3 Tips for Helping Your Children Prioritize Their Oral Health

Parents spend a lot of time trying to help their children prioritize the right things. Dental care and oral health are definitely top categories that children need assistance with. Oral health issues can quickly escalate into bigger problems when proper habits are not observed. According to the CDC, about 34 million school hours are lost every year just because of emergency dental. This also results in about $45 billion dollars of lost U.S. productivity. The untreated dental disease could have been avoided through better oral health habits. This quick guide will give you some tips on how to help your child prioritize their oral health.

1. Be a Good Example

One of the most powerful ways you can influence your child’s oral health habits is by being a good example yourself. Children are watching how you take care of yourself, and whether you realize it or not, those habits do seep into their brains over time. Make sure that you are exhibiting good oral health habits on a regular basis for your children to model after.

2. Prioritize Dental Visits

Children also need to see that you set a high priority on visiting the dentist on a regular basis yourself. If children notice that you do not visit the dentist and do not care if dental visits are missed, then they will not think this is an important aspect of their overall health. Even though fitting in dental visits can feel like a chore sometimes, it is crucial to your child’s long-term dental health that you make and keep dental visits. Not only does this model good habits for them but getting that dental care at a young age will also help keep their teeth healthy.

3. Put Oral Health on a Schedule

Just like with many things in life, oral health habits are often easier to establish when they are set on a schedule. Your children know that there is a schedule for certain things. They must get up at a certain time for school, they must do homework at a certain time, and they must go to bed at a certain time. They should know to practice oral health habits at a certain time as well.

If you want your children to have healthy teeth and good health habits for life, follow these simple tips. Our Lowell Dentists specialize in helping patients maintain their health and improve their self-confidence through perfecting their smiles. Give us a call today to schedule an appointment.