Your child may find it difficult to wholeheartedly participate in anything that he or she finds boring, including brushing his or her teeth. As a result, your child's oral health may be in jeopardy from inadequate teeth-cleaning sessions. Since gum disease and cavities can be related to how well your child removes plaque and bacteria as your little brushes, encouraging good brushing habits is important. Here are a few things that you can do to make brushing more exciting.
Offer Awards
Kids love prizes. Using awards to reward a child for completing two minutes of brushing every day for a week can help your child stay focused on brushing. A daily prize may be more suitable for toddlers, but using a weekly prize for an older child may make the brushing goal more meaningful.
Additional prizes could be offered for other dental goals, such as cavity-free dental appointments.
Use Plaque-Display Tablets
Plaque-display tablets that release an edible dye in the mouth to identify areas of heavy plaque concentration can also be helpful. The color deposits from the tablets add interest to brushing and help your child target vulnerable areas on the teeth to make the session more effective. It is best to instruct your child to keep brushing until no more color is present on the tooth enamel.
Plaque-display tablets are often sold at local stores, but you can also ask for samples from your child's dentist.
Set a Timer
Many kids do not have a good concept of time. Thus, telling your child to brush for two minutes can have little impact on the length of his or her brushing session. Additionally, the two minutes can seem like an eternity without a timer.
To help your child brush continuously for the prescribed time, set a kitchen timer or a timer on a cell phone. As your child watches the countdown and brushes, he or she will realize that the task is closer to completion than they may have thought.
Add Music to the Session
By adding music to a brushing session, you can make the session more exciting. Kids love to dance to their favorite songs. Start the music and dance along as your child brushes. For even more fun, brush your teeth alongside your youngster as both of you dance to the music.
To learn more ways to make brushing more fun for your child, schedule a consultation with a general dentistry in your area.
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