Build Dental Habits When They Are Young

It is important to start building good dental habits in your kids when they are still young. When you teach your children how to have good dental health at a young age, then it instills a sense of independence and ownership over their teeth that maintain as they get older, and can help them maintain better healthy habits, overall. Here are a few tips on how to help establish good dental habits…

Teeth Brushing

You can really start taking care of your kids teeth and building a sense of dental care when they are quite young, even babies. For example, taking a soft, wet cloth and lightly wiping their gums after they are finished feeding takes care of their gums and promotes dental health before their first teeth even come in.

When your children reach a toddler age, you can get them their first ever toothbrush (make sure that it is a soft one). When you first start with teeth brushing, make sure that you also get them a toothpaste that is meant for children (meaning it doesn’t have any sort of harsh abrasives, which can hurt your children’s teeth at an important developmental stage). Each morning and evening, make brushing teeth a sort of event, especially when they are younger. Remember, it is going to take a while before teeth brushing is sort of a second nature.

Come back in the future for our guide to teeth brushing for children!

Flossing

While most kids are able to somewhat keep up on their teeth brushing, one dental habit that is so commonly neglected is flossing, which is just as important as brushing. Picture all of the plaque that builds up on the front of your teeth (or your kid’s), and then realize that the same amount of plaque builds up on the sides of your teeth and sits there, unable to be removed by a toothbrush, unless you floss it. Over time, that can slowly erode the enamel on teeth and cause cavities.

Come back in the future for our guide to flossing teeth for children!

Dental Dieting

Just like the rest of their body, a kid’s teeth needs nutrients from a balanced diet to grow strong and healthy. Eating foods that are packed with the proper nutrients, and avoiding foods that are especially hard on your teeth, such as those with lots of processed sugar, is one of the first steps to building healthy habits that are going to help your kid’s dental health be well-maintained in the future.

Come back in the future for our guide for a healthy dental diet for children!