1. Begin by getting your hands clean with an antibacterial soap. If you haven’t flossed in a while, you may experience some bleeding, and you don’t want germs from your hands to infect your gums.

2. You will want to use about a foot and a half of floss (a guess is just fine – no need for a tape measure in the bathroom). Wind most of the floss around your two middle fingers. You only need about two inches to actually run between your teeth. The extra floss gives you stability and

allows you to change to a new section of the floss periodically rather than just transferring bacteria from one place to another with the same little piece of floss.

3. Use your thumbs and index fingers to hold the floss (aren’t you glad you wrapped it around your middle fingers?), and gently guide it between your teeth by gliding it back-and-forth.

4. Don’t use the floss like a saw. Rather, curve it into a c-shape and glide it gently up and down the side of each tooth.

5. Extract the floss from between teeth with the same gentle motion you used to guide it in. Note: Close teeth may make it tempting to push the floss in between your teeth or pull it out sharply, but that’s just a good way to cut your gums, so stick to gliding it back-and-forth.

6. Be sure to get below the gumline when sliding the floss up and down.

7. As you move from tooth to tooth, use clean sections of floss.

8. If you floss first, brush your teeth well afterward. If you brush first, you may want to use a mouth rinse afterward to make sure all of the bacteria your just loosened is removed from your mouth.

9. If you choose to use a floss pick, just be sure not to transfer bacteria. Floss picks have been proven to be effective at cleaning teeth. The main concern, especially if you are just beginning to floss, is taking bacteria from all over your mouth and accidentally pushing it into a cut in the gums. You can always use several floss picks during your flossing session. Just switch to a new one as they get dirty.

The post 9 Tips for More Effective Flossing appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

Repetition
It usually takes at least 30 days for something to become a habit. In order to make brushing a habit, place a chart on the wall in the child’s bedroom. Make it colorful and fun so that your children will want to look at it instead of thinking it’s something like a chore chart. The chart should have the days of one month so that you or your kids can mark off each day. Use stickers or colored markers to check off the days that the kids brush their teeth. This is the beginning to good dental health for children. As the days go by, your kids will see that it is easy to take a few minutes each day to brush their teeth. If the chart is filled at the end of the month, then consider giving a small reward.

Rewards For Brushing
Although it might sound like bribing your kids to brush their teeth, you can offer small rewards. These shouldn’t be sweet treats like candies or cakes. Get a plastic box and put items like stickers, pencils and small toys in it so that your kids can choose something they like. Another way to offer a reward for brushing teeth is to let them spend the night with a friend or choose a game to play with the family. You can also offer stickers or cards that the kids can collect each time they brush their teeth. This is a good idea for younger children who like to think they are saving something spectacular such as a sports card.

Brush With Your Kids
You need to brush your teeth as well, so why not make brushing a family event. This is not only a way to get everyone’s teeth brushed at the same time, but if you don’t spend a lot of time together because of work and school, then it’s a good way to have everyone in the same area. You can talk while brushing and catch up on the day’s events. This might lead to more family time, so the next time your kids are brushing, why not join them?

Make It Personal
Let your kids choose their own toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash. If they get to decide what they are brushing their teeth with, then they are more likely to brush. There are toothbrushes with fun characters on them as well as kits so that kids can design their own brush.

Helping to develop good oral habits for children early on can lead to healthy teeth, gums and smiles for years to come. While never easy to instill new habits, especially healthy ones, with children, I encourage you to find the right approach and hope these recommendations lend you a hand.

The post Tips for Building Good Dental Habits for Kids appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.