Getting your kids to take care of their oral health can be a real challenge, but did you know that good oral healthcare habits now will increase their chances of taking care of their teeth in the future? Thankfully, your pediatric dentist in Hinsdale has some simple yet beneficial oral healthcare tips that you can teach your children. That way, you can keep their pearly whites looking and feeling great while setting them up for oral health success down the road.
Provide Tooth-Friendly Foods
A great place to start with good oral healthcare habits is the diet. Fruits, veggies, cheese, nuts, and lean meats are much better for your kids than candy, cookies, and soda, but it can be a battle to get them to eat unfamiliar foods. Use these tips to make eating healthy food fun:
- Let your child prepare and help with the dinner table.
- Make healthy food easy and convenient to eat. You can pre-slice carrots or apples and leave them in the fridge for easy access.
- Give them your healthy grocery list and let them pick out all of the snacks, putting the items in their cart all by themselves.
Brushing and Flossing
According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, parents should help their kids brush until age 8 and floss until age 10. However, it’s important to get your kids started on healthy habits well before then to make sure they can take care of their teeth properly. Brushing and flossing is another uphill battle you may have with your children, so you can use these fun tips to get them going:
- Create a reward or “gold star” chart to complete after brushing and flossing is done.
- Play a fun, 2-minute brushing song. You can dance and brush your teeth with them. When the song is finished, they got their full session of brushing while having a good time.
- Buy multiple toothbrushes with their favorite cartoon characters on them. It’ll make brushing more fun, plus, when their brush gets old (after 3 to 4 months) you’ll have a new character to give them!
Routine Dental Visits
Routine visits to the dentist not only prevent and detect early signs of dental issues, but they also get your child used to seeing the dentist. Explain to your children that the dentist is important and that it can be fun. You should start them young so they can get used to seeing the dentist, which will decrease the likelihood of dental fear or anxiety down the road.
Now that you know some good oral healthcare tips for your children, do you have their dental appointments made for 2019? Contact your kid’s dentist in Hinsdale to keep your loved ones’ pearly whites in tip-top shape.
Meet the Dentist
Dr. Mira Albert is a board-certified pediatric dentist with a passion for helping kids at Brush Pediatric Dentistry. She knows creating good oral healthcare habits for your children is important, which is why she wants you to know some easy tips you can use. For any questions, Dr. Albert and her team can be contacted through her website or by phone at (630) 504-2223.