4 Ways to Get Your Kids Excited About Dental Hygiene

Younger children don’t understand the importance of cleaning their teeth, so they can conveniently forget, avoid, or even fib about their dental hygiene habits. By the time they get older, they either have a solid dental cleaning routine or their mouths are beginning to show the effects of their neglect. There are dental assistant schools Arkansas that sometimes let visitors come in to see dental hygiene professionals at work. See if your kids would be interested looking behind the scenes of the oral care industry. Get your kids to become more excited about proper oral care with these four smart tips.

1. Let Them Pick Out Their Oral Care Supplies

While you might reach for the oral hygiene supplies that are on sale, consider splurging a bit and allow your kids to pick out what appeals to them. Expect them to go for the mechanical toothbrushes that come in the shape of cartoon characters. If that’s all that it takes for your children to crack a smile as they thoroughly brush their teeth, it will probably be the best money you ever spend.

2. Reward Kids for Proper Oral Hygiene

Of course, kids don’t really need extra candy to be rewarded for doing a good job flossing and brushing their teeth. What children would enjoy is spending an afternoon at the movie theater. Think of fun activities your kids would enjoy that don’t involve excessive amounts of sugar to show them that caring for their teeth is highly important. A trip to the zoo, a new bike, tickets to an amusement park - be creative in the ways you can show your children your appreciation.

3. Brush Your Teeth with Your Kids

It might seem kind of boring to you, but kids love having additional opportunities to spend time with their parents. If you start brushing your teeth in the same bathroom as your children, they will look forward to having a few extra moments in the morning to have your undivided attention. So, take your toothbrush, mouthwash and floss with you into your kid’s bathroom and see the excitement in their eyes.

4. Make an Oral Care Chart

Some parents make up these kinds of charts for tracking when their kids do chores. Get some poster board, some markers and a few sheets of stickers. Help your kids to track how well they are doing when it comes to brushing their teeth. An oral care chart can be used in conjunction with rewards or by itself. The whole idea is to get your kids to remember to brush and floss twice a day, unprompted.

Eventually, kids come to like brushing their teeth just fine, but they have to view it as being something other than a chore. Encourage your kids to care for their teeth as a way for them becoming more independent. Soon enough, you will stop fighting with them about keeping up with their oral hygiene routine and they will just come up with something different to get on your nerves about!