Inspector Hector, the Plaque Detector helps train William to brush his teeth.

We have been trying to train William to brush his own teeth. He's five. It's time. He claimed he brushed but mainly it was chewing on the toothbrush.

Somewhere I heard about a product that kids use like mouthwash and it shows the areas that need cleaning. Sort of like those red tablets we received in elementary school when someone came and spoke about dental care. (Am I the only one who remembers those?)

I found a couple of brands at Wal*Mart that sounded promising. Naturally I bought the cheapest one - Inspector Hector, Plaque Detector. I bought the blue version rather than the pink, mainly because I thought it would show up better in Will's mouth.

He squeezes the bottle to fill the little cup at the top.

Then he swishes the liquid in his mouth (we're still working on the swishing skill!).

After spitting it out in the sink he inspects his teeth in the mirror for blue areas.

Then he brushes. When he thinks he's done he checks to see if all the blue is gone.
Sometimes Daddy helps get the rest of the blue.

The blue isn't as strong as I had hoped but it has motivated him to brush better. I tried to get pictures of his blue teeth but he only wanted to play. If you are trying to train a child to brush his teeth check out Inspector Hector. It's recommended for 6 years and older (Will's 5.5), probably because you don't swallow it. Will thinks it's fun and Ben can't wait until he's old enough to use it.