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Developing a good oral routine care while your child is still young is essential for them to grow up with healthy teeth and an attractive smile. The sooner you get them into a good routine, the more you normalise the need for excellent oral hygiene and a nutritious diet. The benefits can be huge, as your child is more likely to enjoy better oral health for life, and the school holidays are a great time to begin a new oral care routine. 

Here are some easy tips to follow before the new school year begins.

• Book Regular Dental Checkups

If you don’t already do so, ensure your child visits the dentist regularly. We prefer to see children every six months to monitor the growth and development of their teeth closely. Even though your child may still have their baby teeth, these are important and require excellent care to make sure they aren’t lost too soon. These baby teeth act as placeholders for adult teeth, so when they are ready to erupt, they are more likely to come through in the proper places.

• Get into a Regular Oral Care Routine

Brushing teeth at least twice daily and flossing once a day is important for everybody, but we know children can be in a rush to get to school and are often tempted to skip brushing their teeth. Ideally, begin making tooth brushing a routine from a very young age so kids know it is non-negotiable. Also, aim to make it more fun by allowing your child to choose their own child’s toothbrush, and you may want to buy them their own toothpaste in a flavour they enjoy using.

• Use Positive Reinforcement for Good Oral Hygiene

Praising or rewarding your child for good oral care habits will help them view tooth brushing as a positive habit. As an example, you may want to reward your child for choosing a piece of fruit in the lunchbox rather than a sugary snack.

• Encourage Your Kid to Keep Their Teeth Clean at School

In an ideal world, your child would be able to brush their teeth after every meal, including after school lunch, but this isn’t always practical. However, you can ensure your child always has a bottle of water handy so that they can swish their mouth thoroughly with water after each meal. Encouraging them to get into this habit will help remove loose food particles that would otherwise feed bacteria found in dental plaque and which can increase their risk of developing tooth decay and gum disease.

• Make Sure Your Child Has a Well-Fitting Mouthguard

Most parents are too pleased to encourage their kids to get involved with sports, but there is a danger of taking a blow to the mouth that could damage or even knock out a tooth, leaving a child facing a lifetime of costly restorative dental bills. A custom-made mouthguard can help prevent or reduce the damage considerably and is comfortable to wear, and won’t hinder breathing. It’s a great way to ensure your child’s safety while enjoying sports.

Making sure you teach your child about good oral care from a young age will help them avoid common problems like tooth decay. Establishing a good oral care routine will help prevent future dental problems, making them more likely to grow up with a healthy and attractive smile.

Here are six easy ways to teach your child about good oral hygiene.

• Let Them Follow Your Example

Children are great mimics and will often want to copy everything you do, so make sure they can see you clean your teeth and floss every day. While you brush and floss, make this task seem as enjoyable as possible, letting them know how good it feels to have clean teeth afterwards.

• Book Regular Dental Checkups

Regular dental checkups are essential for the entire family, including you. Lead by example by ensuring you book regular dental checkups with our practice, so your kid knows it’s just part of normal life. We also encourage young children to come to our practice with their parents so they can get used to a brand-new environment in a way that is fun and nonthreatening.

• Choose a Toothbrush Song

Pick a fun song with your child that lasts approximately two minutes so you can both dance along with it while you clean your teeth. Having a toothbrushing song makes the process more enjoyable.

• Turn Toothbrushing into a Game

An easy way to get a child interested in toothbrushing is to turn it into a game. You could help them clean their favourite stuffed animals or doll’s teeth while you brush their teeth. Children often find brushing an adult’s teeth fun, and you can guide their hands while they do it to ensure each tooth is cleaned properly. When a child has fun cleaning teeth, it turns into a positive experience and is easier to turn into a lifelong habit.

• Offer Rewards

If your child has difficulty cleaning their teeth regularly, offer them an incentive. You might want to start a sticker scheme where they can collect a certain number of stickers before receiving a treat. Decide on the treat between you, whether that’s a favourite bedtime story or a family outing, or something else they can look forward to enjoying. It’s best to avoid offering food as a reward, especially sugary treats.

• Choose a Family-Friendly Dentist

Last but not least, choose a family-friendly dentist you can trust to care for everyone’s teeth. Our practice caters for all ages, but we especially enjoy seeing children. We encourage parents to bring their child for their first dental visit soon after that first precious tooth emerges. Children tend to be curious about a new environment at this age, and most will enjoy a ride in the dental chair. When we see a child early on in life, we can begin building a great relationship with them as they grow up. When they are old enough, we can work with them directly, showing them how to care for their teeth and gently educating them on all the advantages of having healthy teeth and gums.

Getting older affects overall health and dental health, and it’s extremely important to ensure you maintain a good oral care routine. Otherwise, the risk of gum recession and failing teeth can lead to tooth loss. Anyone who has lost teeth will know it is a miserable experience, affecting your self-confidence and ability to eat comfortably and speak clearly, impacting your sense of well-being. 

Luckily, getting older doesn’t mean you will suffer from poor oral health. Biannual dental visits can help identify potential problems, hopefully before you notice anything wrong. We always provide customised preventive dental care plans for our patients, and as you get older, we can adjust this plan to ensure you maintain optimal oral health year-round. 

Read on to discover how getting older affects your teeth and gums and why good oral care is essential.

What Happens to Your Oral Health As You Age?

As you age, your skin becomes thinner and less elastic, and this also affects your oral tissues, including your gums. Teeth can become more fragile while bones can also weaken, losing density, especially amongst adults susceptible to osteoporosis. Your immune system may not work as well as when you are younger, so it is harder to fight infection, and you take longer to heal. Additionally, many older people have chronic conditions and require medications or treatments that can affect oral health.

Xerostomia

Xerostomia or dry mouth is extremely common amongst older adults and can negatively impact dental health. It is a condition where people cannot produce enough saliva, an essential fluid that helps keep your mouth clean, moist and comfortable, washing away loose food particles, plaque and bacteria. Bacteria can thrive when your mouth is dry, increasing your risk of dental diseases, including infections, tooth decay, bad breath and gum disease.

Often, dry mouth is due to side effects of medications or treatments. It can also occur if someone has chronic conditions like Alzheimer’s disease or diabetes or who has needed medical treatments like radiation therapy for head and neck cancers.

If you have dry mouth, we can work with you to help reduce the impact on your oral health. For example, you may benefit from more frequent dental checkups and cleans to reduce the risk of disease. We can also suggest other ways to help keep your mouth moist and comfortable such as using saliva substitutes or making some easy lifestyle changes. 

Gum Disease

Gum disease can affect anyone at any age but is more prevalent in older people. It is a bacterial infection that is often the result of poor oral care. Unfortunately, severe gum disease can result in tooth loss and increases the risk of general health problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, respiratory diseases and dementia. The good news is that gum disease is easily treatable when caught early, which is why your regular checkups are so important. We can also offer useful advice on how to clean your teeth thoroughly, especially if it becomes harder to manipulate an ordinary toothbrush due to loss of dexterity.