Oral hygiene is one of those things that children just hate to get used to. It’s kind of on the line of baths. Some children will kick and scream when you tell them to get in the bath but eventually, they get used to it. Oral hygiene, however, is not so easily accepted by most kids. When I was a kid I hated brushing my teeth. As an adult, I am regreting my childhood stubbroness however.
Bad habits can and do develop early, so parents must quickly show children that taking care of their teeth and gums is necessary. But don’t do this in a boring way, make it fun for your kids and join along with them. There are a few games you can make out of brushing and flossing and other times you give them a say in their long term oral healthcare.
Make a flossing chart
Brushing teeth will become commonplace pretty quickly, but children must be introduced to flossing early on too. But flossing is a little time consuming and not as easy as brushing. To make things more interesting, parents should make a flossing chart and compete with their children.
If you have more than one child, you can have them compete together. Every night before they brush their teeth, the flossing games begin. The first one to thoroughly floss their teeth gets a point on the chart. When a child reaches 10 points, they win and are given a prize. The other children are given the runner up prizes. This gives kids an end goal to aim for and learning how and why flossing teeth is important becomes more interesting and fun.
Let them choose
Children need to be motivated and attached to their health from a young age to care later on in life. Thus, the next time you go shopping, allow your children to choose their toothpaste and their toothbrushes. If you’re going to buy mouthwash, again, allow the kids to choose what kind of color and flavor they want.
In fact, the same goes for floss, allow your children to go through the supermarket and choose what kind of floss they would like to have. The more choice and involvement the kids have, the more attached they will become with their own oral hygiene.
Traditional or modern?
When it comes time to straighten your child’s teeth, what should you go with? The traditional route is to have your children fitted with metal braces. But the more modern option is to use see-through braces that are not attached to the teeth themselves. So you might want to ask what is best, invisalign vs braces for your child?
Metal braces are durable and strong, but they can become irritable after some time. Clear braces, on the other hand, are less noticeable, they cannot be taken off by children and they don’t have any impacts on speech. They also look far better, helping children that may become more self-conscious when smiling.
Oral hygiene is something that takes time to understand but if children are introduced to flossing through a competition chart, they will want to floss more often. Letting children choose their oral hygiene products will get them more involved in their own health so they care more for their teeth.