Teaching Your Kids to Love Their Teeth

“Families who have dental insurance are more than twice as likely to get preventive services like cleanings, exams and x-rays than those who don’t have dental insurance.”
        -Tom Mayer, Spirit Dental Founder

When is the last time your family had a dental checkup? Are you in need of one ASAP?

Spirit Dental provides families with 3 cleanings and 2 exams covered at 100% on our Gold plans. Getting comprehensive preventive care is the key to preventing more expensive procedures in the future.  It is important for your kids to understand the importance of dental health and know how to take care of their teeth. Some tips we have to get your kids interested in brushing their teeth are:

Let your kids choose their toothpaste and toothbrush - Kids don’t always like the adult toothpastes; they can be too strong for them. Get your kids interested by letting them pick out their own toothpaste. Cartoon characters and flavored toothpastes may seem silly to adults, but keep kids from dreading brushing their teeth.

Kids will also be more excited to brush their teeth if their toothbrush is in the shape of their favorite cartoon character or is their favorite color. Many hit kids movies will make character toothbrushes and toothpastes; nothing will encourage them to brush more than seeing their hero supporting their teeth brushing habits!

Sing the alphabet - We recommend that your kids brush their teeth for approximately two minutes. Have them sing the alphabet or another of their favorite songs as they brush their teeth, or sing it to them as they do. This shows them that there is an end in sight and gives them a fun activity to do in the meantime.

Compliment your kids - This one is extremely important. It is important that you praise your kids and encourage them, especially when they brush correctly, for the full two minutes.

Join in! - Kids are very observant. Brushing your teeth at the same time they do is a good incentive. Many children like to copy what their parents do - it makes them feel more grown-up and responsible. Not to mention it will keep the both of you on a dental health schedule.

With most things in a kid’s life, good habits developed during childhood are more likely to remain while an adult. Start your child’s good dental health habits early; not only will you enjoy fewer visits to the dentist in the long run, but you’ll be promoting healthy habits for your child’s future.