As a parent, your childrens dental care is in your hands. If you teach your children proper oral care from a young age, you can rest easy knowing your kids will have healthy teeth and gums throughout their lives. The effort and time to teach your kids proper oral care is an investment into their oral and overall health. Did you know many kids with cavities often complain of sore throats? So, as a parent you should never neglect your child’s teeth and gums. 

Tips to Teach Proper Oral Care to Kids

If you get angry about brushing and flossing, you will get nowhere with your kids. Instead, you can make teeth and gum care into a fun and laughter-filled activity. This will attract children and make them more willing to invest time into the dental care. Here are some way to make your child’s dental care and health more fun and interesting. 

• Be a Role Model: Ask your child to join you when you are brushing your teeth. Remember, small children often learn many things observing their parents. So, if you show your interest in keeping your teeth clean and healthy, your kids will follow you.
• Involve Kids: Let kids feel responsible and grownup. Let them choose their own toothbrush, so that they feel excited about using it when the time comes.
• Narrate Stories: Try teaching your kids the importance of good oral care through stories. Use voices to make the stories fun, so that your children will remember them long after you have finished telling them.

5 Ways to Good Oral Health

Children’s dental care is often neglected by parents and then they wonder why their child is getting cavities and spending so much time and money at the dentist. Here are 5 ways to reduce the chances of cavities and also improve your kid’s teeth and gum health.

1. Brushing: Brush your child’s teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. This helps remove plaque from the teeth. Plaque is that white, sticky film that forms on teeth and is one of the main causes of cavities and tooth decay.
2. Flossing: Just like adults, even children face the prospect of having food particles stuck between their teeth. In fact, this happens more in children, as they teeth are still growing and developing. Furthermore, daily flossing helps to clean out plaque from under the gumline and between teeth before it turns into tartar. Once plaque hardens into tartar, just a dentist can get rid of it.
3. Diet: It is important you pay special attention to your child’s diet. Children love eating sugary and starchy foods. However, it is these foods that produce acids that erode the enamel, making teeth more susceptible to decay. Offer your kids an interesting mix of vegetables, proteins, carbohydrates and fruits. If your kid still wants sweetened foods and beverages, try to make them part of your meal. The saliva produced during mealtimes will rinse out the mouth.
4. Dental Checkups: A part of children’s dental care is regular visits to the dentist. So, make it a point to take your child every 6 months to the dentist. This will help identify any potential problems and taking quick remedial measures before the problems aggravate and turn big.
5. Dental Products: Always use fluoridated toothpaste for your kids. Also, make sure the water is fluoridated. If the water is not fluoridated, speak to your child’s dentist about fluoridated mouth rinse or fluoride drops for your child. Fluoridated toothpaste and dental products reduce the risk of tooth decay and aid proper tooth development.

Make sure you put a pea-size amount of toothpaste on a soft-bristled brush. Teach your child to clean and brush his teeth the right way. If you don’t know how, don’t be embarrassed to speak to your dentist. Also, do not forget to teach your child to clean the tongue after brushing. It will get rid of the bacteria present on the tongue’s surface.

When it comes to your children’s dental health and care, it should never be neglected. Would you rather let your child develop cavities or would you prefer to give them a gift of healthy and strong teeth lifelong?