Tips for Motivating Children to Practice Good Dental Health

All parents have likely been there. It’s late, your kid doesn’t want to brush their teeth, everyone’s tired. It can be tempting at times to skip or skimp on the tooth brushing for a night every now and then simply to get your kid to bed. No judgement.

But there’s no getting around that teaching your kids good dental hygiene from an early age is proven to result in fewer cavities and other erosion and dental problems later in life. Teach your child how to enjoy keeping up a good dental routine, and they will thank you for it when they grow up with a beautiful smile.

Lead by example

Kids learn from what they parents do as much, if not more, than what they say. Simply telling them of the importance of dental hygiene is going to do little when you skip out on brushing your teeth or drop the flossing. If you want your kid to care about their teeth, the first step needs to be for you to care about yours Easy as that. As a bonus your teeth will get whiter, stronger and be less prone to damage and erosion in the future.

Invest in some fun dental care gear

We all like to do things more when we’ve got great tools to do it – kids are no different. While standard bulk packages of toothbrushes might be more affordable, investing in a kid’s brush in funny designs, a popping colour, or even with your child’s favourite cartoon on it might go a long way to get your kid more excited about brushing their teeth.

Brush your teeth together

Kids enjoy doing things with their parents. Whether it’s going grocery shopping, swimming or, brushing your teeth, your child will enjoy it because they’re doing it with you. By brushing your teeth at the same time, it will feel less like a chore and more like an activity. It’s not something done to them, but something they’re partaking in.

Include some music

This one is easy. Play your kid’s favourite tunes when you brush your teeth – your kid will love it! Dance along to make tooth brushing not only fun, but something your kid looks forward to!

Incentivise

If all else fails, find ways to incentivise dental health. You could develop a point system where your kid can choose from some fun activities once they’ve reached a certain amount of successful tooth brushings. However, dental health should be a reward in and of itself, so we’d leave this as a last resort.

Happy brushing!