Dental hygiene must start from the moment we have teeth, but ensuring healthy teeth for kids is no easy feat. As a parent, it is often challenging to know the best practices for dental health for kids. Luckily, there is a lot of great advice on how to keep healthy teeth for kids.
Proper oral hygiene practices for children keep kids’ teeth cavity-free and free of gum disease. In this post, we will share some of the easiest tips to keep kids’ teeth healthy.
Dental Health for Kids at Home
The moment your child develops teeth, dental health experts recommend that you begin oral hygiene practices. While your child is young, start with gentle brushing. Make sure to use swallow-safe toothpaste for toddlers and very young kids. Starting early ensures that you can get your child comfortable with dental hygiene and help them build those essential habits.
One critical dental health tip to remember is that oral hygiene can be either intimidating or boring for children. Try to make it fun! Create a fun brushing song that you sing or play, let your child help pick out their toothbrush, and add a goal chart with some fun reward. Try to make healthy teeth for kids a goal that you both work toward and enjoy.
Healthy Teeth for Kids
Dental appointments are critical for ensuring kids’ healthy teeth. Make sure your child sees the dentist twice a year, and try your best to make the dentist less scary. Again, it helps when you introduce the dentist to your child at a young age. Be an excellent dental hygiene role model at home, and at the dentist, possibly ask if your child can observe your appointments before they are ready for their own.
Dental Health Tips for Kids
Some other ideas for how to keep healthy teeth for kids include:
Talk about oral hygiene, its importance, and what to expect at the dentist.
Avoid very sugary foods and drinks, and help your child clean their teeth after any treats. This includes sugary medicine as well.
Teach good habits early.
Don’t allow your child to nap with a bottle of juice, formula, or milk as it can lead to tooth decay.
Wein your child off the pacifier by age three at the latest.
Be patient, but firm when it comes to dental hygiene practices.
Children’s Dentistry in Quincy and Norwell
Having a great pediatric dentist is one major key to healthy teeth kids. A great children’s dentist will help teach you and your child the best dental health tips that dental health experts recommend, while also making the dentist a positive experience for both of you. Our experienced pediatric team at Advanced Dental Arts has the expertise and patience to help kids maintain healthy teeth. To learn more about our children’s dentistry or to schedule your appointment near Quincy and Norwell, contact us HERE.