Dental care for children

It's never too early to take care of your offspring's oral health. In fact, oral hygiene starts even before the first little tooth. After breastfeeding, the baby's gums can be wiped with a soft cloth or baby toothbrush using only water without toothpaste.

As soon as a little tooth is visible, it should be brushed, from the first birthday also with toothpaste. Whether you use toothpaste with or without fluoride is best discussed with your pediatrician, because opinions on this vary widely.

From the second year of life, your child can happily pick up the toothbrush himself. However, you should always brush again at this age to make sure that all teeth are really clean.

Today's knowledge about dental care is enormous and offers the best prerequisites for ensuring that your children retain a radiant smile with well-groomed teeth well into old age. So much for the theory, but unfortunately the practice often looks different. Although regular dental care is incredibly important, the dear little ones don't necessarily shout hurrah when it comes to brushing their teeth. Instead, they press their lips together to make it impossible for the toothbrush to penetrate.

Dental care for children: Tips and tricks

To help parents avoid failing their toothbrushing-averse children, here are a few tips for stress-free dental care for your kids:

Many children and teenagers love technical gadgets. That's why they are often more motivated to brush with an electric toothbrush instead of a traditional manual toothbrush. There is a whole range of electric toothbrushes that are also suitable for small children's hands. Find out what the market has to offer and involve your child in the purchase decision. If the young man or woman likes his or her toothbrush, it may be interesting enough for regular use.

Music can also create a good mood in the bathroom. Dr. BEST and Odol-med3, for example, offer motivating dental care music videos for different age groups. The funny rhymes and catchy melodies put you in a good mood and help turn dental care, which is a chore for many children, into a nice ritual. Of course, you can also play another song that your child likes. At best, pick one that goes for two minutes - for optimal brushing time.

Develop an individualized reward system. Hang a calendar in the bathroom for this purpose. If your child brushes his teeth as desired, he gets a sticker, for example a gold star or a smiley face. If, at the end of the month, the days with stickers predominate, your child will receive a reward. Be creative in this regard, the reward should be something that your child finds really great. Then the motivation is great to do thorough dental care to get stickers.

Your dentist: your ally in dental care.

Don't think of biannual appointments with the dentist as a chore. Rather, the dentist is an ally in optimizing your child's dental care. There are now dentists who have attended continuing education courses to specialize in children's dental problems. Do some research on the Internet to see if there may be one practicing near you. If not, seek out a dentist who is child-friendly. The waiting room often gives a good indication of the level of interest in young patients. Before your child's first appointment, you could also take him or her to a follow-up appointment of yours and observe how the dentist communicates with your child.