Guest post by Dr. Ellie Pak Mehr, Dentist, at Pacific Smiles Dental, Bondi Junction.
It’s so important to stay on top of your child’s oral health as healthy baby teeth pave the way for strong adult teeth. If you teach your children about dental hygiene, they will develop good habits that will last a lifetime. Below are some helpful hacks for promoting safe oral health and getting little kids to care for their teeth.
Healthy Eating
Teeth cavities are caused by foods with high sugar content. As a result, you can help your kids reduce the risk of tooth decay by reducing their total intake of sugary foods. Whilst sometimes easier said than done, try replacing high sugar snacks with t with foods that support dental care such as yoghurt and cheeses, carrots, apples, and nuts.
Healthy Drinking
Children should drink plenty of plain tap water and limit their consumption of drinks with high sugar content, such as soft drinks, sports drinks, cordials and fruit juices.
Brush Twice a Day
Kids should clean their teeth at least twice a day with a gentle but thorough brushing action, ideally using a soft brush with a small head and fluoride toothpaste. Teaching kids the correct brushing technique will reduce plaque build-up and tooth decay, helping them to maintain healthy gums and teeth. You will need to provide your kids with assistance to brush correctly up until age eight, before that age most children lack the ability to brush correctly. For toddlers and younger children, try getting them in the routine by brushing your teeth together, or singing songs as you brush.
Floss Daily
Children should floss between their teeth every day to remove food and plaque from the spaces where their toothbrush may not be able to reach and clean. Adult supervision is highly recommended to ensure kids adopt a daily flossing routine.
Visit Your Dentist Regularly
It is recommended that from age three, children visit the dentist every six months for a thorough check-up. Regular check ups from an early age reinforce good dental care and reduce the need for future fillings.
Establishing Good Oral Health Habits
It can be hard to keep children motivated about maintaining a healthy smile. To encourage your children to maintain a healthy routine, make sure to set a good example with your own oral hygiene habits. Brushing and flossing at the same time as your kids will expose them to the correct techniques and mean they are less likely to rush the process.
You should help your children brush their teeth up until age eight. Try letting them brush first, and finish more difficult areas yourself. This will ensure your child’s teeth and mouth have been properly cared for.
Finally, make sure you are scheduling a dental appointment as early as possible. Use early dental visits to track your child’s growth and development, as well as allow your child to develop a healthy association with visiting the dentist. Regular check-ups with a dentist are a great way to help the dental health of your children long-term.
ABOUT DR. ELLIE PAK MEHR:
Dr Ellie Pak Mehr has been working with Pacific Smiles for over ten years and is a dedicated and gentle dentist for both adults and children.
Ellie enjoys keeping up to date with regular continuing education courses. She also loves talking to her patients and getting to know them.
Her greatest joy in being a dentist is watching her patients walk out with a big smile on their face, after coming in with pain and hiding their smiles.
In her spare time, Ellie loves playing the piano, practising yoga, learning languages and travelling the globe!
ABOUT PACIFIC SMILES GROUP: Pacific Smiles is Australia’s fastest growing dental group, currently operating over 100 dental centres. Pacific Smiles provides dentists with fully serviced and equipped facilities including support staff, materials, marketing and administrative services.
Over 500 dentists, assisted by more than 1200 support staff, attend to approximately 770,000 patient appointments at Pacific Smiles centres each year.
Pacific Smiles’ mission is to combine professional ethics and patient care with efficient and effective operating systems and structures to deliver a superior level of service to dentists and patients. The Pacific Smiles service model distinguishes the provision of dentistry from the supporting infrastructure and services, enabling dentists to maximise time treating patients.
The Company’s growth model is focused on organic new centre rollout rather than acquisitions. This allows Pacific Smiles to steadily and strategically expand its geographic footprint and provide the benefits of the Pacific Smiles service model to an increasing number of Australia’s dentists and patients.
