Benjamin Franklin once said that it is easier to prevent bad habits than to break them. At the Center for Dental Anesthesia in Alexandria VA, we couldn’t agree more, especially when it comes to dentistry and your dental health.
For parents, teaching your children good oral hygiene techniques early in life will benefit their smile throughout their life.
If you wait too long to teach your child how to brush and floss, or if you don’t make sure they are doing it enough, you’re setting yourself up for a lot of work down the road.
It’s very hard to convince an older child that they should be spending two or three times longer brushing their teeth each morning and night. But, if they’ve done it for as long as they can remember, then their habits should be sufficient to avoid excessive dental decay.
To promote good dental health habits in kids, we think it’s important to keep things positive. Don’t use threats to get them to brush, or if they do a poor job. As parents ourselves, we know how tempting it is to describe worst-case-scenarios with teeth. But in our experience, it just doesn’t work.
Instead, focus on the positive. Praise the kiddos when they do a good job. Try singing a special song as they brush, a song that just happens to last for two minutes. Or you might offer small reward, like staying up an extra fifteen minutes, for a brushing job that is done well.
At the Center for Dental Anesthesia in Alexandria VA, pediatric dentistry is among our specialties. We would love to help you learn how to teach kids good brushing habits. We also offer cosmetic dentistry. Make an appointment with us today.
Contact Center for Dental Anesthesia:
703-379-6400
Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):
5284 Dawes Ave
Alexandria, Virginia
22311