Growing up, you might have been taught a couple of things about life by your parents. You learn to carry some of these lessons until the later years of your lives. However, something many often forget (or sometimes your parents failed to teach you) is keeping your mouth and teeth healthy.
Oral health is a prime concern in the United States. Millions of adults have experienced one or two cavities in their lives. Although some states have some of the best oral health in the country and arguably, the whole world, many states still struggle to keep their oral health standards up. Experts believe that homes and schools must teach oral health as early as childhood to ensure that people can remember it for the rest of their lives.
But what should you exactly teach your children when it comes to oral health and how can you do it as a parent? This article will be talking about the essentials of oral health and ways you can teach your children these topics. Of course, the first thing you should teach your children is not to fear the dentist.
Dental Anxiety
A staggering number of American adults have dental anxiety. A good fraction of these people have severe dental anxiety that fully impairs their ability to maintain good dental hygiene. If you have dental anxiety, it’s essential that you, as a parent, get rid of it immediately. Once you do, you can start teaching your children not to fear the dentist.
There are various ways you can get rid of your dental anxiety. First, you can choose to visit a mental health professional and talk to them regarding your fears of the dentist. If your fear is manageable, feel free to visit the dentist yourself and speak to them about getting rid of it. Better yet, get a dental operation so that you can realize that going to the dentist causes no harm to you whatsoever.
Once you’ve done these things and you’ve gotten rid of your dental anxiety, it’s time for you to do the same for your children. Let them visit the dentist and give them the chance to talk to them. The dentist can assure your child that nothing wrong will happen during the process, easing their overall perceptions of dentists and dental operations.
Teach Them What Happens During Dental Operations
One thing that children fear is tooth extraction. However, many more dental operations seek to help improve their dental health. For example, it’s essential to teach children that it isn’t the end of the world once their tooth is extracted. Tooth replacements are available to replace their extracted tooth. Moreover, they can choose to have dentures once they’ve grown older and lost many of their teeth.
Teaching your children about dental operations can help ease their fear about the dentist and their overall oral health. It’ll help them understand that many dental operations seek to help improve their oral health, and most of them aren’t painful at all!
Good Dental Habits
You should also teach your children good dental habits they can carry into the future. Dental habits such as brushing and flossing twice a day can help them in the long run. It’s also good to teach them the basics of oral health, such as how plaque forms in their mouth.
If your child struggles to listen or remember any of these habits, you should try rewarding them. Treats can help if your child is young. But for those that have reached seven to ten years old, it’s good to reward them in milestones. Feel free to purchase them toys related to dental health once they’ve reached the milestones you’ve set up for them.
Make it a Family Experience
Lastly, children are more likely to pick up healthy dental habits if you show them. So make your teachings a family experience.
Set up times when you can brush and floss together. You can also read books regarding dental health or watch videos on the internet together. All of these activities can make teaching oral health to your children fun, and when an action is fun, they are more likely to remember it in the future.
Good oral health is essential to your children’s growth. It will ensure that they have healthy teeth and good breath as they grow up. Moreover, it will affect their self-esteem and overall mental state in the future. So make sure to teach them as early as now by following these easy-to-do and straightforward suggestions.
