What if small mistakes today ended up costing you hundreds or thousands of dollars over the next few years?
That’s what it is like when it comes to dental hygiene for your child. You may not think such hygiene matters much when children are younger. However, bad dental habits at a young age can lead to expensive cavities and other oral health problems over time.
To save you money and your child’s pain, we have assembled our best dental hygiene tips for children. Keep reading to discover the top tips from a top dentist in Monument, Colorado!
Regular Brushing Routine
The first dental hygiene tip is also the simplest. Your children need to brush at least twice a day (once in the morning and once before bed) to make sure their teeth are properly clean.
As soon as your child has teeth, those teeth need to be brushed. You’ll need to help out at first. However, by the time your kid is headed to elementary school, they should be able to brush their own teeth.
Once kids are brushing on their own, it can be hard for parents to know if they are doing it right. Take the time when they are younger to encourage thorough brushing, including brushing their gums and tongue.
Flossing Is Important
One bit of advice this dentist in Monument, Colorado has for all patients is to floss every day. And that advice is suitable for children as well as their parents.
No matter how well your child brushes, there will always be some food particles that get caught between their teeth. If those particles aren’t removed, they can develop into cavities (or worse).
When it comes to dental hygiene tips for kids, “floss every day” is important. Make sure to show your children how it is done and encourage them to do it each night after brushing. This can improve kids’ dental hygiene over the years and keep them out of the dentist’s chair.
Regular Hydration
Some of our dental tips are easier than others. For example, one of the best ways to take care of your child’s teeth is for you to make sure they are fully hydrated!
There are several reasons for this. First, drinking water can help to naturally dislodge food particles stuck in teeth even before your child flosses.
Second, saliva helps remove bacteria inside the mouth. Hydration stimulates saliva, which can help to keep your kid’s teeth cleaner.
Third, water is often a good source of fluoride. Fluoride helps to keep teeth clean and healthy, which is why it is a key component of the toothpaste that we use every day.
The Right Diet
When you get right down to it, brushing is all about cleaning up our teeth after a day of eating and drinking various things. So if you want to improve your kid’s dental hygiene, one of the best things you can do is carefully monitor their diet.
In general, your kids should avoid food or drink that is high in sugar. This includes sodas, sports drinks, and candy. It also means carbs: keep in mind that simple carbs like white bread can be bad for dental hygiene.
As your children grow up, it may be difficult to fully keep them away from sugary foods or drinks. But keeping such food and drink to a minimum can help protect their oral health.
Dental Hygiene and The Power of Sugarless Gum
Most gum is bad for dental health because it contains sugar. However, sugarless gum can really benefit oral health for both children and adults.
Remember when we said that saliva helps remove harmful bacteria in your mouth? Chewing gum helps stimulate saliva. With sugarless gum, your kids get all the benefits and none of the drawbacks. That’s why providing your kids with sugarless gum is one of our favorite dental tips!
Rinsing Mouths After Meals
Earlier, we touched on the fact that children should brush in the morning and evening and floss in the evening. In between, though, we recommend that they rinse their mouths after each meal.
Rinsing helps your children to remove food that may be stuck between their teeth. At the same time, rinsing stimulates the saliva which helps them take care of unwanted bacteria.
As an added bonus, rinsing is one of the easiest ways your children can protect their teeth. And rinsing helps to keep teeth clean between morning brushing and evening brushing.
Using Dental Sealants
What if your child could have a “secret weapon” against food getting stuck in their teeth? With dental sealants, they can do just that!
It only takes your dentist a few minutes to apply sealant. Once it is applied, the sealant helps keep food particles from getting stuck in the grooves of your child’s teeth.
You can have sealants applied once your child’s molars erupt. For most kids, this is around age six or seven. And the sealants can help protect their permanent teeth for many years.
Regular Dental Cleanings
Sometimes, it can feel scary when you worry about protecting your child’s dental hygiene. Fortunately, you don’t have to protect their teeth on your own!
You can supplement these dental hygiene tips by taking your children to dental cleanings twice a year. When you find someone who provides the best possible Colorado dental hygiene for your family, the dentist can help remove the plaque buildup that can turn into cavities.
And these cleanings are also a form of preventative care. In other words, the dentist can catch oral health problems earlier and help fix them before they turn into major (and majorly expensive) issues.
Schedule An Appointment With a Dentist in Monument, Colorado Today!
Now you know more about how to protect your child’s dental hygiene. But do you know where to find the best family dentist in Monument, Colorado?
Here at Advanced Dental & Implant Center, we specialize in providing your child with the dental care he deserves. To see what we can do for your child and the whole family, contact us today!
