Increase Oral Hygiene Independence
For many of us, brushing our teeth is one of the first things we do when we get up in the morning. However, for our children, this may not be the case. Many children struggle to maintain oral hygiene, especially without the supervision of their caregivers. Even so, ensuring your children keep up with their oral hygiene is essential. Poor oral hygiene significantly increases the likelihood of gingivitis: a disease that causes gums to become swollen, puffy, tender, recede, and/or bleed easily (Pawlaczyk-Kamieńska et al., 2018). Similarly, according to Zambaldi et al. (2022), children who have had a dental appointment have approximately three times the chance of practicing better oral hygiene than children who have never been to the dentist- so don’t skip those appointments! According to the CDC (2022), most children can begin brushing independently around age 6- without supervision around age 8- but if you struggle getting your child to be independent in their oral hygiene routine, we have some tips to help. We also had the great opportunity to do a LIVE talk with Penz Dental Care where we talked about family-friendly dental care. You can check that out here for even more information.
When modeling how to brush for your child, make sure you explain each part of their mouth that needs to be brushed (i.e. bottom left, bottom right, top left, and top right.) We understand that it may seem challenging to break down the steps of brushing your teeth, as it comes second nature to most of us at this point, but it’s an effective modeling technique that will help your child learn. To break teeth brushing down you need to make things plain and simple, a step-by-step process. It can help to break it down with visuals like the graphic below.
Other ways to help your child begin brushing independently is by using various timers, such as clock timers, visual timers, a vibrating timer, built into their toothbrush, or even your child’s favorite song. When incorporating a timer each part of the mouth (bottom left, bottom right, top left, and top right) should get 30 seconds to 2 minutes to brush in total. Providing your child with some incentives to start may also help, such as a sticker of their favorite TV show character every time they complete their brushing routine. You can also buy a fake toy mouth for you and your child to practice with. As this routine becomes a habit, you can reduce the incentives for your child. Oral habits, attitudes, and behaviors are best established during childhood through visualization, participation, practice, and reinforcement. These behaviors significantly improve when guardians are knowledgeable and involved (Damle et al., 2014; Soltani et al., 2016). That being said, as with all other things, practice makes perfect. Keep trying!
References
Center for Disease Control. (2022). Children’s Oral Health. https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/basics/childrens-oral-health/index.html#print
Damle, S. G., Patil, A., Jain, S., Damle, D., & Chopal, N. (2014). Effectiveness of supervised toothbrushing and oral health education in improving oral hygiene status and practices of urban and rural school children: A comparative study. Journal of International Society of Preventive & Community Dentistry, 4(3), 175–181. https://doi.org/10.4103/2231-0762.142021
Pawlaczyk-Kamieńska, T., Torlińska-Walkowiak, N., & Borysewicz-Lewicka, M. (2018). The relationship between oral hygiene level and gingivitis in children. Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine, 27(10), 1397-1401. https://dbc.wroc.pl/Content/73688/1397.pdf
Soltani, R., Ali Eslami, A., Mahaki, B., Alipoor, M., & Sharifirad, G. (2016). Do maternal oral health-related self-efficacy and knowledge influence oral hygiene behavior of their children? International Journal of Pediatrics, 4(7), 2035-2042. https://www.sid.ir/FileServer/JE/5074020160708.pdf
Zambaldi, M. P. M., Molina, M. D. C. B., Martinelli, K. G., & Santos-Neto, E. T. D. (2022). Children, maternal and socioeconomic characteristics influence oral hygiene habits in schoolchildren. Journal of Human Growth and Development, 32(2), 202-213. http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?pid=S0104-12822022000200004&script=sci_arttext
