It’s important to develop good oral health habits in young children, but for some parents, it can be challenging to find ways to make dental hygiene for preschoolers a fun activity instead of a chore.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite ways to help make oral hygiene an enjoyable habit for children (and fun-loving adults!).
- Read a book – There are tons of great books on dental hygiene for preschoolers out there. If your child loves reading or being read to, try adding a few books on proper tooth care to your home library or checking some out from your local public library.
- Make crafts to help them practice brushing and flossing – Developing the fine motor skills needed for good brushing and flossing can be fun with the right activities. We especially like this marshmallow mouth craft from America’s Tooth Fairy, but you can also practice with Legos, egg cartons, and other tooth-shaped items. Apply something like modeling clay to whatever you’re practicing on and encourage your child to try and clean off as much gunk as possible with their chosen oral hygiene tool. You can even allow it to harden to help demonstrate how much more difficult it is to remove plaque and food particles if it’s left sitting on the surface for a long time.
- Allow your child some choice – Being able to choose their own toothbrush or flavor of toothpaste can help a child feel excited about brushing their teeth.
- Learn a fun song – Having a 2-minute song to listen to or hum as they brush can help ensure that your child spends enough time brushing each day. YouTube is a great resource for fun and catchy songs, as well as informational videos designed to help children learn more about good oral hygiene.
At Smile Cove Pediatric Dental, we specialize in children’s dentistry. If you’d like to learn more about dental hygiene for preschoolers or additional oral health activities to try with your children, we encourage you to contact our team.