Don't let your dentist surprise you during your child's next check-up. Good oral health habits start at home.
Today's youth lead such busy,
active, and complicated lives, cramming their days full of piano lessons, soccer practices, and scrapbooking. While hustling and bustling about, kids these days squeeze in quite a bit of snacks. When in the midst of all this activity is your child supposed to clean his teeth properly? Without good oral hygiene habits, problems such as cavities, bacteria colonies, and gingivitis can take root in your child's mouth and wreak havoc until all is revealed during you next fateful visit to the dentist. Below are some strategies to keep your dentist visits short, inexpensive, and surgery-free.
Harassing your children into good habits through rote repetition and and punishment won't get their attention. In order to drive these routines home, the act has to be novel and exciting for them, not a power struggle. Let your kids pick out their favorite flavor of toothpaste, and invest in electric toothbrushes for them. In recent years electric toothbrush makers have embraced children as users. Some brushes have smaller handles in the shape of famous cartoon characters, race cars, and spaceships.
Find opportunities throughout the day to reinforce good oral hygiene. If you're picking up the kids from school, don't bring along sugary snacks. Instead, pack some fluoridated water and bring along some dental floss. During long car trips be sure to bring along tooth brushes and use them at rest stops.
Diet plays a huge role in oral hygiene. Snacking on foods such as fresh fruit, dried fruits, raw vegetables, yogurt, popsicles, and low-fat cheese can greatly reduce your child's risk at developing cavities. Establishing clear snacking times not too close to meals or bedtime is beneficial to their overall health. Monitor the serving size of these snacks as well. Always be sure to brush soon after eating, letting sugary snacks or sodas sit on the teeth too long allows cavities to form.
For younger children ages 6 and under, it is up to you to infuse the experience with enthusiasm. Make brushing teeth their favorite game by allowing your child to brush your own teeth and even the teeth of their favorite doll before they brush their own. Make sure to spend at least 10 minutes twice a day in the bathroom brushing, flossing, and rinsing. If you encounter resistance, joke about having stinky breath.
If you live in an area where the tap water is not infused with fluoride, or your household uses filtered water, speak with your dentist about getting your children supplemental fluoride. After the age of six months children need a certain amount of fluoride to keep their teeth developing healthily. Once your child reaches school age, you and your dentist should discuss the option of sealants, which are a plastic cover the dentist applies to rear teeth to make a shield against the buildup of plaque.
If you can adopt just a few or even all of these habits, your dentist visits should yield less nasty surprises! Keep those kids brushing!
