriately brushing the teeth, according to Bissada. He is a toothbrush and floss expert as a former member of the ADA's Advisory Council on Dental Therapeutics and a current adviser to a toothbrush company.

Bissada recommends using one of the numerous electric brushes on the market that come with smaller nylon bristle heads to reach the back teeth, near the gums and in hard-to-reach places between the teeth. These power brushes can clean at a speed of 30,000 to 35,000 cycles per minute.

Bissada gives three reasons for using a power toothbrush-it is effective in removing plaque, little manual dexterity is needed to operate it and new advances in power designs are less abrasive to the teeth than manual brushes.

If a person uses a manual brush, he or she should concentrate on brushing each individual tooth at least 12 times to remove any plaque, Bissada says.

Whether it is manual or electric, two minutes is an optimal time to brush-although Bissada recommends "the longer the better." He adds that a survey of the general public's brushing habits has shown that most people brush less than a minute, which is not adequate time to the clean the teeth.

"The power brushes take out the guesswork on whether or not the sticky plaque that causes bacteria to grow is removed," Bissada said.

"Children also have to be motivated to brush," he said, adding that parents need to make it an enjoyable habit instead of viewing it as a chore. Bissada also points out that the new power toothbrushes that play music while a child brushes, sparkle or glow also give children an incentive to brush and makes the healthy habit fun.

The periodontist also suggests that parents take their children to the dentist for checkups twice a year.

"You can have a gum disease without any pain. Only a dentist can spot the health problem," Bissada said.

Once a gum disease is diagnosed, he suggests care to control the disease and then maintaining good oral health, which might include visits to the dentist as often as every three months.

"The ultimate goal of brushing and flossing is to keep your teeth for life," Bissada said.