Teaching your kids great oral hygiene habits at a young age is paramount. Because the sooner your child learns how to properly brush and floss his or her teeth, the more likely it becomes that he or she can prevent cavities, gingivitis and other oral health problems.
At The Super Dentists, we want to help parents make brushing and flossing the teeth a fun experience for their kids. That way, you can encourage your child to build great oral hygiene habits and put your son or daughter on the path to a super smile.
Now, let’s take a look at eight ways to encourage great oral hygiene habits for your kids.
Let Your Child Watch You Brush and Floss Your Teeth
Imitation is one of the best forms of flattery. Much in the same vein, kids frequently emulate their parents. If you let your son or daughter watch you brush and floss your teeth, you can provide hands-on demonstration to teach your child great oral hygiene habits every day.
Remember, the American Dental Association (ADA) recommends brushing your teeth for at least two minutes, twice a day. You can use a timer to count down how long you brush your teeth. With a timer in place, you can show your child what it takes to brush the teeth correctly and for a sufficient amount of time.
Meanwhile, don’t forget to let your child watch you floss. Learn the proper flossing technique, and you can teach your child this technique to help him or her get the best-possible results.
Promote Healthy Eating Habits
Ice cream, candy and other sweet snacks often contain high quantities of sugar and may cause major oral health problems for kids and adults alike.
Sugar is a leading cause of tooth decay, i.e. destruction of the outer layer of the teeth (enamel). If tooth decay goes unaddressed, it may also lead to cavities.
Parents who provide their kids with foods low in sugar can encourage their sons and daughters to grow up strong and healthy. At the same time, promoting healthy eating habits could help a parent reduce his or her child’s risk of tooth decay, cavities and other long-term oral health issues.
Use the “Brush Your Teeth Sing-Along Song”
Your child may be more likely to remember the words to a Taylor Swift song than your teeth brushing tips – and perhaps it is easy to understand why.
Pediatric neuropsychologist Nelson Dorta tells Understood that a child may listen to a favorite song several times a day. A child also may pay close attention to this song, and as such, encode the information contained in the song into his or her memory right away. As a result, a child may quickly learn his or her favorite song’s lyrics.
The good news is that you don’t have to be the next Taylor Swift to promote great oral health habits to your child by singing. In fact, we offer a “Brush Your Teeth Sing-Along Song for Kids” that you can add to your brushing and flossing repertoire. By using our sing-along song, you and your child can simultaneously brush and floss the teeth, sing, dance and have fun.
Give your child a gold star, sticker or other rewards for brushing and flossing his or her teeth. By doing so, you can provide incentives to encourage your child to develop great oral health habits.
It often helps to start small with rewards. For example, you may want to reward your child if he or she brushes and flosses regularly for an entire week. After your son or daughter achieves this milestone, you can offer a reward for regular teeth brushing and flossing for two weeks or longer.
Additionally, you should provide non-candy incentives as rewards. Your ultimate goal is to encourage your child to develop great oral health habits. By providing candy or other sweet treats as incentives, you may move further away from achieving this goal.
Choose Oral Care Products Designed for Kids
There is no shortage of toothbrushes, toothpastes and other oral care products designed for children. If you choose these products over traditional options, you may be able to boost the likelihood of making brushing and flossing the teeth an enjoyable experience for your child.
Studies show kids brush 73% longer with a singing toothbrush. The Super Dentists offer singing tooth brushes featuring their own super heroes, super villains and super music. Check them out and you’ll never have to remind your kids to brush again.
Make sure to also select children’s toothpaste and other dental products that contain fluoride as well. Fluoride helps prevent cavities and may enable your child to reduce his or her risk of immediate and long-lasting oral health problems.
Take the Lead
You may feel too tired when you wake up in the morning to brush and floss your teeth. Or, you may feel exhausted by the time you need to brush and floss your teeth before bed. But as a parent, you should strive to lead by example, especially when it comes to providing teeth brushing tips and other oral health insights to your child. If you show enthusiasm and energy when you brush and floss your teeth, your child likely will do the same.
Don’t hesitate to get excited as your child brushes and flosses his or her teeth. Also provide your child with plenty of positive feedback, so that he or she will feel great after brushing and flossing.
Combine Brushing, Flossing and Playing
Who says you can’t combine brushing and flossing the teeth with playtime? If you take advantage of oral health activities and games, you can transform brushing and flossing into a fun experience for you and your child.
For example, toothbrush painting is a great opportunity to provide your child with assorted teeth brushing tips. This form of painting involves replacing a paintbrush with a toothbrush, leading to the creation of unique dental-related art.
Colgate also offers free games designed to encourage great oral health habits for kids. These games are accessible on any desktop computer, laptop or mobile device and provide insights to teach kids how to take care of their mouth, teeth and gums.
Enjoy Fun Dental Check-Ups
The pediatric dentist you choose for your child can make a world of difference. To better understand why this may be the case, let’s consider what could happen if you select an “ordinary” pediatric dentist for your son or daughter.
An ordinary pediatric dentist will likely do the bare minimum to take care of your child’s teeth. Worst of all, he or she is unlikely to do whatever it takes to provide your son or daughter with a positive overall experience. And if your child feels scared or stressed after a dental check-up, he or she may dread the thought of going back to the dentist in the years to come.
Make a trip to a pediatric dentist a fun experience for your child – you’ll be glad you did. If you select a pediatric dentist that prioritizes the patient experience, your child will receive unprecedented support. Then, your son or daughter may look forward his or her dental check-ups.
The Super Dentists takes a unique approach to the patient experience. Our approach has helped us become a leader among other San Diego area pediatric dental offices. We offer five offices across the San Diego area, and each office is designed to serve as a fun, comfortable environment for patients of all ages.
A good way to think of our offices is like a theme park. Each office features video games, movies and TVs to entertain and delight patients. Plus, we offer a toy store, dress-up area, selfie/photo op area and much more to provide our patients with unforgettable experiences that leave them excited to come back again and again.
Ready to see what we’re all about? To set up an appointment with The Super Dentists, please contact us today at 1 (855) GO SUPER.