How to get your kids to love brushing their teeth
It’s the bugbear of many a parent! Be it toddlers, children or even teenagers… many just don’t seem to want to clean their teeth.
We’d like to share with you a few tips and tricks you can try to make things fun so that kids will appreciate the importance of good oral care even up till their adult years and beyond.
- Start brushing at the same times each day from a young age. If you can, start even before your child has any teeth. If it’s too late for that, try to include toothbrushing as part of the morning and evening routine, and do it at similar times every day.
- Make things fun! If it takes a Superman toothbrush to get Johnny to love brushing, it’ll be worth it! Some other fun ideas are singing songs, using a brushing app (more about this in this post!), or even a sticker chart reward system.
- Use a timer! This will get kids use to brushing for the proper duration! Most kids have no idea how long 2 minutes is, so it really helps to get them interested as they watch the sand falling through, or the clock counting down.
- Kids learn so much from watching adults. Did you know that most children who brush regularly do so because their parents brush their teeth regularly too? Let your child watch you brushing your teeth and explain to them why it’s so important.
- Let your child read and watch things about teeth, toothbrushing and attending the dentist. Some of our favourite books for kids are: Pony Brushes his Teeth, The Tooth Book, and I Know Why I Brush My Teeth (suitable for older kids).
- Bring your child with you at your next visit and let them see what’s involved with having their teeth checked, and why toothbrushing is important.
- Use plaque disclosing tablets to show your kids the ‘tooth bugs’ they need to brush off! These are special tablets that you can purchase from pharmacies and dental practices (ask us about this) that you chew. They contain a dye that colours the plaque certain colours depending on how long it has been present. You can then know which parts of your kids’ teeth they aren’t brushing so well, and which areas they are. It’s an excellent tool, which also makes brushing fun and more like a game, as the child tries to remove as much of the dye as possible by brushing better.
Please avoid:
- Telling your child their teeth will fall out if they don’t brush their teeth. This isn’t an accurate statement and can cause unnecessary fear.
- Telling your child negative or scary comments about dentists or dental treatment. This can cause them to fear the dentist or develop a phobia!
Try our tips and let us know how you go! We are more than happy to discuss more tips and techniques with you at your child’s dental appointment, so please feel free to ask us!
