How to Help Your Child Learn Good Dental Care

It can be difficult to get kids to brush their teeth once, let alone twice a day. Teaching kids proper dental care is important. They will thank you for years to come.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Your own good dental habits
• Toothbrush
• Proper toothpaste
• Incentives

1. Set an example by brushing your own teeth. Dentists say that the minimum time you should spend brushing your teeth is 2 minutes twice a day. Show your kids that you take this seriously, and they will be more willing to follow in your footsteps.

2. Bring them to the Dentist. Check with your dental insurance plan to see how often you can go for preventative care. Most likely it is every 6 months or two times a year. Kids love to get "prizes" from the Dentist, like a new toothbrush, toothpaste and stickers.

3. Keep track of their brushing. When my daughter was in Kindergarten, she came home with a cute chart made to look like a toothbrush made out of construction paper. Cut out a long piece of colored paper your kids chose for the brush handle. Using a white piece of paper, cut several lines not quite all the way down to the bottom, making the bristles of the brush. Glue or tape the bristles to the handle. Have your kids personalize the brush in anyway they chose. You can place a sort of calendar any where on the brush. Put stickers on the day for each time they do brush, one for the day-time and one for night-time. Award them with prizes if you choose for completing a full month of proper brushing.

4. Make sure you get the flavor of toothpaste your kids like. They might not brush if the toothpaste is too minty or is too gritty. There are many kid-approved flavors to choose from. Fluoride, an active ingredient in toothpaste, is what prevents cavities. So you should always be sure your toothpaste contains fluoride. Make sure your kids do not swallow toothpaste. If they are toddlers, buy a toothpaste that is safe to swallow.

5. Think about buying another toothbrush. You can purchase an electric toothbrush that plays music. Kids can pick one that plays their favorite songs and plays it for 2 minutes, which is the recommended amount of time to brush. Your kids will be running to the sink for this.

6. Consider buying mouth wash for kids. For example, there is a mouth wash that shows how well they brushed their teeth by tinting their teeth blue. It is used as a pre-brushing rinse, so kids pay more attention to cleaning. Another is a mouth wash used for after they brush their teeth, by attracting particles, showing kids what they missed when they brushed.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't forget about flossing
• Avoid sugary snacks in-between meals
• If you can't brush after a meal, either rinse with water or chew sugarless gum
• Supervise young children while brushing
• Do not swallow toothpaste that contains fluoride!
• Do not swallow mouth wash!

[Mindee94]

on 3/18/2009 On our fifth type of toothpaste now trying to get the wee one to use it... these tips are great! The toothbrush project idea is a real winner-stickers are always a big hit!

[goodselfme]

on 3/17/2009 Children learn how to brush their teeth by example as stated in your well written article. 5*

[goldiec]

on 3/12/2009 Thanks for writing this article on kids brushing their teeth. We have so many little ones and I think this is so important. 5*