It’s Children’s Dental Month! And what better way to celebrate it by discussing tips and tricks to help your child take care of their teeth. Kid’s dental care can be challenging to not only keep them motivated to ensure they brush their teeth, but also help them build good habits.
We break down some simple techniques and tips you can employ to help them build the best oral health routines possible.
Tip 1 for Kid’s Dental Care: Find the Best Ways to Educate Them
Everyone has a different way of learning something that helps them internalize it. For most people it comes down to three different categories:
- Auditory Learning
- Visual Learning
- Learning Through Experience
See which way helps your child the most and cater to that to help them understand more about the proper oral care.
For example, there a plenty of great books that teach kids how to brush their teeth and why it’s important. For kids who learn best by listening, there are audiobooks out there that can help your child to better understand how to maintain the proper oral care.
Tip 2: Lead by Example
Kids often learn from their parents, so being a good role model will help them build good habits. Brush your teeth and floss at the same time as them (or at least around the same time if your bathroom is a bit small).
Also, brush and floss in front of a mirror so your children can copy your actions and see how to do it properly.
Tip 3: Gamify Taking Care of Their Teeth
Make brushing their teeth fun by letting them play their favourite song (that’s at least 2 minutes long) while brushing their teeth. Not only will it help establish how long your children need to brush for, but they also get to enjoy their music at the same time.
Alongside setting up music for them, you can also reward your kids for good behaviour to further cement their oral care. This could mean a later bedtime one night, or an extra half hour or so of screen time on their favourite device.
Tip 4: Find Ways to Personalize Their Dental Care
Give them the opportunity to personalize caring for their teeth. For example, let them pick out their favourite toothbrush at the store or favourite flavour of toothpaste.
Many toothbrushes often have popular movie or TV characters that are often a big hit with kids.
Tip 5: Talk to a Dentist
Dentists are your best resource for advice if you’re struggling to get your child to brush their teeth or even if you just have questions. They can recommend the best products or tools for your kids to use.
Cementing good oral care habits for your kids ensures they continue to have their best possible smile growing up and drastically minimizes the risk of any oral health problems or complications in the future.