Making Dental Care fun for your children

Loyola from Caring 4 Smiles Dental Group

When dental care is fun for kids, they’re more likely to keep up with good oral hygiene habits. Our team does everything we can to make your child’s visits to our office a positive experience, but you can reinforce proper brushing and flossing habits at home with these tips.

Start by choosing a Child-friendly practice.
Most parents will be surprised to discover that a large number of dental practices do not encourage children in. Often, adults are patients at the same practice for many years and then discover that their children are not welcome - except for a one-off check-up.

This is because to encourage children in, every member of the Practice team must be prepared to nurture the child into compliance. Some practices are not geared to handling children or the nature of their work is purely adult-focused. Children need Preventive Care in a happy environment.

At our practice, we encourage parents to start a Lifelong journey of excellent teeth for themselves and their children, by choosing us. We invite them to visit the practice anytime they please, bring their children in, have a coffee while seated in reception and in doing so, make the dental practice a familiar environment for their children. They do not need to make an appointment to drop in, except to mention to our Practice Manager that you are showing your child around the clinic. Drop in as often as you like.

Start early & learn to care for your child’s Oral health.
When you are expecting your first child, talk to us about your vision for their Oral Health. Parents have to learn gentle ways to introduce Oral health procedures to their children and these begin with Trust. Children will trust their parents to use a moist wash-cloth to wipe the mouth and gums before any teeth appear. This action grows into parents wiping their baby’s teeth with the same cloth and gradually moving into finger brushing.

Allowing a parent to brush is an act of Faith and Trust. Gradually, the child will be introduced to the Child-friendly dental practice and the Fun of great oral health has just begun.

Set a Good Example
Brush and floss your teeth along with your child. When they see that you brush for a full two minutes and floss between all of your teeth, they’re more likely to do it too. Young kids are eager to mimic what their older siblings and parents do, so setting a good example will go a long way to inspiring children to take care of their teeth and gums. It’s also a good idea to brush together so you can keep an eye on what your little ones are doing—many children need gentle reminders to brush thoroughly, and it’s not uncommon for them to require a helping hand from mum or dad to reach the backs of the teeth and molars. The disclosing solution makes this easier.

Fun with the use of a Disclosing solution
Caring 4 Smiles has formulated a “Plaque disclosing solution” to make brushing fun. You place a few drops under their tongue, add a small sip of water and swishing around, will stain dental plaque red. Teach children to brush effectively, so as to remove all the red staining. Be careful not to spill the solution on clothes and carpets.


Learn More About Dentistry for your Child by visiting us.
If you’d like to learn more about how to make dental care fun for kids, contact us today at 09 631 5416 to schedule a consultation appointment with one of our child-friendly Oral Health Therapists or Dentists at Caring 4 Smiles.