As a parent, you will have numerous opportunities to teach your children valuable skills and each one will yield priceless memories. Your child’s first step, your child’s first word, your child’s first bike ride, your child’s first unassisted brushing and flossing session…Well, maybe that last one won’t be as memorable, but Dr. Jim Ed Watson wants to remind all Jackson parents that good oral hygiene habits begin in childhood. So, today, we at Jackson Center for Smiles would like to take this opportunity give you some tips on teaching your kids to brush and floss.
Good Brushing Habits Last Forever
Just in case you have that nagging question about baby teeth, we’ll settle it right now. What’s the point of taking care of baby teeth, if they get a whole new set in a few years? As baby teeth come in, they are literally setting the stage for adult teeth. An early loss of a tooth can mess up the corresponding adult tooth’s placement. Bad hygiene in the early years can also cause infection, difficulty speaking and eating, pain, and even self-esteem problems stick around long after your child has lost their baby teeth. Your kids will be rid of their baby teeth by 12 or 13, but the hygiene skills they learned to use will last them a lifetime. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, four out of ten kids in kindergarten have already had a cavity. The best thing you can do is start early, establish a good routine, and keep it up.
What else can you do? Give us a call! We at Jackson Center for Smiles are no strangers to brushing kids teeth and we would love to help you teach your children good oral hygiene for a lifelong healthy smile.