( Note: This post includes an excerpt from “Cavities are an unspeakable part of childhood, parenting” by Sarah Smiley.)

Today I’m going to share with you something that I’d rather not. If you thought I was a bad parent because my boys watch SpongeBob and ride their bikes in the street, wait until you read this:

Two of my children have cavities. The third one probably does, too, but so far, he hasn’t cooperated for X-rays.

There, I’ve said it.

Mothers don’t like to talk about cavities because we view them as evidence of what we perceive to be bad parenting. How could we let those precious little baby teeth decay? Even the sound of the word — “decay” — makes us shudder.

Decay? DECAY? My child’s mouth has decay?

We’ve sheltered our children from so many things, made them wash their hands before dinner, and now they have decay — in their mouth.`

Every time one of my boys gets a cavity, I feel like I’m the only mom who has let this happen. The dentist assures me I’m wrong. Dental cavities are the most common chronic infectious disease of childhood. Plus, he says, “Cavities aren’t something moms talk about at school pickup.”

He’s right. We don’t ask about cavities (as in, “Are your children’s mouths decaying?”) because we are afraid of the answer: “Cavities? What? No way! Not my kids.”

A mother who asks another mother about cavities might as well announce that she lets her kids eat pizza twice a week and frozen waffles for breakfast. (Done and done.)

The truth is that no matter how many times you brush your children’s teeth, if you floss them more than just “when we remember,” and even when you go to the dentist twice a year, you still might see the D-word (decay) in your child’s chart. Sometimes, genetics simply aren’t on our side.

Except neither my husband nor I have ever had cavities. So that pretty much eliminates genes from my arsenal of defenses. All that’s left is: I should have brushed more and given juice less. I should have fought harder in the bathroom when they resisted my flossing. I shouldn’t have stopped when they screamed because their gums were sensitive. I should have said no to that second box of juice in the afternoon.

My husband had horribly misaligned teeth growing up. When we were in elementary school together, his front teeth stuck out parallel to the floor. They were huge like horse teeth. He couldn’t get his lips around them. And he would spend the next seven years of his life in head gear and braces.

But he didn’t have cavities.

I had braces, retainers and this deceptively small, exquisitely painful bar — a “palate expander” — in the top of my mouth. My teeth had to be filed down and my frenulum snipped.

But I didn’t have cavities.

When the dentist tells me another one of the boys has a cavity, there is a moment when I wish they had Dustin’s front teeth or my small palate instead. Because at least those are things I couldn’t have prevented. There is no blame in them. But cavities? Why don’t I just let my kids watch SpongeBob and eat Goldfish crackers? Maybe ride their bikes in the street?

I mean …

The most recent cavity appeared in our youngest son’s molar. I sent him back with the dentist for what I thought would be an ordinary filling, just like all those other times. He returned to the waiting room an hour later with a silver cap on his molar. Apparently the cavity was so big, a filling would have cracked the baby tooth.

What came out of my mouth when I saw him was, “Oh, honey, how do you feel?” What went through my mind, however, can’t be printed here. There’s no hiding a shiny, silver cap, even if it is in the back on a molar. While the doctor had my son on the nitrous oxide, he should have gone ahead and tattooed “Mom lets me drink juice” on his forehead, too. The silver tooth is like a dagger in my heart.

Have you ever left the dentist stressing about the extra time you’re going to have to spend each night making sure your child’s mouth has been brushed thoroughly?

Can you already hear your child’s protests?

Would you believe it if I said there is an easy way to eliminate the “Decay” Sarah talked about? Would you believe it if I said there was a way to address your child’s tooth decay that that your children would actually enjoy?

We at Epic Dental have worked hard to create a way to effectively fight cavities that will also be fun for children. Through years of research and study we’ve finally come up with the solution:

Bacteria-fighting, plaque-bashing, taste-bud-exciting Xylitol chewing gum!

Epic Xylitol Chewing Gum:

• Addresses the root cause of most tooth decay
• Works for almost any child no matter their age or capabilities
• Will have your kids begging you to take care of their teeth
• Is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentists
• TASTES AWESOME!

If you want to get rid of those feelings of guilt for good, Click Here for our 90-Day Xylitol Gum and Mint Kits. Each kit has enough bacteria fighting goodness to keep your kids cavity-free for 3 months, guaranteed.