Toothy Questions

Lately, we've noticed that Jacob is having trouble brushing his teeth thoroughly enough. When we were at my Mom's last weekend, I brushed them a bit myself and I could see the gums bleeding some. I had a talk with him and explained that he needs to do a better job, making sure every tooth gets brushed. Sandy and I tried to convince him that going to the dentist with a cavity is very unpleasant experience. I think he got the idea because later he came to Sandy and said, "I need to talk to you about something. I just read 'little critter goes to the dentist' and he had a cavity. I'm afraid to go to the dentist now." Sandy told him everything would be fine as long as he brushed his teeth well enough. The next morning he brush his teeth for about five minutes. :-)
Every night before bed, he brushes his teeth and uses a fluoride rinse. Last night he asked, "Dad, what is that rinse I use?" I told him it is a fluoride rinse to help strengthen the enamel on his teeth and prevent cavities. He said, "Oh boy. I just have so many questions." I was just able to contain my laughter. I told him to go ahead and ask some of his questions. Sandy started cracking up and soon I was laughing too. He asked, "What is fluoride? What is enamel? Why is the rinse red or green?" I did my best to explain everything and sent him off to bed.