So you made it through the first few months of child-rearing and you think you have it down. Then that first little tooth appears with gobs of saliva flowing everywhere. “Now what?” you ask. How do you keep that little pearl of tooth clean and happy?
The rule of thumb is that you are supposed to brush your kid’s teeth until the age of 7. Yep, you’re on the hook for seven years.
It may not be a pleasurable experience – the kid doesn’t like it and resists, the child is uncomfortable, toothpaste gets everywhere, and it’s not any fun for the parents either. And you barely have enough time to brush your teeth – let alone someone else’s.
Playing hardball can result in resentment and even dental phobia later on in life, which is still quite common (over 50% of the population seeks dental care only when they are in pain, which is horrible from a preventive model standpoint).
There’s a cost-benefit to teaching your child to be preventive in maintaining his oral health.
The first thing a parent can do before they try to brush the kid’s teeth, is, whenever they brush their teeth, brush in front of the child. It’s a subliminal message that you send to your kid that it’s something you do every day – you have to be the role model.
Tap dance, crack jokes, do whatever it takes to convince your child that this is a normal and fun daily routine.
Do this even as the child gets older – the child must get this subliminal message from you so that it becomes a habit in adulthood.
Teaching your kid to brush properly is in the same category as putting sunblock on your child or teaching your child to wear a seat belt or look both ways before crossing a road – it is critical!
In the end, they will do what you did during those formative years. Brush and floss in front of and with your kids! Your oral health will get a great boost at the same time!
Here’s how to make brushing your child’s teeth a pleasurable experience as well as a habit your child takes into adulthood.
Do not limit brushing to the bathroom! Brush on the beach after a family picnic. Brush in the car after snacks. They will learn by your example – they will follow your lead. Don’t limit their experiences of brushing at an early age.
Don’t let toothpaste limit when and where you brush. Toothpaste can make kids want to gag or need to spit, and can make things unnecessarily messy, which makes brushing a chore.
I’ve found that toothpaste will make parents less likely to brush their kids’ teeth because it just means they have to go into the bathroom with a bottle of Windex to wipe down the sink afterward.
I guarantee you will not be successful if you set your child on the toilet and go to your kid with a toothbrush. Instead, have your child looking in the mirror while you stand behind her and brush her teeth (or assist her, depending on the age) while you both look into the mirror.
Sitting on the toilet is for other activities. Don’t associate it with cleaning your teeth!
Depending on your child’s age, you may have read in all the baby books that you should use gauze to rub or wipe your baby’s new teeth. This is a waste of time. It confuses the child, it’s not effective, tastes terrible (cotton mouth, yuck!) and this method wastes precious time to teach your child the proper way to brush. Get them used to it before they have the chance to form an opinion about what’s best.
You’re trying to fit teeth brushing into a busy schedule, but your child interprets this to mean that brushing your teeth is an afterthought and something to do as quickly as possible. Now is the time to send the message to your kids that their oral health is a priority.
Just as dinner is a family activity, you can make brushing a time when the family gathers in the bathroom to brush after a meal. This is great when your child is just starting to brush their first tooth at around age one.
Have one parent brush the other parent’s teeth. Let your kid brush your teeth! (good luck and make sure you don’t grimace!) Have your kid brush the dog’s teeth (wash hands thoroughly afterward).
The worst thing you can do is threaten your child with brushing. Don’t tell your child that if she doesn’t brush, she’ll have to go see the dentist as if it’s some big scary punishment for not brushing.
Brushing, as well as visiting the dentist, should both be positive lifelong habits.
I love to use music for this purpose. Get a cheap music player in the bathroom to play your child’s latest favorite song.
The guideline is two minutes for brushing, but at young ages, aim for four to five minutes or longer if your kid is having fun! If you go for four minutes, you’ll be more likely to get your two. Always brush when you’re not in a rush!
I recommend an hourglass rather than a digital timer for timing brushing because most kids are very kinesthetic under the age of 7 and an hourglass allows the child to have a tangible concept of how much time is left to brush. An hourglass also can’t be manipulated like a digital timer can.
We love our patients and love to help them form healthy dental life that will last them a lifetime. For more information call us today to answer all of your questions so get an appointment.
It’s hard enough to get your kiddos to bed without the added stress of the tooth brushing battle. Forming good oral care habits from a young age is crucial to your child’s development, but it’s no easy task to complete. Where there’s a will, though, there is a way – so if you try out a few of these creative parenting ideas and find a tactic that works, stick with it to make sure your child can look forward to a lifetime of beautiful, healthy smiles.
Before the Tooth Fairy makes her way to your home, plenty of brushing will be necessary. Cavities – whether they develop in baby teeth or adult teeth – are painful and costly to fill. Worse yet, developing cavities in baby teeth can have long-term effects on your child’s oral health and well-being. Children’s baby teeth must remain healthy since they are like “spot-holders” for incoming future adult teeth. Unhealthy baby teeth mean unhealthy adult teeth.
If the gums and site of tooth growth are not intact and well-cared-for, this will impact the growth of adult teeth, potentially throwing adult teeth out of alignment so that they grow in crooked. As the first adult teeth to grow in, the molars are especially important as they impact the shape of your child’s face as well as the future health and position of her other adult teeth. Improper teeth position means every parent’s worst nightmare – braces – will be inevitable. Unfortunately, most parents will find themselves at an orthodontist with their child at some point, but if there’s anything you can do to be proactive and avoid the pain, hassle, and expense of braces, it’s keeping your child’s teeth and gums healthy from the start.
So now you understand that oral care is important for babies and children. But how do you convince your children to stick to an everyday tooth brushing routine that they can eventually do on their own? We’ve got a few ideas that might help.
You’ve all seen little boys watching with admiration as their father shaves, or little girls gazing in fascination while their mother goes through her skincare routine. So why not show your kids the same with your tooth-brushing routine?
Let your kids watch while you go through your flossing and brushing routine. Make a point to brush your tongue, massage your gums and reach your furthest back teeth. Use exaggerated gestures to show children very clearly each critical step to the brushing process. At the end, flash your pearly whites to the mirror to check that you’ve done a quality job, and make sure to seem very happy and proud of your efforts to show your child the reward of a brushing job well done.
This might be slightly uncomfortable for you, but if it works, the pay-off is worth it: if you’re tired of fighting your child to open their mouths and let you brush their teeth, open your own mouth instead and let them practice using a toothbrush on you. Again, make sure you’re a good actor – make tooth-brushing (even when performed by your child) seem fun, and your kiddo will want in on the fun, too.
If practicing on you is not the ideal option, encourage your child to practice on a stuffed animal or doll. The Baby Alive Brushy Brushy Baby Doll comes with a tube of pretend toothpaste and a pretend electric toothbrush so that your child can practice brushing while playing. Brushing your teeth will seem like a lot more fun when a toy is involved!
Purchase, print out or create your own calendar for 2019. Buy sets of stickers you think your child will love. Every night or morning after your child has finished brushing his teeth, reward his effort with a sticker to place on the calendar to mark a successful cleaning. Keep upcoming stickers hidden and secret so that every night, picking out a new sticker to place on the calendar remains an exciting surprise. If he successfully fills up a full month of the calendar with stickers, reward your child with an even bigger reward, like a bonus in his allowance or a toy he has wanted.
One creative trick to encourage brushing is to dream up a story: talk about the imaginary “sugar bugs” that are attacking your child’s mouth. The only way to defeat the sugar bugs is to defend your mouth with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Add some drama to the sugar bug battle and tie a cape around your child so he can become a real superhero fighting the evil sugar bugs. (Just be careful not to scare your child into believing that his mouth is crawling with bugs – that could be traumatic for some kids!)
You know the age – when your child insists on doing everything herself. Whether it’s picking up a “big kid” cup to drink from (and then spilling it all over herself), feeding herself dinner (and getting spaghetti sauce all over her face) or choosing her own outfit (and choosing her Disney princess pajamas for Picture Day), your child can’t be deterred. And why stop her from exploring and developing her independence? Encourage it in every way that’s safe (albeit probably messy).
Your local grocery store is full of toothpaste made especially for children. Kids will be delighted to see their favorite characters on the toothpaste packaging and look forward to using it to brush their teeth every night and morning. Whether it’s Spiderman, My Little Pony, or Elmo, you can find a toothpaste themed to your child’s preferences, and available in fun flavors like berry.
Creating a fun and engaging routine at home will ensure your child develops a lifelong habit of caring for their teeth.
If you introduce flossing and brushing at a young age, kids will start to feel lucky if they don’t do it.
We love our patients and love to help them form healthy dental life that will last them a lifetime. For more information call us today to answer all of your questions so get an appointment today.
Going to a strange new place and having to sit still in a chair while a person you don’t know feels around in your mouth with metallic objects can be unsettling for adults and children alike, but adults can contain their unease much easier than kids. Some act out in the dental office lobby, some while in the chair, and some not until after the visit is completely done. If your child shows signs of being upset at the thought of going to the dentist, try the following tips to put their minds at ease.
Children — even adults! — who don’t understand the importance of properly maintaining anything in their lives will end up wondering why they’re experiencing so many (and such expensive) issues, whether it’s with their car, their home, or their health. Educating your child on the importance of brushing and flossing their teeth after every meal as well as using mouthwash is a must to maintain their understanding of good oral care.
Once this is established, discuss what a dental office is for and why everyone needs to go there two times a year for a checkup. You do not have to go into great detail — in fact, the less you explain, the better. If you start talking about all the tools used, or what a cavity is, a child could become afraid. Instead, just focus on having as many positive answers as possible. Avoid saying things like “it’s not going to hurt,” or “everything’s going to be okay.” He or she might not like that everything might not be fine, but it will calm your child when you answer with something like “if the dentist finds any sugar bugs (cavities), they can get them out so they stop hiding in your teeth all day! We want to make sure we don’t have any sugar bugs, don’t we?” Also try not to say words like “shot,” “drill” or “pain,” and there are many phrases parents use that they may think are helpful but are harmful.
Make sure that once your child knows that going to the dentist means something like “wiping off the sugar bugs” or “making sure sugar bugs aren’t hiding in our teeth,” be a responsible parent and schedule and keep your child’s checkups every six months.
Most children in North America are brought to the dentist around age 2 or 3. It may seem too soon, but the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends all children should go to their first dental visit by the time their first tooth erupts or by their first birthday. The sooner your child experiences a dental office and meets your family dentist, the more comfortable they will be at future visits. Many children who are initially brought in at a later age are more uncooperative at their visits.
A child’s first dental visit doesn’t take long. At the appointment, your child will get to meet the hygienist and dentist. They will not necessarily perform a dental cleaning, but instead, will just try counting the child’s teeth out loud and let them go for a ride in the dental chair. It’s a great icebreaker for most children, but some can be uncooperative, resulting in trying the appointment again in a few months. The more your child comes in for appointments, the more comfortable they are in the dental office. It’s not only a great way to make them happier at future visits but starting this young helps prevent buildup and decay even sooner.
Many dentists in your area including Growing smiles are friendly dental offices. However, some children need an atmosphere that is directly focused on children. That is where a pediatric dentist comes in. These dental professionals take an extra two years of specialty courses to learn just how to care for infants and children, and typically open up pediatric clinics. Many of these offices have a wide variety of kid-friendly activities and decorations to help children feel more at ease during their appointments. Some popular looks for pediatric dental offices are cartoons, jungle, safari or zoo themes.
We suggest bringing your child to us around their first birthday. We focus on meeting the child, counting their teeth and letting them go for a ride in the dental chair. At later visits, we introduce some of the equipment in a fun way. The suction can be introduced. If your child is uncooperative after a few visits to our office, we may refer them to a pediatric dentist instead.
Many visits are ruined by parents promising a treat or a present each time they go to the dentist if they behave at their visit. “If you go to the dentist, we will get ice cream after.” “If you behave for the dentist, I will buy you a new toy.” This teaches them that no matter how they act, they will still get a treat afterward. Many offices have a treasure chest or toy box that the children get to pick from, but only if they’ve had a good visit. Even try avoiding saying “be brave,” or “don’t be afraid!” This is a subtle way of telling your child there IS something scary at the dental office.
Some parents even use the dentist as a punishment. “Stop throwing a fit! Do you want to go back to the dentist?” Saying something like this instantly brings a negative reaction from children every time they are brought in for an appointment. Their visits should be nothing but positive and exciting, and your job is to promote that positive for them to have the most enjoyable experience possible and avoid having dental phobia in the future.
Children love to play make-believe, and one fantastic way to get them ready for their trips to the dentist is to play “dentist” at home. You can start by having them play the dentist. Get their favorite stuffed animal or toy and have them pretend to greet them. Then your child can lie the toy or stuffed animal down on its back and ask them to open wide so they can count their teeth, or brush them with a dry brush.
After you try this method, move on by having them lie on a couch or bed and telling them you want to count their teeth. Have them open wide and take your time counting the teeth, so they get used to keeping their mouth open when asked. Explain you are looking for “sugar bugs” which are little bugs that live in your mouth if you do not brush your teeth well enough. This helps them understand the importance of brushing after every meal, ensuring the “sugar bugs” are all brushed away and their teeth are happy and strong.
Every parent wants their children to be happy and healthy, which is why regular medical and dental checkups are needed. Being nervous about how your child will react at the dental office while they are still young is normal. You can help calm your child’s nerves and ensure they have a fun visit while still understanding the importance of regular visits. We look forward to meeting your family! Schedule an appointment with us today.
We love our patients and love to help them form healthy dental life that will last them a lifetime. For more information call us today to answer all of your questions so get appointment.
Growing Smiles is Richardson’s premier pediatric & orthodontic practice. Established in 2013 with a sincere interest in serving as a dental resource to children and their families. We provide a unique atmosphere for children making them feel welcome and comfortable visiting the dentist.
Growing Smiles is a premier pediatric dentistry practice proudly serving the community of Richardson, Texas, and its surrounding areas. Dr. Khaled Jadid and Dr. Raghid Alolab is thrilled to welcome you as a patient to the practice where we have a chance to earn your trust and establish a lifelong relationship. It is our hope that you will be so pleased with our practice and services that you will refer all of your friends and family to see us as well!
We offer services that deal directly with your infant’s new teeth! This includes issues related to teething, infant tooth eruption, bottle decay and more. We will also help you learn ways to help manage the growth and health of your child’s new teeth, including dietary and hygiene techniques specially considered for your little one!
Preventive dental care is important throughout life, especially at a young age. By installing good oral hygiene habits at home and scheduling regular checkups with the dentist, your child can help keep their smile bright and healthy for many years to come.
At our office, we use the most advanced techniques and materials to ensure your child is getting the quality of care they deserve. We provide cleanings, sealants, fillings, crowns, and extractions. Our goal is to ensure all your child’s needs are addressed.
Sometimes a child may be too anxious or fearful for treatment to be completed and intervention may be needed to ensure safe and effective completion of the dental work. At Growing Smiles, we offer a range of sedation services such as conscious sedation, IV sedation and general anesthesia in a hospital setting. The goal for our doctors is to complete your child’s treatment in the least invasive and the safest way possible.
Dental care for patients with special needs requires specialized knowledge acquired by additional training, as well as increased awareness, adaptation, and accommodative measures beyond routine treatment. Growing Smiles, we have the experience necessary to provide suitable dental care while keeping in mind the unique nature of the children we see.
We are always here to assist when your child’s dental health is at risk. If you face a dental emergency, please give us a call immediately. We also provide after-hours emergency number to ensure you child will always be safe.
Growing Smiles is a premier pediatric dentistry practice proudly serving the community of Richardson, Texas, and its surrounding areas. Dr. Khaled Jadid and Dr. Raghid Alolab is thrilled to welcome you as a patient to the practice where we have a chance to earn your trust and establish a lifelong relationship. It is our hope that you will be so pleased with our practice and services that you will refer all of your friends and family to see us as well!
We offer services that deal directly with your infant’s new teeth! This includes issues related to teething, infant tooth eruption, bottle decay and more.
We offer services that deal directly with your infant’s new teeth! This includes issues related to teething, infant tooth eruption, bottle decay and more.
The entire staff at Growing Smiles is thrilled to have you as an addition to our family! We are so excited to introduce Dr. Khaled Jadid and Dr. Raghid Alolab and their fantastic team – read more below and get to know everyone at our office!
We love our patients and love to help them form healthy dental life that will last them a lifetime. For more information call us today to answer all of your questions so get an appointment today.