Persuading children to maintain oral health is challenging to a significant number of parents. Yet, oral hygiene is essential, especially in young children who love to take sugary foods all the time. Else, tooth problems such as tooth decay will increase, and you will make more trips to the dentist than necessary. Therefore, you should learn how to get your child excited about oral health to eliminate oral health-associated problems from an early age.
Rewarding
Arguably, appreciating a child for a task they completed is an effective way of persuading them to participate. They may not notice that you are helping them since they cannot reason as adults. However, looking forward to a reward motivates and enhances efficiency.
Besides, the reward has an impact on developing a positive attitude towards oral health. However, Parents should avoid rewarding children with unhealthy foods since it would worsen the behavior and instead concentrate on healthy rewards. Thus, rewarding good oral habits in children makes it more fun.
Get a Friendly Dentist
Children can easily get scared of dentists, especially if they are not familiar with the dentist. Your family dentist can be great and excellent at his job, but your child can easily differ in opinion. Children prefer dentists who engage in children’s conversation, entertain, and answer their ‘silly’ questions. Get the best dentist in your area by Googling “best dentist in Cary, NC,” or wherever you live for checkups and treatments. Be sure to look at reviews too!
In such an environment, they are more willing to participate. You can take your child to the dentists’ office before the actual checkup to familiarize the child and the dentist. Contrary to oral hygiene at home, do not reward your child for visiting the dentist and only reward when they do it independently. Also, ensure your children attend all the appointments set from a young age without failure.
Do it as Family Routine
It is delightful doing chores together as a family, and brushing teeth is not different. There are various advantages for brushing or flossing teeth together, including;
- Your child will mimic how you do it
- The exercise will not feel like a punishment, thus making it more enjoyable
- You will also supervise and direct them on how to properly do it
The best way to brush and floss teeth as a family is by setting timers so children do not spend too much time. Additionally, clarify for your child to gain confidence in taking care of their oral health. Thus, routinely brushing teeth together offers the children a role model to look up to, and the process itself is enjoyable.
Make Oral Hygiene Artistic
Besides sugary foods, children love creative items that are aesthetically appealing. Thus, to entice them about oral health, you will need to make it more artistic. Artistic items in oral health can include purchasing a special toothbrush, special toothpaste, fun oral health videos and books, and downloading or composing cheerful songs to help your children enjoy exercising oral health.
The process will be more manageable if you use the internet to access the content. Also, it would help if you let your child select all the items they require unless they make an unhealthy choice. This will make children more responsible about their oral health.
It is the responsibility of the parent and the dentist to motivate the child to take oral health seriously. Defensibly, the parent will do so through good conversations, rewarding, and incorporating artistic items in oral hygiene exercises. But, more importantly, you should get a reliable dentist for oral health and dental for your children. In addition, be careful with the techniques you use to prevent them from becoming monotonous since children become bored quickly.
