Encouraging children to adopt healthy oral habits can be challenging for most parents. The youth can be stubborn at times and refuse to brush their teeth after meals. They tend to ignore their parents’ advice and consider it a form of nagging. However, over half a billion children suffer from dental caries or tooth decay worldwide. If kids don’t adopt good oral hygiene, it can lead to other dental-related diseases.
Even if it’s difficult to convince children to observe proper oral hygiene, parents need to walk the talk by being good examples. Counter their strong-willed behavior by using a variety of strategies to drive your point. Here’s how to convince them to adopt good oral habits:
Incorporate fun activities
Start including fun activities when discussing the importance of oral health. Start by brushing your teeth with them. Ask them about the exciting things that happened to them during the day. Make things more exciting for younger children by telling stories filled with magic, mystery, and creatures of fantasy. Let the story’s hero conquer the villain through proper brushing.
While visiting the dentist, ask the staff about 3-D printing orthodontics. Show your children these modern dental marvels to encourage them to see their dentists more often. The key to adding fun activities is to bond with your kids.
Pique their interest
Leveraging your children’s attention is critical because it’s the fastest way to win them over. Since kids are attracted to bright colors, buy them colorful toothbrushes for them to use. You can also bring them when purchasing these. Let them pick the color or favorite cartoon character.
Let them feel as if they just won the biggest prize in their young lives. Allowing children to make these decisions empowers them to understand the significance of keeping their teeth and gums healthy.
A balanced diet is key
A proper diet is an essential component of good oral hygiene. Good food helps fuel our bodies, including our teeth. Help kids nurture their teeth and gums with the following foods:
- Fruits
- Daily water intake
- Whole grain products
- White meat and fish
- Green, leafy vegetables
- Milk, cheese, and other sources of calcium
These primary food groups can help their bodies build good defenses against bacterial and viral infections. Explain to them that including these in their diet will keep the doctor and dentist away. Also, eating these types of food will give them healthier teeth.
Establish a schedule for them to follow
There is no need to pressure your kids to floss or brush their teeth. Instead, create a program for them to follow every day. Place the plan on your fridge or in their rooms. To make it more fun, put stars, or hearts for every day they follow their schedules. These small rewards will help them develop healthy oral habits.
In the end, we hope that these suggestions will help you inspire your children to take care of their teeth. Oral health should be your family’s priority. Be their role model and inspiration.
