A good photo of your kids or grandchildren when they are laughing or smiling is always nice. You only have to look at it to lift your spirits and end up smiling yourself.
The problem is that these days more and more kids are too self-conscious to actually smile properly. Usually, this is because they are missing teeth. Unfortunately, childhood tooth decay is a growing problem. Instead of the number of fillings and extractions falling, they are on the increase. As a result, parents need to make teaching their children good dental hygiene a priority.
Educate yourself
The first step is to visit blogs that are actually written by dentists to learn about proper dental hygiene. There you can quickly learn about common dental problems, the latest hygiene techniques and how to help your children to look after their teeth. From personal experience, I would make sure as a parent to educate yourself on orthodontics and what is required and when to seek more information or perhaps even seek a consultation with a dentist, as issues like this will often require earlier intervention to resolve it. Therefore, knowing what to look out for is important. You should also familiarise yourself with what dental options are available for your child, as they can vary from fillings to braces, and you can read more here for an example of a dentist specialising in the latter.
Baby teeth really do matter
An awful lot of parents make the mistake of thinking that baby teeth do not matter much because they soon fall out. Whilst this is understandable thinking like that is a big mistake that can have a very negative impact on a child´s long-term dental health. For example, a full set of healthy baby teeth is essential for setting the mouth up for the emergence of their adult teeth. If there are baby teeth missing there is a good chance that they will need braces and other dental treatments to straighten their adult teeth out.
Set a good example
By far the best way to teach your children the importance of dental hygiene is setting a good example. If you brush and floss at least twice a day your kids are far more likely to do so as well. This also extends to booking your own dental appointments or even taking your kids with you so that they see the set up and what happens in a dental practice. If you are unsure or new to booking a quick search including your local area, something like “dentist Essex” will bring up relevant local results. Setting a good example is vital.
Teach your children about sugar
After you or your child has eaten something sugary get into the habit of cleaning your teeth. You will be really surprised at how doing this reduces your child´s thirst for things like sugary drinks. They are far more likely to opt to drink water instead of pop, especially if they are busy playing a game. The last thing they want is to have to get up, stop what they are doing, and go to wash their teeth. Naturally, they are more likely to ask for water rather than a sugary drink.
This is good for their general health as well as reducing the chances of them suffering from tooth decay. You can find out more about the connection between a child´s sugar consumption levels and the chances of them having problems with their teeth, by reading this article.
Supervise your child´s teeth cleaning
When your children are young, you bath them, dress them and, naturally, clean their teeth. Pretty soon their dexterity improves to the point where they are able to start taking care of those tasks themselves. Or, so you think. In reality, even children who are perfectly capable of dressing themselves will not actually clean their teeth properly. Even if they know how to do, and are physically capable of doing it, the chances are that a lot of the time they will not spend enough time actually brushing in the correct way.
You really should supervise your child´s teeth cleaning routine until you are 100% sure they are doing it properly and really understand the importance of doing so. Occasionally using disclosing tablets is a good way to check what they are doing and show them what areas they are missing.
Using the above information will help you to avoid the most common childhood dental hygiene mistakes. This should result in your child having fewer problems with their teeth and being able to avoid having to have extractions or fillings.
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