How Mothers Are Role Models for Children’s Oral Health
As parents, we appreciate how much our children care about us and how they strive to bring us pride. However, it is also our primary duty to educate them and raise them properly. Our kids look to us for guidance and mentorship, and one of the most important things we can teach them is good personal hygiene.
How Mothers Can Teach Kids Oral Hygiene
Kids love to imitate adults, which will make it easy for you to make your kids follow your actions. If you show them how much you enjoy brushing your teeth, they will surely want to take part in the “game” you’re playing. Here are some of the ways you can be a good role model to your kids.
- Brush on a regular twice-a-day schedule.
Show your kids when you brush your teeth and how. Help them brush their own teeth and explain to them how improper brushing affects dental health. Also explain why you need to brush in the morning and at night. At night, your saliva production decreases especially if you are a mouth breather, allowing bacteria to propagate rapidly. Brushing in the morning will remove the bacteria that have accumulated in your mouth overnight and will prepare your teeth for a food-filled day ahead. Brushing at night will remove any food debris from your meals throughout the day and allow you to sleep without the fear of bacteria gnawing on your teeth all night.
- Take your time when brushing teeth.
Kids will always want to make things into a race or quickly do a task so they can do something else. Brushing shouldn’t be one of these activities. When you brush your teeth, show your kids that it should be done slowly but thoroughly. Every area in the mouth should be brushed properly, including the tongue, inner cheeks and palate. You can make brushing time more enjoyable by singing or humming a two-minute tune while brushing. You can play music and dance while you’re brushing your teeth.
- Floss in between brushes.
Kids will never learn how to floss, but showing them how it’s done will make them interested in this oral habit. Eventually, they will want to do the same, especially when they grow older and have better dexterity. Teaching them to floss at a young age will help them remember this lesson well into adulthood.
- Visit a dentist at least once every six months.
Your children may be scared of dentists, or they may be reluctant to spend time in anything other than games and fun. It’s hard to persuade children if they don’t like to do something, but if you volunteer to be the first to go to the dentist, they will want to come too. Bringing them with you to the dental clinic even if it’s only you who is getting dental treatment will ease their anxiety in dentists or dental treatments. They will overcome their fear and learn to give more importance to clinical dental care.
If you have kids that need dental treatment but are reluctant to go to the dentist’s clinic, you can visit our clinic and our senior dentist Dr. Karen Gordon will be the one to give you further instructions on how to get your kids to go to the clinic. Dr. Gordon practices sedation dentistry, which will significantly reduce the anxiety of your kids and keep them relaxed throughout any dental treatment. You can also call our hotline at (954) 983-9004 for an appointment or other details about our services. Dr. Gordon is a very friendly and child-loving dentist, and she can give the right dental treatments to keep your children’s teeth healthy and strong.
