Most of us already know that the key to good dental health is primarily avoiding sugary foods and brushing your teeth regularly. However, good dental health starts when we’re children and continues through adulthood. That means creating good habits early on helps create a good foundation for good dental health throughout your entire life.
– Plan time to brush daily and floss regularly. – Having good dental habits as a child can help prevent cavities and gingivitis in the future, as well as strengthen tooth enamel that has already been weakened by neglect or sugary foods. This is where good daily brushing habits come into play!
– Even though adults need to replace their brushes more often than kids do (every three months vs every six months), keeping up with good brushing habits after childhood will go a long way towards preventing adult tooth decay, periodontal disease and other issues that not only affect their teeth and gums, but other related health issues such as the connection with heart disease and other serious issues.
The most important prevention in fighting tooth decay and gum disease is to create good dental habits
Here is a list of 8 simple dental habits for your family:
1. Brush and floss regularly, ideally after every meal, twice a day
2. Replace your toothbrush when it gets worn out
3. Chew sugarless gum if you have a dry mouth or are prone to getting cavities (The chewing motion that breaks up plaque is good for oral health)
4. Drink through a straw as much as possible, so it won’t touch the teeth and leave residue behind (If you can’t drink through a straw, at least try not to let water sit on your teeth in the sink)
5. Get regular dental check-ups every six months or so with their dentist (If they don’t have one yet, find one here!)
6. Visit the dentist sooner if you experience any dental pain rather than leaving it too long, possibly resulting in a costly dental bill and major dental work.
7. Remove it only when brushing, and do not eat or drink before doing so (The bacteria in the plaque that causes tooth decay feeds on sugar)
8. A good dental routine for children includes good oral hygiene at home, regular visits to the dentist and good diet choices (Drinking water through a straw and cutting back on sugary drinks are good habits for kids to have)
Creating good dental habits for your family by taking care of their teeth from infancy onwards will not only give them a healthier life, (ental health is important for having good overall health) but also keep your health bills down!
Good dental habits should begin as early as possible.
For kids, make it a fun learning experience. Create a game or a wall chart, with a monthly reward if they keep up the good health habits.Kids will develop good dental habits if you make it fun and make a game out of it.
Getting your children involved in good dental practices can be made easier by incorporating it into their other activities, such as brushing the teeth before bedtime or after lunch while listening to a story (or vice versa). Kids today are glued to computers/TVs so getting them away from that for 30 minutes a day will help them avoid problems later on in life when they have to face technology every day for many hours at work.
For adults being good health role models is important, even though we may think our children don’t pay attention to how we do things, but believe me they do! If mum does not brush her teeth regularly then why should they?
So even brush together, and teach from example.
If your kids learn to enjoy dental hygiene habits at a young age they’ll have healthy teeth for life.