According to a recent study, 20% of children have at least one decaying tooth, and around 30% of adults need dental work carrying out. To put it simply, we all need to get a little bit better at caring for our teeth, especially as poor dental hygenine can impact both your confidence and overall health. 

Photo by Alex Padurariu on Unsplash

With that in mind, here are some top tips that you can use to take care of your family’s teeth! 

• Schedule regular dentist appointments. One of the easiest ways to manage your oral hygiene is by ensuring that you visit the dentist regularly. While you should visit your regular dentist for a general check-up annually, if you’ve noticed that your teeth aren’t quite as white or straight as you’d like them to be, you might also want to look into cosmetic dentist services. This way, you can restore your smile to its former glory. Cosmetic dental service may also be necessary if your child requires braces (which a large percentage of children in the US currently need).

• Teach your children not to be afraid of the dentist. Fear of the dentist is one of the most common fears. However, to encourage your child to follow good dental habits, you need to make going to the dentist as anxiety-free as possible so they don’t start to avoid it altogether. One way you can achieve this goal is by leading by example. If you don’t show that you’re nervous when you go to an appointment, they’ll soon see there is nothing to worry about. 

• Be aware of the habits that could damage your teeth. In many cases, we are often damaging our teeth without realising, meaning that being more aware of these habits can help you improve your dental hygiene. For example, brushing your teeth too hard could mean that you are brushing away your enamel as well as any plaque, causing problems further down the line. 

• Cut down on your sugar intake. Reducing your sugar intake is another excellent way to better manage your entire family’s dental hygiene, as sugar is often the key culprit when it comes to tooth decay. Furthermore, cutting down on your sugar intake is also a great way to take better care of your health. 

• Brush your teeth twice a day. While you should already be well-practised when it comes to brushing your teeth twice daily, you must teach your children to pick up this hobby too. Often, this simply means reminding them each morning and night when they are younger until it becomes commonplace. You can make sure they are brushing their teeth for long enough by playing music while they brush their teeth and encouraging them to keep going until the song ends. 

• Teach your children that every smile is different. No two smiles look the same – but nor should they. This is because each and every person is different, and we should learn to celebrate these differences. You can help keep your children smiling and lift their confidence by letting them know you love their unique smile! 

This is a contributed post.