Many people don’t realize it, but proper oral health is essential to one’s overall health. If you let your teeth down, you could be introducing a whole wealth of potential health problems into your body.
This is why it’s so important to have your children understand the importance of oral health early on. Teaching your child how to brush teeth properly can help them to establish healthy habits they can rely on for years to come.
How can you get your child excited about teeth brushing and what should you make sure they know?
Read on and we’ll walk you through the basics of dental health for kids.
Timing Is Everything
Often, the hardest part of teaching young children about brushing their teeth is keeping their attention. A proper clean is going to take a few minutes time, but an excitable child might be ready to throw down their toothbrush after just a few moments.
Encouraging your child to spend at least two minutes brushing teeth can help them to get actual benefits out of the experience. There are different ways to go about teaching your child about this time window.
One such way is through a countdown timer. You can use a phone app or something similar and set it each time your child starts to brush their teeth. Once the timer goes off, they can spit and rinse.
The Importance of Flossing
Even many adults don’t floss as much as they should, and their oral health suffers from it. Your role as a parent should require you to try and convey the importance of flossing as early as possible for your child.
It can take some time for children to get used to the process of flossing, so you’ll need to exercise some patience here. Demonstrate for them how to wrap the floss around their fingers and move it between teeth.
You can even floss for them first so that they get the idea of how this process should go.
Start Healthy Habits
Maintaining proper oral health is all about getting into regular healthy habits. Replacing a toothbrush every few weeks, for example.
A toothbrush that is held on to for too long can get gross and have too many germs. You’ll want to replace it before these germs begin to affect your child.
You’ll also want to get in the habit of scheduling regular trips to a pediatric dentist. Having a professional check-up on the overall oral health of your child on a semi-regular basis will be key to double-checking how you’re doing.
These early, formative years can be essential, so make sure you show up ready to focus and teach your child what they need to know.
Teaching Kids How to Brush Teeth With Ease
When it comes to dental care, it’s best to start early. The above advice can help you teach your kids how to brush teeth like a pro.
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