Helping Your Children Learn to Love Flossing

The best pediatric dentist in Long Island can provide checkups, perform dental x-rays, and joke with the kids before a dental procedure. However, it takes the help of parents to really get kids to love flossing their teeth. The average dentist struggles to get patients to floss regularly, so you can imagine how hard it is for a pediatric dentist to instill a love of flossing in patients who would rather watch cartoons or play video games than worry about their teeth. In order to have healthy gums and teeth for years, children need to enjoy caring for their teeth.  

Why Brushing Isn't Enough for Healthy Teeth and Gums

Kids often equate brushing their teeth with doing a good job at taking care of their teeth and gums. They don't realize the importance of flossing in order to get the food and plaque that builds up in between the teeth that a toothbrush doesn't reach. When a child brushes, he or she is getting the plaque buildup off of the surface of the tooth. However, small particles of food get stuck in between the teeth along the gum line. When a child brushes his or her teeth at night, only the particles remaining on the surface of the teeth get washed away. Without flossing, the particles stuck in between the teeth begin to build up and can cause tooth decay, gingivitis, and bad breath.  

Encouraging Children to Floss

The key to instilling a love of flossing is to make it fun. At Pediatric Dentistry of Suffolk County, our doctors and staff know how to help children relax by making dentistry fun. That's why our office was voted the best pediatric dentist in Long Island in 2014. Parents don’t need to be dentists to make dental care fun. Encourage young children by printing out a flossing sticker chart. If the chart shows that they flossed every day of the week, provide a non-monetary reward like a spoonful of extra dessert or extra television time on the weekend.

There are fun, colorful floss sticks available for children who can't yet handle using regular dental floss. These sticks make flossing fun and easy for beginning learners. The earlier you begin teaching your children how and why to floss, the better care they'll take of their teeth as adults.