It can be tough to make hygiene fun for children, especially when it is dental hygiene.
And as it can be a mission for many parents to get their kids to visit their dental professional without a tantrum, it is important to try and make dental care as fun as possible for your children to keep their smiles and mouths healthy.
So, when searching online for a ‘dentist near me who can make my kids interested in their teeth,’ there are some proven techniques for getting your kids to keep their teeth clean.
Brush your teeth together
As odd as it sounds, that ‘dentist near me’ who you searched for will probably offer you the same initial tip; brush your teeth at the same time as your children.
This is a great way to show them how to brush their teeth correctly while also allowing you to observe how they clean their teeth.
Also, as kids are renowned for copying their parents, this is a great time to introduce a song or a rhyme to make those 3 minutes of cleaning fly by.
Fun brushes!
When you brush your teeth, you probably pay little to no attention to how your toothbrush looks.
But children are more visual and are more likely to engage with brushes that are colourful, that flash or that resemble their favourite cartoon characters.
When searching for a ‘dentist near me’ to enquire about which toothbrush to buy for your children, they will probably tell you to get one that is very tactile and allows your child to almost play with it, as if it were a toy. Why not allow your child to name their toothbrush? Sounds silly, but it might just work!
Special toothpaste
For adults, most toothpaste tastes like mint and can be a bit overpowering.
As there are few children who like the taste of mint, it can be worth investing in toothpaste that is a fun colour and also has an unusual taste. There is now toothpaste that tastes like strawberry and even tutti-frutti flavour, so play around with different flavours to see which ones your children like.
Star charts
It goes without saying that children love being rewarded.
And if you have a child who is less than enthusiastic about brushing their teeth, it can be a fun addition to their daily brushing to put a gold star on a chart.
While this can sound odd, it has been found to be effective for lots of younger children. Why not set a challenge if you have more than one child? If they brush their teeth for so many days in a row, they get a treat. This makes it fun while also ensuring that they clean their teeth regularly.
Days out
Come the day of the check-up, try not to make it the main event of the day; doing so can build tension and anxiety.
Aim to do something fun once the check-up is over, such as a cinema trip or a picnic.
DISCLAIMER
Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
