How often have you had to remind your kids to brush before bed? How about not eating so much sugar? Even if your children don’t have their permanent teeth yet, they need regular dental cleanings and exams. Call us at at our Bridgeport/Trumbull dental office (203-372-1220) or our Shelton dental office (203-378-9737) today and make an appointment for your children. Our dentists are highly trained in family dentistry and can see children as young as one year old.
The Importance Of Regular Dental Exams And Dental Cleanings
Brushing and flossing at home is vital. Keeping your kids’ teeth clean is the best way to fight gum disease, cavities, and more. However, there’s only so much your kids can do at home. They simply do not have the training and tools available to hygienists and dentists.
With a dental cleaning, our hygienists can remove plaque and tartar that brushing simply cannot get rid of. Dental exams from our highly trained dentists can identify any problems while they’re still small. This makes them easier (and cheaper) to treat.
Even primary teeth need help because they can get cavities or infections like adult teeth. Plus, everyone has gums that need to stay healthy. Call DeJesus Dental Group today and schedule an appointment for your children. After all, they can’t make the appointments themselves.
How To Give Good Dental Habits To Your Kids
Your kids deserve healthy smiles. To help with that, here are some ways you can help instill good dental habits in your children. Once your kids have great habits, they will be more likely to keep their smiles healthy as they grow up.
1. Make your dental cleaning and dental exam appointments together.
As your children grow up, they’re constantly trying to figure out what they should and should not do. Sure, they listen to you — most of the time, anyway. But they also watch to see what you do.
That’s why taking them to the dentist for your dental exam and dental cleaning can be so powerful. Once they witness you going to the dentist, they’ll start to think such visits are normal. That means they’ll be much more likely to get regular dental care as they get older. To them, it’s just what you’re supposed to do.
2. Occasionally make sure your kids see you brushing and flossing at home.
Along the same lines, your kids watch what you do to see if that’s really what they should do. Most parents have fought with their kids over bedtimes. “But why? You get to stay up late!” If you tell your kids that brushing and flossing are important, they’re probably going to watch for you doing both. If they never see it, they’ll assume it’s just empty words.
Let your kids see you taking care of your dental hygiene. You don’t have to make a spectacle out of it. In fact, that could hurt. Just let them see you brushing and flossing naturally. That way, they’ll understand taking care of their teeth and gums really is important.
3. Make fruit juice, sports drinks, and diet sodas rare treats.
You know to limit how much sugar your children eat so they don’t get cavities. That’s exactly why you should limit fruit juice as well. Even all-natural juices have a lot of sugar in them. Sports drinks are normally full of carbs, which is close enough to sugar. Fruit juice and sports drinks can cause cavities like soda. Diet soda has no sugar, but it’s very acidic. Studies have shown that acid can corrode enamel and weaken teeth.
To help keep your kids’ teeth strong, limit how much they drink. Encourage them to drink milk or water instead. As time goes by, this can become a healthy habit that can help their smiles for many years.
4. Drink plenty of water.
Water isn’t just a good substitute for sugary and acidic drinks. Staying hydrated has many benefits, but it can also help reduce the risk of gum disease and tooth decay. Saliva helps wash away food particles that feed harmful bacteria. If you’re dehydrated, you have less saliva. Plus, water can wash sugar and acid off your kids’ teeth.
Eight glasses of water per day is an outdated myth. Still, it’s best to encourage your kids to drink water often and make it their drink of choice. Start early with plenty of water, and there’s a good chance your kids can grow up with this healthy habit.
Call us TODAY at our Bridgeport/Trumbull dental office (203-372-1220) or our Shelton dental office (203-378-9737) or use our online tool to schedule an appointment for dental cleanings and dental exams. You can also send us a message online to make appointments for anyone in your family.