Pearls of Wisdom from our Hygiene Team

Now that the summer is here and the kids are all enjoying the break from school, it is important that we don’t let all of our good habits go out the window. Our children are often our priorities and therefore helping them maintain a healthy smile should be too.

Here are some simple tips to help you over the summer months;

2 For 2
We should encourage children to be brushing twice a day for 2 minutes. You can make this more fun by using a timer or even have a song playing in the background so they know they need to brush till the end of the song.

Encourage healthy snacking.
Cheese, nuts and crunchy veg with unsweetened dips are healthy alternatives to sugary snacks. If sugary snacks are been given as a treat do limit these. It is not only the amount of sugar in food or drink that causes the damage to children’s teeth but more the frequency that causes dental problems. Regular nibbles and sips of sugary items causes most damage, sitting and enjoying one great treat like an ice-cream on a hot day is far less damaging.

Stay Hydrated
It is very important on these warm ( not so sunny days) to keep kids well hydrated. Water and milk are definitely the most tooth friendly drinks. Juices should be limited to once a day with a meal. They are often made with water a little juice and a lot of sugar and acid. Although they may taste nice, juice is not nice to teeth and excessive amounts of juice will lead to decay or acid erosion of delicate enamel.

Plaque Disclosing Tablets
Hopefully the madness of racing around with school drop offs, pick ups, matches and extra activities has calmed down resulting in a little extra time. If you feel you have a few extra minutes in the evening why not try out some plaque disclosing tablets with your kids. These little tablets colour the plaque blue and we need to brush until all the blue is gone. This is a great way to get kids to take time while brushing and also teaches children to see where the plaque builds up in their mouths that they usually cannot see.

Visit Our Dentists or Hygienists
Lastly but by no means least don’t forget to book your loved ones in for a check visit with the dentist, and if they have plaque problems or difficulty with brushing it is never too early to see us- the hygienists! When we can help children early on they grow with great habits and healthy mouths, which is always far better than trying to fix problems after they arise.

It is a great idea to get little ones in early for a dentist check visit so that they have a fun positive experience and we can give lots of preventative advice to keep everything healthy as they grow.

Enjoy the summer!