How to Make Dental Care Easy for Your Children: 4 Effective Tips

Parenting is not for the faint-hearted since you have to teach your child every step of the way. One of the challenging things is to figure out how to teach them how to practice good oral hygiene, especially if your child is strong-willed. However, our dentist in San Jose, CA, not only has the expertise to maintain your child’s teeth but also to guide you as a parent to help care for your child.

With the right strategies, your kid can enjoy the process and, in the long run, have the proper foundation that will help them their entire life. Here are some nuggets of wisdom our pediatric dentist near you has prepared to make it easy for your children to practice proper oral hygiene.

     1.Make Teeth-Friendly Food Fun

As adults, we know that vegetables, fruit, complex carbohydrates, lean meats, and dairy products are teeth-friendly. However, your little one may need constant encouragement to make those healthy choices.

Others may be hesitant or even protest when told to try out unfamiliar foods, especially when they feel they aren’t controlling their diet. However,  they can enjoy the changes with the right approach, and their eating habits may improve.

Check out these tips:

• Healthy food should be easily available: When your kid is hungry, they will not wait until you wash an apple, chop a carrot or even dice cheese into cubes. Therefore, have the healthy foods pre-prepared in the fridge to enjoy them when they are hungry.
• Save starchy or sugary foods for mealtimes: Sugary or starchy foods are safer for the teeth when consumed with a meal than snacking. It will reduce the chances of dental caries.
• Allow your child to take responsibility: Give your kid the healthy snacks list when you are in the supermarket, and let them pick out the stuff; they will feel in control. It helps them feel more confident and in control of what they eat.

     2.Teach Them How to Brush and Floss

Those young teeth need to be brushed and flossed each day without fail. They need to brush after they have breakfast and once after dinner. Ensure that they are brushing every surface of their teeth to remove food particles and bacteria.

Flossing is also important, and your child also needs to learn how it’s done and its usefulness.

Use a pea-sized amount of fluoridated toothpaste and begin brushing their teeth in a tiny circular pattern. How you take care of their teeth will depend on their age:

• If your child is two years or younger, they will need toothpaste the size of a rice grain
• If your child is between two and four years, then a pea-sized amount of toothpaste would be enough
• If your kid is above five years, toothpaste the size of a bean would be okay

You should help your kid brush their teeth up until they are around eight years old. Even though you know what to do, it can be challenging if your little one is uncooperative. Therefore, you will need to keep up with some fun additions during your brushing sessions, such as:

• Buy different kinds of toothpaste and toothbrushes. It would even be better if they choose the one they’d love to use
• Also, if both parents are available, let them choose who they’d like to help them brush every day. Variation makes it easy for them to comply.
• Use a reward chart to help motivate them every time they brush their teeth

     3.Look For Creative Ways to Captivate Them

At times, you may need to go beyond brushing their teeth to ensure that they care about their teeth. New ways of thinking about food, art projects, and incorporating toys can help lay the necessary foundation. You can try to incorporate dental care into their art project or use a tooth-shaped cookie cutter.

Let your imagination run wild but always maintain an oral care theme.

     4.Dental Visits Are Key

Even though you are doing a good job, you will need help from our pediatric dentist near you now and then. If they start visiting our dentist in San Jose, CA, early, after their first tooth has appeared, dental visits will become part of their lives.

Therefore, contact us at Neeshat S. Khan, DDS, if you need to schedule an appointment.