Your child’s oral health is an important factor that plays a big role in their future. Parents should begin taking care of their child’s teeth once the first tooth appears even before they pay a visit to the dentist, and should be reinforcing positive hygiene health at the same time.

The following personal hygiene tips will help you teach proper dental care tips to your children, regardless of how old they are:

1) First and foremost: be a role model

One of the most important factors you must take into consideration is your own dental hygiene.

Brush your teeth twice a day and floss in the morning.

Keeping up with your daily teeth regiment will help your child to better understand how important it is for them.

Just like any other aspect of a young child’s life, being a positive role model will make a better impression on them than any other method for teaching proper hygiene.

2) Make brushing and flossing fun

Kids love to make a game out of almost everything they have to do.

Treat brushing and flossing in the same manner by rewarding good habits with a gold sticker on a calendar or by giving your child a special treat later on in the day.

Rewarding these habits lets your children know that you appreciate how hard they work to take care of their teeth.

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3) Images are important

In many respects, children are visual learners. When you’re teaching kids about dental health, make sure to inform them of the consequences of not taking care of their teeth at an early age. Use a safe but graphic image of rotten teeth to let them know just how serious dental care is.

Using these types of images is also a good way to help mediate against excessive sugar intake if you inform them that one of the causes of rotten teeth is the sugar itself.

4) Take your child to your dental appointment

While it won’t likely be time to schedule a dental appointment with your child just yet, it’s very important to familiarise them with a dentist office setting as early as possible.

Studies show that familiarisation is a key ingredient to teaching children how to take care of themselves.

If you have a dentist appointment coming up in the near future, tell your child that you want to bring them along, and make it fun for them.

Implementing effective plans for oral hygiene in children can be a difficult step for any parent.

It’s important to remember to familiarise your child with a dental office early on and to play the part of the dental hygiene role model while the child is still learning how to take care of their own teeth.

What age did you take your child to the dentist for the first time? Please SHARE with us in the comments below.

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