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Teaching Kids How to Care for Their Teeth

May 13, 2014

Even if you should be the one to brush your child’s teeth when he is young, he will eventually need to take care of his teeth on his own. This is why aside from brushing their teeth, educating them on the proper way of brushing their teeth should be done too. There are many ways to maintain your child’s dental health --- good oral hygiene and proper nutrition are big factors.

Teaching Kids How to Care for their Teeth

  1. Teach Kids to Brush Their Teeth Early - It is advisable that you use a small, soft-bristled toothbrush once small teeth appear on your baby’s gums. This establishes that habit of brushing teeth as they grow older. Remember that the best way to teach children how to brush their teeth is by showing them. Even school-aged kids need guidance and help brushing and flossing correctly. When you’re first teaching your children how to brush their teeth, take turns to make sure they’re brushing all surfaces of their teeth twice a day. Proper brushing and flossing must also happen consistently. Make it part of your family routine.
  2. Make Brushing Teeth Fun! - Children learn through play. If you make the habit of brushing teeth fun, chances are they will look forward to it. We have listed some games to encourage your children to brush their teeth. Introducing the concept of teeth, plaque and cavities in a fun, simple way will also help them understand how important it is to take care of teeth. You can use picture books or name certain parts of the routine in a way that they can identify with. For example, you can refer to plaque as the “Plaque Monster” and your child needs to save his teeth from the monster using the “toothbrush sword”.
  3. Get Help from the Dentist - Like adults, children need to visit the dentist every six months for regular cleanings and checkups. It is common for children to be afraid of going to the dental clinic at first but there are ways to help them overcome their fear of the dentist. The sooner they are exposed to the environment, the better. You can also try to play dentist games with them first so they will be acquainted what a dentist usually does. Don’t worry, kid dentists like Dr. Reese make kids’ visits fun by offering special treats to make brushing teeth more fun. Dentists are the authority when it comes to dental health and if you have had experience with your children’s teachers, they listen to authority better! Sometimes hearing information from other authoritative sources makes more of an impact on children.
  4. Don’t get them started on sweets. Children do not look for what they do not know. Conversely, they don’t know what they’re missing if they haven’t had the chance to even try sweets, soda candies.  Diet plays a big role in influencing caries and teeth strength. There are people who are consistent with regular brushing and flossing but still get more cavities than most people. Sugar plays a huge role in cavity formation.

Choose Indianapolis Dentistry Clinic for an Anxiety-Free Dental Check-up for Your Child

At Indianapolis Dentistry in Greenwood, IN (near downtown Indianapolis), our number one goal is to provide you with stress-free, quality dental care. There are major consequences to skipping dental visits! Avoiding dental visits means you are missing a chance to identify and treat dental problems well before they become major health issues. Dr. Ted Reese is an Indianapolis dentist who does pediatric cleanings (kids get a toy and a special bag with their own toothbrush and toothpaste) to prevent cavities, frenectomies for children with tongue or lip ties, and traditional or ceramic braces for teens and pre-teens. He practices minimally-invasive dentistry to make it as pain-free as possible (there are also various sedation modalities that can be used) for your child. Again, our number one goal is to provide you with gentle, quality dental care. Please feel free to call us today at 317-882-0228 to make an appointment!


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