Oral health is important. You, as an adult, should know that already. You want to make sure that your children know that as well, however, and to teach them the habits that are going to take care of their teeth for a long time to come. Here, we’re going to look at the essentials of how you teach your kids to care for their teeth, as well as the importance of doing it consistently.
Do it alongside them
One of the single best things you can do, as a parent, is to set an example for your children to follow. Kids mimic their parents even when their parents don’t want them to. As such, taking the time to brush together in the mirror as a family is going to make it much more likely for them to join in and follow along. It gives you the opportunity to supervise, as well.
Ensure they know the importance of it
You know the importance of oral health care to prevent gum disease, tooth decay, and other health issues from cropping up. However, your kids might not be as aware of able to understand its importance just yet. For that reason, you should consider things like telling stories or using books to help them better understand why caring for their oral health matters in the first place. A good story can make almost anything easier to understand for children.
Get them used to going to the dentist
The dentist can be an intimidating visit, even for adults. With children, there’s the aspect of the unknown to put on top of that. Make visiting the dentist less intimidating. Family practices like Durham Dental Center tend to allow you to bring your children ahead of the appointment. A tour of the office and getting to meet and know the team can make it seem less intimidating when they have to go for an appointment.
Use apps that can teach the techniques they need
Some aspects of taking care of their teeth might need a little more explaining to make sure that your child is doing it right. Sometimes, instruction alone isn’t enough to help them grasp it fully. To that end, there are tooth-brushing apps that can have them copy what they’re seeing on the screen to make sure that they are brushing all the parts of their teeth they should be hitting, and spending enough time doing it, too.
Let them be in (some) control
You shouldn’t let your children decide too much about how their oral health routine is going to go. However, you can make it a little more exciting by, for instance, letting them choose their own toothbrush. This can create more positive feelings around the necessary chore.
Our children’s habits tend to be those that we set them up with now. Hopefully, the tips above give you a good idea of how true that can be, as well as how important it is to keep on top of good oral health routine development.
This is a contributed post.