Encourage Your Child to Start These Dental Habits

Practicing proper dental hygiene and keeping up with regular dentist visits will not only safeguard your mouth health but also whole-body wellness. By encouraging your kids to start good oral care habits early, you are passing down important healthy life skills.

Children’s Dental Health

Maintaining healthy teeth for kids can be made a little easier with these dental care tips that help them look forward to brush and floss time.

• Make it Musical – Does your child like to sing songs? Has he or she learned a new tune in school or do you hear your child humming their favorite TV show theme song? These are two positive options that can be associated with time to brush and floss. Allow your child to choose the song of the day to help reinforce good dental hygiene practices.

• Find a Fun Toothbrush – Empower your child by allowing your son or daughter to select their toothbrush. This will help boost excitement about using the new brush they picked out. A fun toothbrush in your kid’s favorite color or one that displays his or her favorite super hero or cartoon character can do wonders.

• Take Care of Your Teeth – Set a great example by brushing your teeth twice a day, keeping up with routine dentist visits and letting your child see you do these things. In the early, formative years, kids take cues from the people closest to them. The more your child sees you brush, the more these important habits will be reinforced. Never show kids that oral care is a chore. If you verbalize how much you hate dentist visits, they may dread pediatric dental services before they have gotten the chance to form their own opinions. They will pick up on that vibe right away, so be careful what you say.

• Be Imaginative – Discuss with your child the reasons why tooth decay and cavities are bad, and why it is important to brush and floss. Follow that conversation, by encouraging your child to craft a creative drawing about cavities (bad guys) and how we must protect our teeth against them. Be ready to view some interesting images and interpretations. Once the masterpiece is complete and your child is happy with the final drawing, display it in a prominent place in the bathroom. This will serve as a constant reminder of what can happen with poor oral hygiene and why we brush and floss every day.

Practice Teeth Brushing and Flossing

If your kid is uncomfortable brushing his or her teeth, in the beginning, select a beloved doll or stuffed animal and have the child practice teeth brushing on the toy.  Keep a dialogue going while the child is practicing. Use the toy’s given name, and ask if it is happy having its teeth cleaned. Does it like having a fresh, clean mouth? This should help your child feel more at ease and less apprehensive about the teeth brushing process.