How To Encourage Your Children To Take Good Care Of Their Teeth

While, as adults, we’re all aware of the importance of taking good care of our oral health, it is important that you share this knowledge with your children. After all, this will help them lay the foundations for a lifetime of good oral health. 

This becomes only more important when you consider the fact that dealing with dental issues, such as cavities and tooth loss, can have incredibly adverse effects on children, including “pain, delayed development, poor self-image and socialization.” 

Despite this, it can often be difficult to get children interested in taking care of their teeth. From their perspective, it is as tiresome as having to make their bed or put away their toys!

With that in mind, here are some simple ways in which you can encourage your children to take good care of their teeth. 

Let them know about the dangers of poor dental hygiene.

One of the easiest ways to encourage your children to take good care of their teeth is to let them know about the dangers of poor dental hygiene, such as tooth loss and decay. However, it is important that you present this information in a way that is easy for them to digest and understand so that they are more likely to take the information to heart. The video below is a great example of how to convey this message to your kids!

Take them to the dentist twice a year.

As a general rule, it’s advised that children visit the dentist every six months, even if they are not dealing with any dental health complications. This way, should they be dealing with any complications, such as cavities, they can be resolved as quickly as possible. If they are apprehensive about visiting the dentist, try to find a dentist who has extensive experience working with children, such as a member of the team at Snow Family Dentistry.

Lead by example.

Children often emulate the behavior of their parents because they look up to them. As a result, you can encourage your children to take good care of their teeth by leading by example. For example, if they often attempt to avoid brushing their routine, this could be a task that you complete together each morning and evening. This way, you can also ensure that they are brushing their teeth for the recommended amount of time (around 2 minutes). In addition to this, you could also model positive behavior by avoiding foods that will stain your teeth or those that are high in sugar. 

Play their favorite songs when they are brushing their teeth.

One of the biggest reasons why children (particularly younger children) avoid brushing their teeth is because they view it as a chore. As such, it is important that you find a way to make this more ‘fun’, such as by playing their favorite songs when they are brushing their teeth. This way, they can dance along to their favorite tunes while brushing, which often means that they brush their teeth for longer than a few seconds!