To keep your kids teeth healthy it’s important to set them up with smart, healthy habits while they’re young. Here are great tricks to help them master tooth brushing:
1.) Show and tell. Many young children are visual learners, so make sure you personally demonstrate healthy routines you want them to learn. Participate as often as you can.
2.) Use books and stories. Make sure kids know why good oral hygiene is important. There are many storybooks and online activities that can teach kids about germs and bacteria, and how brushing can keep them healthy. There are even smartphone apps to help teach about hygiene and track their efforts.
3.) Positive reinforcement. Keep a chart and reward your kids with star stickers every time they properly demonstrate good oral hygiene. Incentivize them further by offering a reward when they collect a certain number of stickers.
4.) Make it a song. Tooth brushing should last at least 2 minutes. Find a song that’s this length to play while your kids are brushing, or use a bathroom timer.
5.) Make it fun. There are a lot of ways you can make hygiene fun for kids. Buy them toothpaste and toothbrushes with their favourite character or fragrance. Try fun activities like doing dances while brushing can make it hilarious.
6.) Stick to routines. Kids thrive on routines. By setting strict morning, night-time routines, good oral hygiene will eventually become an automatic response.
Have fun while brushing. For more ideas please ask Dr. Kaufman or schedule an appointment for a consultation.