Making regular visits to the dentist is a necessity for your kids just as it is for you as an adult. Proper oral hygiene and regular cleanings reduce the chances of cavities and accompanying infections, setting the stage for a lifetime of excellent oral health. Promoting excitement about the dentist now can lead to lasting benefits.
Find a Fun Dentist For Your Kids
Pediatric dentistry is a specialty designed specifically to promote kids’ oral health. Take some time to shop around in your home area, and you are sure to find a number of practicing pediatric dentists who feature different ways to help your kids feel comfortable. These may include an office decorated to be child-friendly, video games and toys, terminology that children can understand and prizes and rewards for successful visits.
Some practitioners even offer loyalty points that their young patients can cash in for gift cards, video games and other prizes after a certain amount of sessions. Many parents leave after their child’s first dental appointment, amazed that their son or daughter actually asks when their next visit will be.
Make Brushing Fun
If you’re like many adults, you can probably look back on your childhood and recall how much you resisted the chore of brushing your teeth. No matter how many times your parents explained the importance of this task, you may have tried to avoid it at all costs. Your own kids are no different.
Fortunately, savvy marketers have come up with ways to make this twice-daily duty more appealing. You can buy cartoon-inspired toothbrushes and even cool battery-operated ones that play a song for the required two minutes. If your kids are still reluctant, try making brushing and flossing a family affair.
Conduct a race in which the winner is the one who brushes thoroughly for the longest period of time. Make up a silly song that is only sung during brushing or flossing, or read one of the many amusing stories that discuss the virtues of oral care in a way that isn’t boring or too professorial. Finally, while bribery is not always the best practice in life, it certainly can come in handy when cementing good oral health habits. Just try to avoid a reward consisting of counterproductive items such as candy or ice-cream. For younger kids, stickers serve as excellent incentives, and it is the rare teen who will turn down cold, hard cash.
Get Great Tasting Toothpaste
While you might enjoy your peppermint flavor, your children probably don’t. Once again, oral care companies have come to the rescue by creating child-friendly flavors. If your son or daughter turns up their nose at mint, why not entice them with bubblegum, strawberry or watermelon?
Thanks to advances in oral hygiene techniques and better access to proactive dental care, most of today’s children can reasonably expect to keep their teeth for the duration of their lifetime. Making that happen starts early. Making oral health appealing today will lead to lasting wellness for years to come.