On Dental Hygiene and Oral Health: Tips for Parents

Adult-supervised brushing: A lot of dentists suggest that parents oversee the daily brushing activity of their children, particularly for those children who are seven years old or less. Apart from being able to supervise their usage of toothpaste, this is also ideal to monitor the oral hygiene of your kids. First off, let them brush their teeth for around 2 minutes. Afterwards, adults tasked to supervise the brushing need to personally brush children’s teeth. This is generally because a lot of children only brush particular areas of their mouth. Personally brushing their teeth for them will help you ensure that all teeth surfaces — even the tongue area — are included in the cleaning.

Kids’ food/drink consumption: Controlling what your child eats and drinks is also ideal to help them take care of their teeth. Apart from being bad for their health, a lot of foods also cause teeth staiming. Plaque buildup is generally the result of being unable to clean mouth properly. Remember that plaques could further worsen into tooth decays that may endanger your child’s teeth (particularly those permanent ones). Ensure that they drink water after eating and supervise them to brush their teeth thoroughly to avoid the gradual buildup of microorganisms that cause teeth damage.

Set yourself as a role model: Whatever you say to your children won’t be effective if you don’t do it yourself. Always practice what you preach. It’s highly recommended to set yourself as a good example to your kids. Brush your teeth at least twice a day, limit intake of foods and drinks that are highly staining, and visit your dentist on a regular basis. Also teach your child to master the art of flossing.

Posotive attitude to dental check-ups: As dentists are our teeth’s best friend, make sure you introduce them to your child in a positive light. Some parents make the mistake of using dentist visits as a threat to their children if they behave badly. This is definitely a wrong practice, considering the negative impact this can leave your children. Also, make it a point to expose them to clinic visits at a young age. Avoid bringing your child to the teeth doctor to have his tooth pulled out, most especially if it’s his first time to visit. The negative experience will likely be remembered by your child for a long time and he will tend to associate the negative feeling to every dentist visit in the future.

Our teeth’s best friend: There are a lot of benefits children can get from visiting the family dentist. Apart from the usual check-ups, these professionals are also experts in various cosmetic dental enhancements like tooth zoom whitening, dental implants, and cavity treatments. Dentists are also the best resource person to ask info about the proper ways to enjoy healthy and strong teeth. Make sure your children learn the importance of dental health and proper oral hygiene through the help of a friendly teeth doctor.