Once your child is old enough to take on the responsibility of caring for their own teeth, you want to make sure you fully educate them not only on the proper way to care for their teeth, but also on the importance of doing so. By taking some extra steps in teaching your child about dental care, you can increase the odds that they will take it more serious. However, you still want to oversee their dental hygiene until you are sure they can be fully trusted to care for their teeth properly.

Get some kid-friendly videos and books

There are many videos and books on the market intended to educate young children on proper oral hygiene and the risks of not taking care of their teeth the way they are supposed to. Your local library can be a great resource to try first. If you are unable to locate these videos and books on your own, call the dentist's office and they will more than likely be able to share some titles with you.

Start small

When you first start leaving dental care up to your child, you want to start small and monitor them along the way. You can increase their dental responsibilities once you see they are being responsible and doing a good job. Begin with allowing them to brush their teeth unattended in the morning. Once they are doing this without reminding, then you can move on to the evening as well. After this, you can teach them how to floss correctly on their own and allow them to take this over. You may want to buy them floss picks that will be much easier for them to use than regular floss.

Preparing your child for a dental appointment

When it's nearing the time for your child to go in for their dental exam, you want to put them at ease and take away any fears they may have. Set the appointment for first thing in the morning or first thing after the staff comes back from lunch, so your child won't have to wait in the waiting room for a long time. The longer they sit and wait, the more anxious they can become. Let them know the dentist won't do anything to them without explaining everything to them first. Make sure the dentist then knows that your child wants everything explained in a step-by-step manner.

Now that you have a better idea of how you can approach your child's dental care, you should see them start to take an active role.

For a pediatric dentist, contact a doctor such as Robert L. Edmonstone, DDS. 

Share