Greetings Monroe! Welcome back to the ongoing dental health blog of Bayou Dental Group. In our last post, we shared three tips and tricks for getting your children to brush their teeth. In the days which followed, several parents have asked us what else they should do to ensure their children’s oral health.
We loved that question, because a lifetime of healthy smiles starts in childhood! Routine oral health habits developed during childhood are a great way to ensure your child’s oral health. We are firm supporters of childhood dental care, and loving helping our patients receive excellent dental care right alongside their children.
So in today’s post, we’re going to look at what we consider the top five things you can do to ensure your child’s oral health. These simple tips can benefits the smiles of every person in your household. So let’s get started!
Tip #1: Develop a Routine for Oral Health Care
Most things in life are made a bit easier by having a routine. That’s especially true for children; consistent meal times, bed times, and activity times can benefit their grades, overall education, and happiness with life. Applying the same principle towards oral care can improve the health of their smile.
At Bayou Dental Care in Monroe, LA, we recommend developing a daily oral hygiene routine for everyone in the family. If everyone brushes at the same time, you can ensure that your children are brushing correctly and make it easier to get them to brush in the future. Try to set a consistent time each morning and each evening for you to join your children in brushing their teeth. You might just notice an improvement to your own oral health as well!
Tip #2: Make Sure Your Children Have Fun When They Brush
This tip echoes the sentiment of our last post. When children enjoying brushing their teeth, it’s a lot easier to convince them to do so every morning and evening. Sure brushing and flossing might seem like mundane activities, but it’s easy to make brushing enjoyable.
In addition to the tips we mentioned it our last post, try and personalize your child’s brushing experience. There’s all sorts of cool toothbrushes and flossers on the market. Many of them are inexpensive; just the other day we noticed a light-up “Star Wars” brush that only cost around five dollars.
Tip #3: Serve More Water
Water is important for the overall health of everyone in your family. It may be easier to give your child juice, a seemingly healthy drink. But juice contains a lot of sugar which can contribute to tooth decay. Many of the nutrients found in fruits and vegetables are also lost in the juicing process. Avoid giving your children soft drinks or juice throughout the day, and serve them water instead. At meal time, give them milk to ensure they get enough calcium in their diets. This one small change can have a huge impact on their oral health.
Tip #4: Keep Healthy Snacks Around the House
Children are going to want to snack during the day, it’s completely unavoidable. Sure an option like crackers or pretzels are better than candy, but both pretzels and crackers contain a lot of starch. Starch breaks down into sugar which can lead to both hyperactive children and tooth decay.
Instead, serve them high fiber fruits and vegetables. Fiber will help promote the health of their digestive system and prevent tooth decay. Encouraging your children to eat fruit and vegetables as a child also promotes a healthy diet into adulthood. Children develop a lot of their likes and dislikes during childhood; serving them healthy food now will make them more likely to eat healthy foods later in life.
Tip #5: Schedule Dental Appointments Every Six Months
As we mentioned in our last post, there is honestly no substitute for visiting the dentist. Gum disease and tooth decay can develop even if you follow the most stringent of oral health routines. Often times plaque and dental tartar cannot be removed without professional help. That’s where we come in!
At Bayou Dental Group in Monroe, LA, we pride ourselves on offering comfortable and modern dentist office. We have experience treating patients of all ages, ensuring healthy smiles for life. So schedule an appointment at our office today by calling 318-323-9303.