Tooth decay is a particular concern for children, especially if they eat sweets too often and don't brush properly. Poor oral hygiene is detrimental to your child's health, and good practices start when you're a toddler. If you're looking for ways to get your child to brush, you've come to the right place.
Here's a guide to what you can do to motivate your child to brush his teeth.
The value of brushing your teeth
It is important to brush your teeth to eliminate dental plaque. Indeed, it is a coating which is deposited on your teeth after each meal but also throughout the day when you eat. It is composed of food debris but also of bacteria that are responsible for dental caries and gum inflammation otherwise known as gingivitis. Brushing your teeth at least twice a day and every day is the only way to have a good oral hygiene.
Techniques to get your child to brush
The key is to start brushing when your child is very young. Even if your baby doesn't have any teeth yet, he'll appreciate having his gums massaged, especially when teething hurts. Then, there are a variety of techniques you can use to encourage your baby to brush.
Here are all the techniques you can use:
- Play a punchy song to set the tone! Kids don't realize how long they've been brushing, they feel like after 30 seconds that's enough!
- Buy them a toothpaste that shows them where plaque is high so they realize that brushing has to be flawless to be effective.
- Take your child to the dentist quickly so that the dentist can explain the importance of good oral hygiene and especially the consequences of poor oral hygiene.
- Brush your teeth in front of your children. If we brush our teeth in front of our child as often as we use our phone, he or she will quickly ask us for his or her own toothbrush.
- Making up a song is a good way to set the pace. Two claps, and we go left! The timer or the hourglass, of course! There are applications with timers for children, like "Fun Timers For Parents". They will probably play the game more enthusiastically if they choose their own toothbrush and toothpaste.
If you want a good tool to encourage your child to brush, the best solution is the Y-Brush kids' toothbrush. It is available in children's size from 4 years old. Y-Brush guarantees a fast, effective and fun brushing for your child, for whom brushing will no longer be a chore.
More educational ways to brush your teeth
1) Telling your child stories
You can tell comical or unusual stories or tales to make brushing your child's teeth much more fun. The important thing is to make your child feel involved in brushing his or her teeth. So you need to tell them a story in which they are the main hero. You can make it up based on your child's state of mind. You must be able to place the indications of the brushing gestures inside your story such as: Make up and down movements, left to right or turn right or left. You can also customize his toothbrush according to the story you want to tell him each day of the week.
2) Give your child challenges
You can prepare small papers on a white sheet with different challenges that they have to face while brushing their teeth. For example, you can ask him to brush his teeth without dirtying his mouth, to dance to music, to brush his teeth without stopping for a second, to succeed in brushing his teeth despite being tickled, to make the most foam with the toothpaste, to brush his teeth without looking, to balance on one foot, like a clown, to reproduce identically all the movements you make, to brush each other's teeth. It's more fun if he's the one who picks out all the challenges he's going to have to face, varying the challenges.
3) Swap roles when brushing teeth
You may decide to reverse the roles with your child by pretending that you don't know anything about brushing your teeth. You can tell your child that you can't hold your toothbrush properly, that you don't know how to put toothpaste on, and that you don't know anything about brushing your teeth. This is a good way to assess whether or not your child knows how to brush. If they do, they'll be able to become an expert at brushing their teeth. This will give him motivation for all the times he needs to brush on his own or with you.
We hope this guide has helped you explain to your child in a few words the importance of brushing. We hope you've been able to use all the techniques to help your child see brushing differently. You should also use all the teaching methods that will allow you to know if your child knows how to brush properly, but also to show him that it is so simple.
