Are you looking for an easy plan to develop a healthy dental habit routine for your child?
Follow these simple tips to get your child on track with a healthy dental hygiene routine!
Getting your child to brush their teeth does not have to be a chore or a struggle. Follow these tips to create a routine and a schedule that works for all!
How I got into dental hygiene
So, back in 2005, I took a break from teaching. I had been teaching for about 5 years, and felt a tad bit burnt out. I decided to go back to school, only this time, I went a completely different path; I went to school to become a Dental Assist. I learned quite a bit, and enjoyed my new found career.
Later that year, I was recommended and hired for a position as a Dental Assistant in a Pediatric Dental Office. I had lucked out! I had the best of both worlds; I could still interact with children, and use my new found skills as a Dental Assistant at the same time. I enjoyed working as a Dental Assistant, but I was never as happy as I was when I had worked in a classroom. So, long story short; I went back to teaching after about a year and a half.
Children’s Dental Health
When I was a classroom teacher, every February, during National Children’s Dental Health Month, I would do a two week unit study on dental awareness, dental procedures, proper brushing techniques, and other oral hygiene topics. I would teach them all about their baby teeth; which are lettered from A to T and their adult teeth; which are numbered 1 to 32 (if you have your wisdom teeth). The most important aspects of the dental awareness theme also revolved around proper brushing techniques, how often to brush, flossing, and using mouth rinse.
It’s never too early to start introducing your child to good oral hygiene habits. There is no better time than the present for families to develop a oral hygiene routine and schedule. I know, it’s a pain to have to come up with another routine and schedule with your already busy life. Well you are in luck! I will share my oral hygiene routine and schedule that I have developed just for busy families! It’s the least I can do to make this process a little easier!
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How this relates to Montessori
Introducing your child to caring for their teeth, coincides with Montessori practices and principles. Care of self is a major part of Montessori Practical Life exercises, and was a huge part in the early Montessori schools back in Italy. Maria Montessori introduced many care of self activities to the underprivileged children in her care, and those initial activities were how Practical Life was formed and started. Practical Life exercises provide opportunities to focus on first caring of self, and also caring for the environment and others.
6 tips to develop healthy oral hygiene habits
1. Limit the amount of sugar your child eats.
I know, what child doesn’t love candy…or cupcakes…or cake…or ice cream? I do, and I’m an adult! It is easy to let your child eat sugary snacks, but in the long run, it is not healthy for their primary (baby) teeth or their permanent (adult) teeth. As you know, sugar that sits on the teeth can cause decay, which leads to cavities; or as I call them SUGAR BUGS!!!
2. Have your child drink lots of water.
Water is important not just to your child’s oral health, but is important to the overall health of their entire body. When your child is thirsty, try to encourage drinking water as often as possible over sugary beverages such as juice and soda.
3. Use toothpaste that has fluoride in it.
Fluoride is a mineral that can help reduce tooth decay. It helps to harden the enamel on baby and adult teeth. A pea sized amount of toothpaste containing fluoride should be used for children three years and younger. Using a mouth rinse that contains fluoride is also an added benefit.
4. Model proper brushing techniques.
A good motto to adhere to is 2 minutes, 2 times a day. The ideal brushing technique is to brush the molars (back teeth) on the tops of the teeth (the chewing surface) and make sure to get the inside and outside of them as well. For the front teeth, brushing in circles insures that you are brushing to the gum lines.
5. See a Dentist on a regular basis.
It is beneficial to see a Dentist twice a year to get regular cleanings, x-rays, and a check-up. A Dentist may recommend more frequent visits if a child displays a tendency to build up plaque or is subject to tooth decay.
6. Set up a routine and schedule and try to follow it as closely as possible.
Having a routine and schedule for oral hygiene is the best way to ensure healthy habits. Make brushing your teeth a family affair. Add some fun to it by using a small, sand timer as well!
When it comes to flossing, ideally you want to floss your child’s teeth everyday; but that just is not realistic. So I would suggest a few times a week, so that you’re setting realistic, attainable flossing goals.
Click below for your Oral Hygiene Routine and Schedule.
Man yourself with the proper tools:
- Toothpaste with flouride
- Dental floss
- Mouth rinse/mouth wash
- a great toothbrush
Choosing a toothbrush
The toothbrush is the most important tool in ensuring a good cleaning between visits to a Dentist. I recommend and have recently used a great toothbrush from Mouthwatchers. Mouthwatchers is a toothbrush company that has a line of manual and power toothbrushes. They are very reasonably priced, have brushes for everyone in the family, and have an option of purchasing single or yearly toothbrushes.
I have a youth and an adult manual toothbrush. The soft bristles are gentle on my gums, and there are two sets of bristles for an even better brush. I used the youth toothbrush to reach my wisdom teeth and molars in the back, and it left them feeling clean like I had just left the Dentist! I used the adult toothbrush for all of my other teeth; my incisors and canines. Overall, both toothbrushes left my teeth feeling extra clean, and I will definitely be investing in more Mouthwatchers in the future!
What to take from this
Combining the above tips with a good, quality toothbrush, a daily routine and an easy to follow schedule, will put your child on the right path to developing healthy oral hygiene habits early on. It may be beneficial for parents of young children to assist them with the brushing, as it may be difficult for children to brush their teeth by themselves.
Have you developed a healthy dental routine for your child yet? Share your experiences in the comments!
Happy brushing!
Anitra J.
This is awesome! Such great tips…and I love that you included a daily schedule!
Definitely trying to teach my 2 year old good dental habits already. My 10 year old son likes to battle me on brushing his teeth in the morning and at night. But I agree this is super important! Great tips!
Such great advice for parents with small children!
This is such great information! I have to battle with my 2 year old to get her to brush and this article came at the perfect time.
I totally agree that modeling a good behavior for your child is important, be it brushing your teeth, eating veggies, and apologizing to name a few!
Nice schedule! Oral health is important for children. Thanks for the tips.
I am so proud of the mom’s in my grandchildren’s lives. They are all great brushers and do the things you have listed out. Thanks for sharing.
Creating a healthy dental routine is so important.
Having healthy teeth is so important. These are such great tips and the little tooth timer on amazon is such a cute find.
Great schedule! I need one for myself too! I always forget to floss! lol.
These are great tips. It’s still a fight at 7 years old to get my kids to brush their teeth!
Great tips! And some I didn’t even think of. My boys have had their regular dentist visits since they were toddlers. It has definitely helped, not make them afraid!
Such great tips! We see a dentist regularly and also have a routine down but loved see things I didn’t know/think of mentioned.
Dental hygiene is so important to begin early with kids!
Great idea to make it a routine. We used to be so sporadic with cleaning our kids’ teeth but now that it’s a permanent fixture of our night time routine it is usually done without too much fuss. We’re still working on their teeth getting regularly brushed in the morning.
[…] Chronicles of a Momtessorian explains how creating a routine can help with brushing your child’s teeth. […]
Thanks for sharing! Nice tips. My tot uses an electric toothbrush now. He’s getting better at brushing his molars. At first, he was just doing the incisors. To him, the taste of his fluoride toothpaste matters a lot.
I loved reading this post on dental hygiene for young children. It’s great how you incorporate Montessori with this! I talk to my daughter about how important it is to take care of our teeth so we don’t get boo-boos on our teeth. We have our next dentist appointment next month, so this post is perfect timing!
This was very helpful! Im starting a solid brush routine for my son who is one. the schedule will be helpful
Yes these are such important factors in keeping healthy dental routines.
Kids should be taught about dental hygiene from a very young age .Nice tips.
I enjoyed reading this post on dental hygiene for young children.
I had a tooth extracted last year, and truthfully, I know I contributed in a major way to the “breakdown” of that tooth.
It wasn’t a funny experience leading up to when that tooth was removed and now I take mine and my kis’ dental health a lot more seriously.
These tips are so gonna be added to those I already practice.
Dental health affects ones overall health so this very important to start at a young age.
These are really helpful tips to develop healthy habits! Sharing this to my sister for her toddlers!