A huge part of your child’s health resides in their beautiful smile! Starting a routine at a young age, making the process fun, and offering rewards for good dental visits can be a great incentive to keep your kids mouth healthy and shining bright!
Start a routine
As early as the age of two, you can introduce teeth-brushing to your child. With parental supervision, start to get your child familiar with the process. It can be a fun activity for the two of you, and if you make it a habit, your child will look forward to it every day! Establishing this routine will set them up for dental greatness. It will carry on through their adolescence, their teen years, and into adulthood, creating a very important routine!
Make the process fun!
Let’s be honest, brushing your teeth is not an activity that you absolutely love to do! It’s okay to admit it. When you’re teaching your children, pretend like brushing your teeth is the best thing in the world! This will get your children excited and interested in dental hygiene. Create games, play music while brushing, see who can produce the most bubbles with their toothpaste! Kids love to play, so make this a game for them! They will thoroughly enjoy it and look forward to it every day, especially if it means quality time with their parents!
Give rewards for successful dentist visits
Dental appointments are essential to ensure your children’s teeth are progressing at the proper rate. Check-ups of any kind can be a bit daunting for kids, especially if it’s their first time. Keep the experience positive, upbeat, and energetic! After a successful appointment, reward them with a treat or toy! If they are rewarded for their good behavior and positive experience at the dentist, it won’t be so daunting the next time they are due for a check-up!
Keep their diet in check
Along with regular brushing, try to incorporate a healthy diet into your child’s routine. An excess of candy and sugar can be detrimental to your child’s teeth. If too much candy is consumed, your children will be prone to cavities. To avoid cavities, drink lots of water and eat tooth-healthy foods such as apples and carrots! Follow all of these steps and your children will have the healthiest smile all year round!
Contact Dr. Sara and her team at Pinnacle Peak Family Dentistry to learn more about how you can improve the appearance of your children’s smile as well as your own!
