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Brushing Up With The Panama Dental Center |
You child’s first step, word, or day of school - milestones we all treasure and remember. Oral hygiene instruction and teaching your kids to brush and floss their teeth, is another amusing, certainly adorable, and almost always challenging marker of childhood. When you teach a child something new at a young age, he will learn the task and
continue it well into adulthood. Brushing and flossing has never been more important. Bring your child to the Panama Dental Center, when they first begin teething and we’ll set up their needed dental appointments every six months or once yearly.
When it comes to brushing and flossing for kids, both tasks require good control of the tooth brush and floss, something most kids do not develop until around age six. It is important for an adult to brush a child's teeth twice a day to ensure the removal of plaque to prevent tooth decay. Until the age of six children should be supervised while brushing. Brushing should last for at least two minutes. But in the case of children, it will generally require a bit more time and
patience for the person helping the child.
Flossing a child's teeth is often easy because they have fairly large spaces between them. Children with tight tooth spaces will require daily flossing to prevent tartar build up and decay between the teeth. Consider using a flossing aide, they are easily used between the teeth, cleaning gently and effectively, and allow the child to attempt to floss on their own. Here are a few important guidelines and some instructional pointers from the dentists of the Panama Dental Center:
•Start by using a soft bristled toothbrush with a pea sized amount of toothpaste. Choose a toothpaste that is appropriate for the age of the child.
•Avoid using toothpaste that contains fluoride until the child is able to consciously avoid swallowing it to prevent gastric problems.
•Hold the brush at a 45-degree angle with the bristles pointed in the direction of the gum line.
•Gently brush the teeth with a circular motion. Brush the outside surface , inside surface , and biting surface of the teeth.
•Brush your teeth together, taking turns brushing each others teeth.
•Use one of the familiar cartoon character brushes.
•Sing the theme song from your child's favorite cartoon or a nursery rhyme, while you brush his/her teeth.
•Use toothpaste and mouth rinse that have pleasant flavors for sensitive taste buds.
•Use sound bites, little prompting noises, to help your child keep his/her mouth open or move their lips away their teeth while brushing.
If you like more tips, just call us at the Panama Dental Center and we’ll happily provide them and other any guidance you may need. We can also set up your child’s first comprehensive dental exam to inspect their gums, teeth and bone configuration . So call us today at 236-0340, 393-1205 or 315-0998 and let us help.
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