Have A Child That Struggles With Brushing Their Teeth? Follow These Tips

Posted on: 13 October 2020

Do you not look forward to the struggle every day when it comes to your child brushing their teeth in the morning or before bed? If so, you're likely wondering what you can do to make the experience better for everyone involved. You do not want to take them to their next cleaning and discover that they have cavities due to not getting their teeth cleaned enough over the past six months. Here are some tips that will help keep your child's teeth clean.

Come Up With A Reward System

Sometimes a child needs some motivation to brush their teeth properly since they do not realize the consequences of not brushing their teeth. Set up a reward system that can help encourage good behavior. There may be a certain type of reward that they want, like a trip to the toy store, or having a special dessert that they don't get to have that often. You can use teeth brushing to help them earn that reward over time.

Ty starting with a simple sticker chart where they earn a sticker for each time they brush their teeth for a full two minutes. Start out with the reward requiring only a few stickers so that they earn it quickly, then increase the number of stickers needed for the next reward. This can help push your child to make brushing their teeth a normal activity, but still engage them with a reward for good behavior.

Find Some Flavored Toothpaste

It's possible that your child is not brushing their teeth because they do not like the flavor of their toothpaste. Try taking them to the store to pick up a fun flavor of toothpaste that will be theirs to use when brushing their teeth. Having a flavor like bubblegum, cotton candy, or watermelon on their toothpaste can make the whole brushing routine something to look forward to rather than something that they dread. 

Use A Tooth Brushing App

It may take some tech in order to motivate your kid to brush their teeth. There are several tooth brushing apps out there that will make the experience much more fun for them since they can do things like unlock photos of superheroes or have fun photos taken of them that they can decorate with virtual stickers. Try some of them out and see what works best for your child.

By following these tips, your child's next cleaning should hopefully be a success with no cavities! For more information about children's dental cleaning, contact a local dentist.

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