{"id":392,"date":"2020-02-20T20:40:22","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T20:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/blog\/?p=392"},"modified":"2020-03-13T20:43:38","modified_gmt":"2020-03-13T20:43:38","slug":"family-dentist-waterbury-how-to-instill-good-oral-hygiene-in-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/blog\/2020\/02\/family-dentist-waterbury-how-to-instill-good-oral-hygiene-in-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Encourage Good Oral Hygiene In Your Child With Help From a Family Dentist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Little-boy-brushing-his-teeth--1024x775.jpg\" alt=\"Little boy brushing his teeth at a family dentist visit \" class=\"wp-image-393\" width=\"327\" height=\"247\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Little-boy-brushing-his-teeth--1024x775.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Little-boy-brushing-his-teeth--300x227.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Little-boy-brushing-his-teeth--768x581.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Little-boy-brushing-his-teeth-.jpg 1029w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 327px) 100vw, 327px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re a parent, you know that young children are like sponges that absorb everything around them. And since they\u2019ll never learn quite as much as they do in the early years, it\u2019s the perfect time to instill oral hygiene habits that will stay with them for life. The payoff is well worth the effort and includes fewer toothaches, less dental work, and more self-confidence in childhood and beyond. But where should you start? In addition to regular checkups with a family dentist in Waterbury, good habits at home are also crucial. Keep reading to find out why good oral health begins in childhood and how you can give your kids a great start!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Importance of Good Oral Hygiene In the Early Years<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In every regard, childhood is the foundation for adulthood. And if you ask many adults why flossing is such a struggle, many of them will tell you, \u201cI never did it before, so it was easy to keep neglecting it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So when brushing and flossing are instilled in kids from the very beginning, it\u2019s never a question of whether they should do it as they get older. It\u2019s simply \u201cwhat you do.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to forming good habits, it\u2019s also very important to keep the baby teeth healthy. Some of them won\u2019t fall out until age 12-13, and every child needs a full set of healthy teeth to eat, speak, and smile with confidence. The baby teeth also affect the development of the permanent teeth. If they have cavities or other problems, it can lead to issues with your child\u2019s smile later on.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tips To Establish Good Oral Hygiene From the Beginning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Schedule checkups early on<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 The recommendation for the first&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/general-family-dentistry.html\">checkup<\/a>&nbsp;is around age 1 or soon after the first tooth comes in. These visits are easy for kids and won\u2019t include a cleaning or X-rays until they\u2019re older. But they\u2019re very important to help kids feel comfortable in the dental chair and catch problems when they\u2019re small and easier to treat.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>Model good habits<\/strong>&nbsp;&#8211; Your children want to do everything that you do, including brushing and flossing. When your children are old enough to brush their own teeth, try to do your flossing each night in the bathroom while they brush. In addition to setting a good example, you can also make sure they\u2019re brushing well enough.&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>Minimize sugars and snacking \u2013<\/strong>&nbsp;Snacking throughout the day increases the risk of cavities, so try to keep it to a minimum. It\u2019s also helpful to reduce your child\u2019s consumption of sugar by limiting juice, soda, dried fruit, candy, etc.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As a busy parent, it\u2019s easy to put oral hygiene at the bottom of the priority list. But establishing good habits is well worth the effort and will help your kids have a healthy smile for the rest of their lives.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the Author<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/meet-the-dentists.html\">Dr. Mancini<\/a>&nbsp;is a family dentist in Waterbury and a graduate of Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. She knows that good oral hygiene means less dental work for kids and is always happy to help children and their parents establish good habits. If you\u2019d like to know more about oral hygiene for kids or have any questions, she can be reached via her&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.waterburysmiles.com\/contact-us.html\">website.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re a parent, you know that young children are like sponges that absorb everything around them. And since they\u2019ll never learn quite as much as they do in the early years, it\u2019s the perfect time to instill oral hygiene habits that will stay with them for life. The payoff is well worth the effort [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Encourage Good Oral Hygiene In Your Child With Help From a Family Dentist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Want to help your child\u2019s smile stay healthy? 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