Tips for encouraging children to brush their teeth

Question(s) of the day: 

Has your child had their first dental appointment, yet?
Do tell in the comments below. How'd it go? 

Celebrating National Children's Dental Health Month at Home

Practicing good oral hygiene is important for both you and your child. Start with soft-bristled toothbrushes for everyone in your family; no one needs to press hard to clean their teeth. Encourage children to brush their teeth at least twice each day. Be sure your child is properly cleaning their teeth before you leave the task up to them. It's very important to clean around the gum line as well as the front and back of all teeth. Remind children to floss and rinse out their mouth.

I'll give you three of my personal good motivators for this task.

1. Play a 2-minute song and have your child brush their teeth until the song stops (this also works on myself, as well. Thank you smartphone).
2. Use a timer on the counter and set it to two minutes. A sand-filled timer is awesome for this purpose and a great DIY project, as well. I love sand-filled timers because they don't make any noise and watching the sand run out of the top is kind of relaxing--relaxed children, that sounds lovely.
3. Make up a silly song to sing to your young child as they brush their teeth. 

We sing "Up, down. Around and around. Front and back." I made this up when my baby was just 1-2 years old; it's easy for him to remember and it describes what he should be doing. :)

If your child has a chore chart or daily schedule chart etc, you could add this to the list OR you could make a special "oral hygiene" chart--with stickers--just for your little one to keep in the bathroom. There are a lot of great oral hygiene books you can read together and even apps and games that you can play together.

I have a giveaway going on for OraMd natural mouthwash over here.