How to Encourage Healthy Dental Habits for Children

As a parent, your child’s health is always on your mind and maintaining their smile should be too. For children’s dentistry, poor oral hygiene and dental habits can have major negative health consequences. Teaching your child good dental habits from a young age helps them maintain those habits throughout their lives. Here are some ways to help your child develop good oral hygiene habits.

Let your Children Brush and Floss your Teeth

Imitation is something kids love to do. Your kids look to you for what to do, if you show them that brushing and flossing is something that you do every day they are more likely to do it themselves. You can also let your child brush and floss your teeth, you are showing them that it’s important and fun. You can also provide them with hands-on training on how to properly brush and floss.

Support Healthy Eating Habits

Eats lots of desserts and sugary snacks can cause major health problems for both children and adults. Sugar is one of the leading causes of tooth decay because it breaks down the enamel, which is the protective layer of the tooth. If tooth decay goes unnoticed, then it will most times leave to cavities.

Parents who eat healthy themselves and feed their children healthy food are lowering the risk of tooth decay and cavities. Fruits and vegetables are not only good for oral health, but they’re beneficial to overall health.

Use Their Favorite Song to Brush Their Teeth

Kids love anything “fun” and most children have a favorite song. If you play your child’s favorite song while they brush their teeth and make it a game they will be more willing to brush their teeth. When playing a song while brushing their teeth, you are making it a fun activity. You can brush, floss, sing, and dance simultaneously.

Give Them a Reward

You can give your child a gold star or create a sticker chart and let them put a sticker on their chart every time they brush or floss their teeth.  By doing this, you are encouraging your child to focus on their oral health habits. If you normally give your child a food reward, you should try and shy away from a reward that is a sugary snack. The goal is to develop good oral health habits, and sugary treats may move you further away from that goal.

Let Them Pick Out Their Toothbrush

There is no shortage of toothbrushes and toothpaste with your child’s favorite cartoon character or color on them. There are even toothbrushes that sing. If you are buying them one of those options over the toothbrush you would buy for yourself you might be encouraging them to use the toothbrush.

You should also be using a toothpaste with fluoride in it to give your child extra protection against cavities and tooth decay. Don’t hesitate to get excited about brushing and flossing with your child and make sure to give your child positive feedback to encourage them to brush.

If you need help with encouraging your child to brush and floss their teeth, talk to All Pro Dental. We are experts in children’s dentistry and want to help your child have a healthy smile for their whole life. To schedule an appointment in Revere, MA or if you have any questions, you can contact us online or give us a call at (781) 853 – 0111.