Are you consistently following up with your children to ensure they brush and floss? Most children struggle to keep up with oral hygiene habits like brushing every day. Children are often too young to appreciate proper dental practices; thus, they don't enjoy being part of it. If you are struggling with your children's oral hygiene, you can make your kids appreciate it more by doing the following:
Using Characters
Children are easily amused, and getting them a toothbrush carved into their favorite characters or toothpaste with characters. Most companies have colorful and exciting children's toothpaste, enticing them to follow through with their oral hygiene routine. You can also opt for colorful toothpaste sparkles or edible confetti. These toothpaste choices will typically make brushing more fun.
Rewarding Good Dental Hygiene Habits
You can introduce a reward system for your kids when they follow through with their oral hygiene. For example, you can have a sticker chart with points towards a privilege each week. Alternatively, you can create a gold star reward for whoever brushes consistently for two minutes every day for a week. If your child has siblings, you can make it fun by turning it into a competition.
Assigning a Craft Project
Kids love getting messy, so you can assign them a craft project for them to understand the importance of oral health. Get a poster board, and print or draw a smile with exposed teeth. Color the teeth yellow, and have the kids paint the yellow teeth white.
As they color, talk about why it is important to clean teeth to keep them white and healthy. You can also educate them about consistency in dental health. Hang the final art of the project in the bathroom to remind them what their teeth will look like if they follow good habits and if they don't.
Brushing with Them
Children learn by observing and then imitating. You can make them love their oral hygiene if you are part of it. Doing it together makes them understand it is essential, and you are also enthusiastic about it. Additionally, brushing together helps you teach them how to brush properly.
Most kids don't enjoy brushing or flossing because they get bored easily. So, you can play their favorite song as they brush to keep them entertained and engaged. You can have the song also act as a time to ensure they brush for two minutes or as long as the dentist recommends.
Schedule a Dentist Appointment for Them
You can enroll your child in children's dentistry at a dentist's office. The dentist can check their teeth and educate them through fun activities at the office. Regular checkups are essential for kids, especially since they tend to like sweets and other sugary foods and drinks.
For more information, reach out to local dental services.
Every time you take a bite of food, you should be grateful for your healthy teeth! A tooth can lose its health and structure quickly once decay sets in. Luckily, if you visit your dentist for regular appointments, the decay should not get too serious before your dentist notices it and can do something about it. That "something" is applying a filling. On the other hand, if the decay progresses too long before it is caught, you may need a crown or even an extraction.
We want to keep our teeth, and we know you want to keep yours. That's why we created this website to teach you more about dentists and dental care. Enjoy!