10.09.2017

How to teach children positive dental habits


As parents, it falls to us to teach our children habits which they will embark on for the rest of their lives. These positive habits help shape their health, happiness and general attitude to their lives. Hygiene and dental hygiene are among some of the most important things to teach them, as it will help them ward off illnesses, help them learning grooming standards as well as generally giving them a happier and healthier life.

Teaching your children, who are often excited, boisterous and maybe not as focused as you’d like them to be when instructing them can be a chore. For this reason, it’s important to use various smart methods to instilling positive attitudes to dental health from the first days they are able to hold and use a toothbrush effectively.

Here’s how:

Osmosis

Children learn by osmosis. That is, instead of dictating to them when they should brush their teeth, get into the habit of doing it together on an evening, even if you do it again hours after they have gone to bed. If your child sees that you are into this habit, and you afford them the ‘individuality’ of being taught and brushing next to you on a morning and an evening, they will feel grown up, and they will be proud to do it.

Teaching them that the AM or PM self-care schedule is a grim duty to be carried out will only stop them from naturally wanting to do it. Schedule the same times for this to be completed every day, even on the weekends and holidays. It will help your child get into a routine during their growth years, and this habit will stick with them throughout the rest of their adult lives.

Find A Dentist They Like

Dentists can be a worrying experience for young children, as they are allowing a stranger they’re not sure about to inspect their mouths in a close-up and sometimes intimidating way. This might seem irrational from an adult perspective, but the clinical setup of a dentist's office is often a significant fear for children, especially if they associate the place with needing intrusive or painful work done.

For this reason, it’s important to find a dentist or orthodontist practice ready and available to treat children in a child-friendly way. Some are even set up with these as their intended goal, and this can be the best place to visit when your child is having issues adapting.

Use Child-Friendly Equipment

There are many suitable products for children entering their own routine with mouth maintenance, and some of them are quite fun. Novelty toothbrushes, flavored toothpaste as well as neutral PH child mouthwash exist to keep the grooming time fun. Making a game of it, such as making up a teeth brushing song one sings while the other brushes, or making silly faces can help your child enjoy this time without focusing on the fact that it’s not ‘playtime.’ With this, hygiene becomes a fun routine to practice, as opposed to a duty to carry out.

With these tips, your child’s dental hygiene will be off to a great start.

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