How to Teach Your Young Child about Dental Care

Dentist Blog

It is recommended that you take your child to the dentist as young as one year old because, as soon as their teeth come in, they are susceptible to getting cavities. Even in the infant stage, you should be cleaning your child's gums with a soft cloth and your finger to remove bacteria and sugar left behind from milk. Taking your child to the dentist early also helps to teach them the importance of dental hygiene. There are a number of other ways you can teach your child about dental care at home. See below for some helpful tips.

Teach by Example

Your child will mimic nearly everything you do and say, so having your child watch you brush and floss your own teeth will help them see that it is important for them to do so as well. Brush together in the morning and at night and make it a fun thing you do together. You should be brushing your child's teeth until they are able to do so themselves, and, even after that, you should still supervise their brushing. Allow your child to help you brush their teeth by holding the brush together so they feel involved as well.

Pick a Fun Toothpaste/Toothbrush

Make brushing a little more fun by allowing your child to choose their own toothbrush/toothpaste. You can find a number of different styles and flavors of each at your local pharmacy or grocery store. They're sure to find a character they'll love, helping to make tooth brushing time feel more like play time than a chore.

Read a Book

Look for books about tooth brushing to help teach your child about dental hygiene and dentistry. Books, such as The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist, by Stan and Jan Berenstain or Just Going To The Dentist, by Mercer Mayer are both fun books to read to your child that they can relate easily to and will love to read.

Do Dental Crafts

Create a dental craft and play dentist with your child. Use an empty egg carton with each section cut out, then lay them out to mimic teeth. Have your child place small pieces of paper between the "teeth" to mimic food particles and plaque. You can also cut out photos of food and show your child which foods are good for your teeth and which are bad for your teeth. Have your child glue the pieces of good foods to a cut out drawing of a tooth.

These are all fun ways to help teach your young child about the importance of dental health. Teaching your child young will help instill good dental hygiene practices they will take into adulthood. For more tips, talk to a dentist like those at the Apollo Dental Center.

15 November 2016