Right now, you can find a lot of parenting books for each stage of your child’s life. Whether your child is a newborn, toddler, or teen, you can locate dozens, if not hundreds of books on how to successfully raise them through their turbulent times.
While this fact acts as a great thing if you want to learn how to get through your toddler’s teething phase, what do you do when you want to start your child on the right foot regarding oral hygiene habits? This blog post will tell you how to give your kids the gift of good oral health that will last a lifetime. It will come in the form of five tips that you can use to get your children started on healthy dental habits.
Cleaning Your Baby’s Gums
Even though your baby doesn’t have any teeth that you can see, the American Dental Association suggests that after feedings, you clean your baby’s gums with gauze or a clean, unused cloth. Your baby’s first teeth will become susceptible to tooth decay. Therefore, you should be vigilant when it comes to keeping your baby’s gums clean. As your child gets their first teeth, you can start to brush their teeth with a non-fluoride toothpaste or water gently. When your little one turns two years of age, you can start using a pea-sized drop of toothpaste on the toothbrush.
Healthy Snacks
As your child begins to age, they may start to develop a sweet tooth. If you’re not careful, they may start to ask you for things like candy, sugary drinks, doughnuts, and other snacks that contain sugar and preservatives. You can offset this incessant desire for sugar in your children by stocking your refrigerator with healthy snacks that your kids will also love. Some kid-friendly foods that you can make available to your kids and their friends include yogurts, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, and peanut butter.
Regular Checkups
Your children should start regularly seeing a dentist as soon as their first teeth begin to grow. If your young children haven’t started seeing a dentist yet, you should get them to one starting in their early elementary years. The sooner you start your kids with regular dental visits, the sooner the dentist can identify potential issues and deal with them.
When your child sees your local dentist, the dentist will look at your child’s teeth alignment and check for any problems. At this time, they may recommend fluoride treatments and dental sealants to prevent tooth decay. Your dentist and hygienist will also use these appointments to teach your children how to brush and floss correctly.
Limit Sugary Snacks and Drinks
Many children have an incessant craving for sweet drinks and snacks. As your children progress into their teens, they can more easily satisfy this need as you will have a little less control over what they eat throughout their days.
When your teens are at home, try to limit their intake of sugary snacks and drinks. Limiting sugar for your teens is especially important if they wear braces as excessive sugar intake can do harm to the process of straightening your teen’s teeth. If they protest, remind them of the beautiful smile they will have when their braces come off.
Make A Care Package For Your Favorite College Student
If you did it right, your teen will go to college with oral hygiene habits that will provide benefits for the remainder of your son or daughter’s adult life. You can gently encourage that they continue on this good road by making them a care package that includes some dental products. Some of these items that you can include in your next care package include the following:
- Floss
- Fluoride toothpaste
- Mouthwash
- Sugarless gum
- Toothbrushes
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