Having good oral hygiene can save you from very long and bothersome dental treatments in the future. Just brushing your teeth daily can prevent cavities and gum disease, thus avoiding treatment related to them. For an adult, it’s quite easy to try and brush their teeth daily, but for a child, the task can be a cumbersome one, and without proper motivation, they could try just to avoid it completely. To avoid that, here are some ideas on how to encourage your kids to maintain good oral health.

Apps and Resources That Help With Kids’ Dental Health

Something we’ve noticed at Kids Healthy Teeth these days is how prevalent technology has become in our practice in Katy and daily lives in general! Smartphones, tablets, and computers have become so intuitive that even kids can use them recreationally. As pediatric dental specialists, we’re excited to see how we can use the apps on these devices to help our patients. Below we have compiled a list of fun, family-friendly dental apps that can help you and your family stay on top of your oral hygiene game! 

Tiny Dentist

Rather than telling your kids why the pediatric dentist is important, show them! Tiny Dentist is a cool app that you can download on both AppStore and Google Play. Here kids learn about basic oral care and get to practice common dental procedures by playing with cute, relatable characters.

Players get to choose different operations to perform on patients, like removing cavities, brushing teeth, and whitening teeth! It’s a great way to both encourage oral care and familiarize them with different dental treatments. That way, it’ll make your child’s first appointment with the dentist much less scary.

Brush DJ

The whole family can join in on the fun of Brush DJ. It can be hard to estimate exactly how long 2 minutes when you’re brushing, so Brush DJ will do it for you! The app will choose two minutes of music from your device’s music library or your Spotify account and set a timer while you brush. It also encourages you to be more thorough in your twice-daily routine! Letting kids hear their favorite tunes while they clean their teeth will keep them more engaged in the routine while making it feel less cumbersome.

Not only does this make brushing more fun, but it provides tutorial videos on how to use different dental tools that help maintain your teeth clean while wearing orthodontics. It also offers useful information regarding how to brush properly and what tools are best for the job. Additionally, the app allows you and your child to set reminders to brush, floss, mouthwash, change your toothbrush, go to the dentist, and more.

Chompers

Chompers is a podcast that tells kid-friendly two-minute stories so kids have something to look forward to every time they brush their teeth. This will motivate your kids to keep up their good dental habits even on days when they’re super tired or busy. Gimlet media produces Chompers, but you can play it on most music/podcast apps like Spotify and iTunes, and you can even find some episodes on YouTube.

Disney Magic Timer by Oral-B

Disney Magic Timer by Oral-B is a timer app that is excellent for getting kids to brush! They must have any Crest or Oral-B Pro-Health Stages product. The app can then scan these products to use them. The app does contain in-app purchases, so be cautious when your children are on the app. 

The app contains a brushing calendar so your children can track their brushing progress. The app also lets your kids customize their experience by creating their brusher profile. As they continue to brush over time, they can collect digital stickers to place in their digital albums! The app, of course, contains a fun Disney timer so your children know how long they need to brush. It also contains fun characters like Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Ariel, Belle, Thor, Hulk, Captain America, Lightning McQueen, Mickey, and more!

How to Help Your Kids Brush Their Teeth?

It’s completely normal for some kids to be more apprehensive about brushing their teeth properly than others, so don’t worry too much if your kid doesn’t get the gist of it just yet. Here are some tips that can help your child be more comprehensive and consistent with their oral hygiene.

Stick to a Routine

Creating a habit of brushing will go a long way in helping your child avoid cavities and infections. Make sure they are brushing at least twice a day every day, even on vacations. Once they start brushing under any circumstance, it becomes very difficult to miss a day.

Lead by Example

Children are very prone to copying what they see. If they see you brushing your teeth multiple times a day, every day, they will eventually try to do it as well. To make this process even faster, you can try brushing with them every time you do it. This way, they will not only follow your lead on how to brush properly, but you will end up building a daily routine with them.

Find Help from a Pediatric Dentist in Katy, TX

To book an appointment with our pediatric dentist in Katy, feel free to give us a call! We’re always happy to help in any way we can.