Your kid’s teeth are important. Once their baby teeth have fallen out, those adult teeth have to last a lifetime and you don’t want them damaging them young. Here are just a few ways that you can encourage your kids to keep a pearly white smile.
5 Tips To Maintain Your Kid’s Teeth
1. Introduce A Brushing Routine
The younger you can get your kids brushing their teeth, the better. There are now styled electric toothbrushes for kids, as well as tooth cleaning game apps such as Brush Up that can make brushing teeth more fun and less of a chore.
Reinforce this day and night – kids may be more spurred to brush their teeth if they see you doing it too, so try brushing with them. Make sure to change brushes every six months as after this period the bristles are unlikely to be as effective at cleaning. You can get them to choose their toothbrush to get them more excited about using it.
2. Limit Sugary Snacks To Protect Your Kid’s Teeth
Kids love sugary foods, but we all know that these are bad for their teeth. Sugar is many kid’s products, not just chocolates, and sweets. Crisps, lunch meats, and white bread all have high sugar content.
Fizzy drinks are the worst offender as they coat every tooth in sugar that sits there and rots away at the enamel. Baby teeth in particular are very susceptible to cavities as the layer of enamel is much thinner than adult teeth.
Make sure that no sugary treats are eaten after brushing teeth – especially at night when our mouths contain less saliva and are more vulnerable to being corroded by sugar.
3. Keep Up Their Calcium Intake
Calcium helps with the development of bones, including the kid’s teeth. For young kids developing baby teeth, it’s vital to get the right amount of calcium in order to develop a strong set of new teeth.
If your kid doesn’t like milk or is lactose intolerant, there are many calcium supplements that can be bought. Oranges, carrots, beans, salmon, and broccoli are also good sources.
4. Book Regular Dentist Appointments For The Kid’s Teeth
Regular checkups with the dentist will encourage your kids to take up a strict routine and spot any dental problems early in the bud.
There are many family-focused dentists out there such as Dr. Nick & Dr. Radhika that could be worth looking into. Some dentists may have special family bundles or rates for children that could save you money for your kid’s teeth.
5. Uneven Kid’s Teeth?
Some parents will want to get their kid’s teeth straightened. Whilst some children are lucky to have naturally straight teeth, many others will experience overcrowding as a result of adult teeth not coming through correctly, or bucked teeth as a result of sucking a thumb or dummy.
Finding an orthodontist and investing in braces can be beneficial for your kids in the long run. Braces have become very popular over time and there are now many competing practices – it can often be worth shopping around for local prices as well as reading reviews in order to get the best orthodontic treatment for your child.
How do you take care of your kid’s teeth? Leave feedback in the comments!
For more tips, read our article Signs Your Child May Need Braces.
My name is Andrea Thompson and I’m a home based freelance writer. I’m 23 years old, married to my best friend, and mother to a wonderfully independent and opinionated 3 year old girl and step-mother to a sweet seven year old boy. I live in a tiny, little town in Kentucky, where I spend my free time fishing with my kids.
Writing has always been my passion, which I followed through high school, and for a while in college. Life happened, and once I discovered we were pregnant, I switched directions; opting for the healthcare industry because of the stability.
Finally, years later, I was in a place where I could leave the day job that never truly made me happy, and pursue my dreams. I’ve built, and am still building, my writing career from scratch. But, I’m passionate and I’m good at what I do. And, in the end, I can prove to my daughter that she can do anything she wants with this life.
