Getting Your Child 'Smile Ready' For School

Posted by Crown House Dental on 5th September 2016

Oral health tips in readiness for the new school year.

As the six weeks holidays draw to a close, it's time for the little ones to get ready to start or return to education. They're probably smiling with excitement at their new clothes, pencil case, shoes and bag, and at the prospect of seeing all their friends again.

This is great, but it is also important to keep them excited about their oral health as well, so they can smile with confidence every school year, through to adulthood. Kids are growing their confidence so it's important they have a smile to be proud of too. You might think they have their oral health regime on point, but with peer pressure and the added excitement and distraction of school, they may well quickly become distracted and lose interest in their once beloved morning and nighttime regimes. Here are some tips to help you keep your child 'smile ready' for school:

Always Make It Fun

At our Egham dentist, we make sure all our staff are trained and qualified to make the dentist a fun experience for little ones, after all they are the smiles of tomorrow! It is so important that oral care remains fun both during visits to our TW20 clinic, and at home. There are lots of ways to ensure their oral health regime is fun.

You can introduce a sticker chart and reward extra big effort, brushing for the right amount of time or for extra big smiles during a school performance (anything teeth related!). You could also introduce songs that run for 2 minutes so they brush for the right amount of time, and give them character based toothbrushes to use. You could even make up a morning and nighttime tooth brushing dance.

Set An Example

The more smiley you are and positive about tooth health the better. They will want to be like you and they will want to understand why oral health is important. If you're smiling and keep reinforcing that it's nice to have a 'big beautiful smile' they will remember and feel positive about taking care of their teeth.

Explain Why

Be prepared for lots of challenging questions and issues relating to other kids at school. 'James says he eats lots of chocolate and his teeth are perfect', 'Amy says that eating cheese is bad for me and it will make my teeth fall out' - you will be fighting a battle of 'he said she said' regularly. This is normal, and it is better to expect it and be ready to have these conversations with your child as they will only become more curious as time goes on - that's how they learn.

Lunches

School lunches are an easy way for your child to eat and drink damaging things if you're not careful. Packed lunches are a great way to have control over what they eat if you have the time. Avoid things like crackers, crisps, sweets and fizzy pop and instead try and make healthy packed sandwiches, healthy snacks like fruit and vegetable sticks and healthy proteins like cubes of cheese, natural yogurts and bean dips.

Visits To Your Local Egham Dentist

Visiting our convenient Egham dentist with your child regularly is important because it means we can help get your child excited about their oral health. We can check their oral health is as it should be, offer advice on improving their brushing routine, and deal with any issues early if there are any.

We're excited to help your children have a big beautiful smile for the start of the school year, so if you'd like to make an appointment for your little one, please give us a call on 01784432641 and we will be very happy to arrange that for you.

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