Oral Health Education For Children

How to get your kids off to a good start in looking after their teeth

It is a well known fact that much of what we learn during our lives, we learn from a very young age. Things like how to walk, communicate and socialise with others becomes automatic without any real awareness and certainly not by reading books etc. Much of this comes from our parents, carers and those around us. This can also be beneficial for their oral health as they will pick up habits from their parents who also have a role in educating them and getting them off to a good start in life.

So, what can parents from the Burton and Ashby areas do to help their children have healthy teeth and gums as they grow up and develop good habits that they can take into their adult years?

Babies

Although you won’t need to brush their teeth for them for a while as they won’t have come through yet, it is a good idea to wipe baby gums gently with a damp cloth. This will help to remove any bacterial growth on the gums but will also accustom them to the sensation of cleaning around this area. This should start at around 3 months old or as advised by your care professional.

When they reach their first birthday, we recommend that you start to bring them for regular checks at Alexandra Dental Care. While it is unlikely that there will be any need for treatment so early on in life, these visits can help to acclimatise them to the sights, sounds and smells of the dental environment. Some studies have indicated that doing this helps to allay fears of visiting the dentist as they become older.

Young children

Once your child reaches the age where they communicate more clearly with you, you can really start to develop good oral health habits alongside them.  You can explain what eating too many sweets will do to their teeth and perhaps offer ‘bribes’ as an alternative. You should also encourage them to start brushing their own teeth. This should be done while being supervised as kids otherwise may do very little brushing and probably just eat the toothpaste! It can be a good idea to brush your teeth with them too so that they can learn how to do it correctly. This is also a good time to brush up on your own teeth cleaning regime too.

There are many videos and games for kids online that relate to oral health as well and it is likely that your young child will respond well to these.

Older children/early teen years

As our children become older, they become more independent and are likely to start to draw influences from their peer group as well as their parents. We can sometimes feel like we are losing control of them when this happens but the likelihood is that they are still taking the lead from what you do (and sometimes, what you say). This period may require more ‘nagging’ to get them to clean their teeth or go to the dentist and you may have to be more determined at this stage of their life. It can be tricky for sure, but this is an age when sweet eating can really explode, often out of your control. Each parent will know what their child responds best to and although it might feel like a battle, helping to keep their teeth and gums in good health at this stage will help them maintain this as they grow older.

Late teens/ early adulthood

Our influence will undoubtedly have started to wane at this stage of their life but good habits that have hopefully been formed earlier on will stay with them and enable them to have good oral health for years to come. You may need to occasionally remind them to clean their teeth or book a check up appointment at our Swadlincote dental practice for them, but this is a small price to pay for them having a healthy mouth.

To make an appointment for your child to visit our local practice for a check up, or to book one for yourself, please call Alexandra Dental Care on 01283 216347.

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