Do you ever have a tough time getting your kids to brush and clean their teeth? Then when you take them into the dentist’s office for their cleaning, their mouths are full of cavities. It’s a hard battle to fight as a parent, simply because young children don’t understand the importance of oral health.
Teaching your kids oral health early on helps ensure they’ll have great oral health for the rest of their life. Dr. Neal and Dr. Amy here at Central Washington Pediatric Dentistry in Yakima, Washington have a few different tips on how to help your kids want to take care of their teeth. Let’s take a look at some of those tips.
Make it fun
Kids don’t seem to enjoy the taste of toothpaste, or the feeling of floss on their gums. They’re even less-fond of mouthwash.
There’s a reason kids’ toothpaste is made. You want to make sure to pick up toothpaste in flavors – and packaging – that kids will want to use. Just make sure you’re not choosing a toothpaste loaded with sugar.
Then there are brushes. There’s a brush themed for just about every single cartoon character imaginable. If you let your kids pick out their own brush, chances are they’ll be much more likely to want to use it.
Explain it’s healthy
Depending on how old your kids are, you might be able to explain to them that brushing their teeth is a healthy thing to do. If you’ve raised them on healthier meals, this shouldn’t be too difficult a sale, either.
At the end of the day, you’ll need to help your kids through the first while of learning to brush their teeth. It will show them that it’s important, and something they shouldn’t overlook doing. If you have any questions, call us today at 509-248-2973.
