4 Ways to Make
Tooth Care Fun for Your Kids

Tired of the resentment and resistance when you try to get your children to take care of their teeth?

Bored with explaining the importance of proper dental care to children who don’t care?

Don’t worry; EK Dental Surgery has some tips to bring playfulness and joy to oral hygiene.

Turn oral hygiene into a family activity

Parents are often looking for activities that involve the whole family, and children usually love family events.

So why not make oral hygiene practices into a family affair. Your children look to you as a role model in most things, and oral hygiene should be no different.

If you turn brushing and flossing into an activity that the family does as a group, it will seem like more of an event instead of a chore they have to do every day.

This allows you to supervise their brushing and flossing habits to ensure your child is brushing, and it also ensures that you schedule your own dental hygiene every day!

Make oral hygiene musical

The sound of music while brushing and flossing can be calming and intriguing for children.

Even better, songs can also function as timers, so both you and your child know that they have brushed for long enough.

If you’d like to combine two exciting things, you can give your child a musical toothbrush, to make brushing even more fun.

Your child can press play, start brushing when the music begins and finish when the music stops.

For a personal touch, you can sing one of their favourite songs to keep them brushing and make it a little more fun if, perhaps, a little less on-key!

Turn the work of brushing and flossing into play

Kids love to play, so if you’re having a hard time getting your kids to brush or floss, turn oral hygiene into a game.

Create a superhero game, with cape and superpowers, in which your child fights off the villainous cavity-monsters by brushing and flossing.

If you have more than one child and they aren’t cleaning long enough or well enough, consider turning teeth-cleaning into a contest about who can brush the longest or best.

Use stories or fun characters to inspire your child to brush.

Experiment

If your child doesn’t like cleaning their teeth, experiment with small changes to make things more fun:

• Experiment with toothpaste. Children can be surprisingly picky about flavours. For instance, while many adults love the fresh taste of mint, many children find it too ‘hot’ or ‘spicy’. So, give your child toothpaste options until they find the one they like.
• Experiment with toothbrushes. The same as above, there are toothbrushes with all kinds of shape, colours, and themes, and if your child finds one they like, it increases the chances they will use it.
• Experiment with temperature. This is surprisingly simple – increase the temperature of the water used to brush – many children don’t like the feeling of cold water on their teeth.
• Try electric. Changing to an electric toothbrush can be miraculous. Some children love the vibrating and calming effects they offer, and the toothbrush does the work quickly and efficiently.
• Make the bathroom more fun – Tell your children stories, play their music, indulge their imaginations, and let them control their brushing and flossing (as long as you get a chance to ‘clean up’ afterwards!). Try to get them to think about oral hygiene as a fun, family activity, not a tedious daily requirement.

Child Dental Benefits Schedule

There is one last important thing you need to do to set your child up with great dental habits – get them used to visiting their dental friends at EK Dental Surgery.

After all, regular dental visits are closely tied to how healthy teeth and smiles are.

One way to make these visits easier is to use the Child Dental Benefits Program if your child is eligible.

The good news is that the Child Dental Benefits Schedule has been, with minor changes, extended into 2019 to help safeguard the oral health and well-being of our children.

The CDBS is a government-funded program providing approximately 3 million Australian children (aged 2 – 17) with up to $1,000 for basic dental services over a consecutive two-year period.

EK Dental Surgery supports all patients who are eligible for dental care under the CDBS. If you have any questions about the CDBS, please contact us on (03) 9887 8787!

More about Child Dental Benefits Schedule at EK Dental Surgery

Reasons to Smile at EK Dental Surgery!

EK Dental Surgery has a broad range of preventative, restorative, and aesthetic dental treatments and procedures for patients of all ages and conditions!

We are dedicated Glen Waverley dentists and staff who give you the best care possible. At EK Dental, we help you reach optimal dental health and a stunning smile!

EK Dental Surgery is conveniently located on Springvale Road in Glen Waverley.

Child Dental Benefit Schedule

Bulk bill for Commonwealth Child Dental Benefit Scheme for up to $1,000.

Call us on (03) 9887 8787 or make an appointment online.

We are located at 230 Springvale Road in Glen Waverley.