Brushing alongside your kids helps you monitor their oral hygiene, and can also serve as fun family-oriented time

Are your kids unwilling to perform daily oral hygiene? We know how tough it can be to get your family into the dental health spirit – and bullying your kids into brushing and flossing is no fun for either party. Instead, there are ways to change their perspectives on cleaning their teeth. Soon enough, your kids will be grabbing their toothbrushes without your poking and prodding.

Our Elmhurst pediatric dentist hopes to do everything possible to help your kids build healthy teeth – and that involves communicating with you about their dental habits. If you ever have questions about how to help your kids toward cavity-free smiles, get in touch:

How to Motivate Kids’ Oral Hygiene

• Brush with them – Your kids love spending time with you, and seeing you brush and floss will help them feel more excited about getting into the hygiene habit. Cleaning your teeth as a family gives everyone some togetherness time, and allows you be more aware of how well (and how long) they’re brushing. An oral hygiene chart will also help inspire a competitive spirit.
• Talk about why oral hygiene is so important – Your kids might not realize exactly why they should be brushing in the first place. Try a dental health activity to show them the effects of plaque and acids on teeth, and discuss how a toothbrush and floss scrub them away before they do damage.
• Find products that they love – There are so many variations of toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, and mouthwash out there. Finding the flavor or type that your kids actually enjoy will help them reach for their hygiene tools twice a day. Maybe there’s a cartoon character they love, or a color, or a bubblegum flavor – no matter what it is, it’s probably out there as a pediatric hygiene aid. Let us know if you’d like some product recommendations.

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