Maintaining good oral health is very important. Proper care for teeth and gums is second nature for most adults but for some reason, kids have a hard time grasping this concept. They’ll do everything they can to get out of having to brush their teeth. However, this is one battle field that you can not die on. You have to win this one, for the good of your child. The rest of his or her life could be affected by the type of oral health that you implement when they are young. Having a beautiful smile requires more than chewing a piece of sugar free gum every now and again. In fact, that doesn’t clean your teeth at all, contrary to popular belief. Here are a few ways that you can help your kids establish good oral health habits.

Find a Good Pediatric Dentist
There are several things that constitute a good kid dentist, but other than talent and experience and credentials, the most important thing is that your child trusts and likes them. If they don’t, there is no amount of convincing that is going to get your kid to like going to the dentist. However, if your child does like his or her dentist, then not only will they enjoy their visits, but they’ll be more willing to listen to their advice and follow it when you go home.

Establish Good Habits at Home
In order to make sure that your kids lead a life of good oral health, you need to make sure that you establish the habits at home as children first. If you can make sure that they get into the habit of brushing and flossing in the morning and at night as well as eating foods that are good for their teeth and staying away from sugary foods, they’ll continue in those ways as they get older.

Be a Good Example
Your children are never going to establish good habits if you aren’t showing them how to do it. You could tell them to do it until you are blue in the face, but unless they see you exhibiting those habits, they won’t be inclined to either. Let your kids see you brushing and flossing every day. Being a good example will help you be able to tell your kids that they must do the same thing.

Make it Taste Good
One of the main reasons that kids don’t like to brush their teeth is because the toothpaste burns and tastes terrible. Find a toothpaste that has the appropriate amount of fluoride for their ages and then look for better tasting toothpaste. If the kids like the flavor of the toothpaste, the only problem you’ll have now is stopping them from trying to brush their teeth all day long and wasting the toothpaste.

Make it Fun and Entertaining
There are plenty of apps on your smart phone that you can download so that your kids can make a game out of brushing and flossing. If your kids are older, you could make it into a competition between them and whoever flosses and brushes and cleans the best will get a prize each morning and night.

Give Rewards for Good Habits
Kids work well with the reward system. Trying to force kids to do things that they don’t want to is difficult. They need incentives. Letting them know that they’ll be able to watch their favorite show, gain a small amount of money or pick out an inexpensive toy at the store if they brush well will inspire them to do a good job. This could get expensive so it’s recommended to use this as a last resort.
Basically, you want to do whatever it takes to make sure that your kids take care of their teeth and maintain good oral health from the time that the first teeth show up. Regular visits to the dentist is necessary as well. He or she will be able to give you more ideas for making sure that your kids keep up with the good habits that they need. This is one of the most important things you can do for your kids. It will stay with them their entire lives.