One of the best things you can do for your child is to teach proper oral hygiene. This will help prevent tooth decay and tooth loss, and even primary (or baby) teeth are important for chewing, speech and self-esteem. Until at least 24 months, you should clean your child’s teeth yourself, and skip the toothpaste until he or she can avoid swallowing it.

When your child is ready to begin learning to brush, probably around age two to three, make sure to choose a small, child-sized toothbrush with soft bristles. Use only a very small amount of toothpaste, and watch to be sure they spit and rinse after brushing.

Explain each step of the brushing process to your child as you do it. Brush the inside surfaces of all the teeth, using a circular motion and making sure to angle the toothbrush toward the gumline. Next, brush the outside surfaces of the teeth with the same short, circular motions. Finally, brush the chewing surfaces, and then the tongue.

Brushing together as a family is another way to help your child develop good brushing habits. Brush for two to three minutes each time, setting a timer if necessary. This gives your child a good idea of what the right amount of time to spend brushing feels like. Brushing along to a favorite song can act as a timer and also make brushing lots of fun.

Getting children involved in the decision-making processes can encourage them to brush and make dental hygiene more enjoyable for them. For instance, let children pick out their own toothbrush and toothpaste, or let them choose which song to brush to on a given night. If your child hates the taste of toothpaste, experiment with different flavors – there are many on the market.

Finally, be sure to schedule regular dental checkups to be sure your child is learning proper oral hygiene habits. Babies should have their first dental checkup by their first birthday and continue having regular cleanings according to your dentist’s recommendations – usually every six months.

When your child first begins brushing on his or her own, you should either brush after your child brushes or you brush first and then ask them to repeat what you did. Sitting your child on your lap facing away from you and standing behind your child in front of a mirror are good options. Teaching your child the importance of dental care early on will lay the foundation for a lifetime of healthy teeth and a great smile.

Let’s face it. Brushing one’s teeth is not high on the list of fun things to do for anyone, let alone your kids. Oral hygiene, though, is crucial to anyone’s overall health and should become an important part of a person’s daily routine. That routine needs to be established as a child even though it is difficult to accomplish. Here are four ways to help in motivating kids to brush their teeth.

Make It A Family Ordeal

Kids love to emulate what their parents do. One way to help motivate your children to develop good oral hygiene habits is to make brushing and flossing a family activity. Children will dress up in their parents’ clothes and pretend that they are a doctor, police officer, or whatever it is that their parents do. The same thing that drives them to play dress up will drive them to join in family oral hygiene. Doing it together will also give you, the parent, a chance to make sure that they brush properly.

Choose One Of The Many Kid-Friendly Toothpastes

There are numerous toothpastes geared toward children. They come in a variety of fun flavors that kids may enjoy, instead of the strong mint or cinnamon flavor of many adult toothpastes. When shopping for toothpaste, bring your children along and have them help in the choosing of their new toothpaste.

Allow Your Child To Select A Toothbrush

Just as there are many different toothpastes from which to choose, there are a number of toothbrushes that can help in motivating kids to brush more often. There are a multitude of themed toothbrushes like those modeled after superheroes or cartoon characters. Allowing your child to help in the selection of a toothbrush makes him or her feel important and that he or she has a role in good dental hygiene.

Try Music

When you and your children brush, turn on their favorite song and hum along as you brush. Music can help even the most restless of children pass the time. Children and adults should brush for a period of two minutes per session. Have your kids pick a song, or several songs, and turn one on while you brush.

As you can see, the idea is to make brushing one’s teeth and oral hygiene in general a little bit more fun. Allow your children to play a role in selecting their toothbrush and toothpaste, brush together and be a role model for good dental hygiene, and play some music while you do so. You will be amazed at how these four ideas help in motivating kids to brush their teeth.

When you were young, you may have heard from your mother that in order to grow strong bones you needed to drink your milk. Well, mother was right. Drinking milk or getting enough dairy products is absolutely essential to young children whose bones and teeth are still growing. There are several benefits to getting the recommended daily allowance of dairy. Strong bones and teeth are one.

To understand why dairy is so important, especially to teeth, it will help to understand the structure of a tooth. The inside of the tooth is made up of blood vessels and nerves surrounded by dentine, which is a calcified tissue. The outermost layer is the enamel, or the white part of the teeth that we all see. That enamel is mostly made up of minerals such as calcium phosphate. A great source of calcium, of course, is milk and other dairy products.

While consuming dairy products can promote strong bones and teeth, it will also help to prevent tooth decay. Eating cheese after a meal has been shown to reduce the incidence of tooth decay. The calcium and phosphate from the cheese works to prevent acid from clinging to teeth. It is that acid that will break down the enamel of teeth.

Consuming dairy products also has some other benefits such as helping to reduce the risk of diabetes. Those who drink milk and eat more dairy are known to sleep better. A protein in milk may help to improve the quality of one’s sleep. Consuming dairy products also makes one feel fuller and can help to control one’s appetite.

To get the benefits of consuming dairy products, it is recommended that children under the age of eight receive at least two-and-a-half cups per day. Children over the age of eight and adults should consume three cups of dairy per day.

Most experts agree a child’s first dental visit should be before age 1, or when their first tooth appears. This is especially true for children with a high risk of early childhood cavities. Parents with a history of oral health issues should be vigilant with their child’s oral health care and make sure their child sees a dentist at the proper time. After the first visit, children need to see a pediatric dentist for regular bi-annual checkups.

Visiting a pediatric dentist for the first time is an educational experience for parents and a chance for both dentist and child to establish the beginnings of a positive dental relationship. By involving a pediatric dentist in a child’s life on a regular checkup basis, parents can rest assured their child has the expertise and experience of a trained professional on hand.

Pediatric dentists use a child’s first visit and subsequent bi-annual checkup visits to monitor children’s oral growth and to continuously educate parents on proper oral care and habits for their child. By staying involved, parents and pediatric dentists have a great opportunity to promote the positive aspects of dental care to children. Creating that positive outlook is crucial to maintaining the best possible oral care throughout that child’s lifetime.

Children’s Dental World has a fully trained dental staff on hand to answer any questions parents may have about their child’s first visit and to provide the best possible pediatric dentistry in the Chicago and Morton Grove, Illinois area. Call or email today for more information.

Underneath the exterior of a tooth is a pocket filled with nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue. This is known as the “pulp” of the tooth. When a tooth has a bad cavity, the pulp of the tooth is exposed. This can be very painful, because the sensitive nerves and tissue are vulnerable. If your child is complaining of a toothache, it might be because he has a large cavity. In this case, we’ll need to do a pulpotomy to remove the damaged pulp. A pulpotomy is a fairly common procedure for decayed baby molars.

During a pulpotomy, we first remove damaged tissue, sterilize the area, then replace the pulp with a medicated filling. Sometimes, it is then necessary to place a crown to restore the structure and appearance of the tooth. A pulpotomy is usually very successful in saving a badly decayed baby molar, but if the damage is too deep, the tooth may eventually have to be extracted. It’s important to brush and floss your child’s teeth regularly, bring him in for regular cleanings, and have cavities filled as soon as they arise so that a pulpotomy does not become necessary.

A procedure like a pulpotomy can be scary for a child, but we take every step we can to make sure your child is relaxed, comfortable, and understands what’s happening. We explain in kid-friendly terms how we’re going to repair the tooth, and then we use laughing gas (nitrous oxide) and local anesthesia to make sure your child isn’t experiencing any pain or fear. The procedure takes about thirty minutes, and your child shouldn’t experience any discomfort in the tooth afterward

When preparing your child for a pulpotomy, it’s a good idea to present the experience in positive terms, explaining to them that this procedure will make the toothache go away and make his tooth strong again. If you’re experiencing personal anxiety about taking your child in for a pulpotomy, try to remember that this is a necessary procedure to save the tooth. Children easily pick up on any anxiety their caregivers are experiencing, and we want to try to make sure that this experience doesn’t make your child nervous or uncomfortable about going to the dentist in the future. On the contrary, we want them to understand that going to the dentist is about working together to keep your child’s teeth healthy.