HEALTHY HYGIENE HABITS FOR THE KIDDOS

Now that the kids are back in school, their routine is set for the next year, but what about their dental routine? Summer vacation is over for your teeth too, unfortunately!

As kids grow up, their dental hygiene habits should grow with them, however, it is much easier said than done. Often, parents struggle to make their child’s dental routine fun and exciting, especially for preteens. A daily dental hygiene routine gets more and more curtail as kids grow and their permanent teeth start coming in.

Have an infant?

For infants, their teeth are hidden in the gums and they begin to break through when they are about 6 months old. It is still however important for infants to start good oral care as well. Healthy gums = healthy teeth. A few good tips for healthy infant oral care include using a soft washcloth on your baby’s gums after a feeding and once the teeth have broken through, brush teeth with a rice grain size amount of fluoride toothpaste.

Have a toddler?

For children, most kids have all their primary (baby) teeth by the age of 3 and their baby teeth fall out around the age of 5 or 6. Some tips for healthy child oral care include making sure your child brushes their teeth at least twice a day and once their teeth start to move close enough together, they can start flossing once a day. Some tips on making child oral care fun and easy: 1. Model good behavior: If they see you brushing and flossing your teeth, they will want to do it as well, 2. Let your kids practice on someone else whether it be you or a toy, 3. Use the pink dissolving tablets that show where they have not brushed their teeth; you can make this into a fun game for them, 4. Set goals for your children’s brushing/flossing habits: you can reward them for positive behavior with brushing and make a “healthy teeth” chart, 5. Use a children’s app or song for brushing teeth. Some apps include: “Brusheez”, “Happy teeth healthy smiles”, “Disney magic timer by Oral-B”

Have a preteen?

As said before, preteens can be more of a struggle than children when it comes to dental hygiene. However, there are ways to get your preteen interested in brushing/flossing their teeth. Being that preteens are constantly worried about their appearance, reminding them that a good dental routine will keep them looking and feeling better. They can also use an app or song for brushing their teeth. Some apps include: “Oral-B App”, “Brushing Teeth-PCM”, “Toothy: Smart Toothbrush Timer”.

There are so many things that parents face with their children daily, but oral care does not have to be one of them!