Taking care of the teeth is an important aspect of life that you have to start your kids on early. The following are five bad dental habits that your kids may be involved in, and you need to stop them from indulging in them right now.
- Not Brushing After Sweets
Kids love to eat all kinds of candy. If you let them, they will indulge in a variety of sour, sweet, chocolate, or fruity delights. The problem with filling up sweets is that children seldom rinse or brush their teeth after they eat these things. That allows the sugar to run rampant in the children’s mouths. According to Treasured Smiles Dentistry, your children should brush their teeth anytime they have contact with a lot of sweets. Let them know that they can ruin their teeth if they don’t take the time to rinse and brush.
- Thumb Sucking
Thumb sucking is one of the absolute worst habits that a child could have, yet there are a ton of teenagers that still do it. If your child is one of these late-life thumb suckers, do tell that child that he must stop that unless he wants to push his front teeth forward so far that he needs extensive orthodontics to settle it.
- Teeth Grinding
Grinding is another horrible habit that children have. Some children do it because of nervousness, and others do it because of boredom. The point is that grinding can cause your child to chisel down his or her teeth to an unhealthy level. You can find over-the-counter items to help you rid your child of this habit in between dental visits.
- Not Flossing
Failure to use floss is another problem that many children have. It causes a myriad of problems such as bad breath, gingivitis, plaque growth, increased bacteria, and the like. Flossing only takes a minute or so. It’s a habit that you will need to get your child involved in. A minty-flavored floss can help to encourage your child to use the floss if you don’t feel comfortable with anything else.
- Opening Things with Teeth
Finally, some kids like to open things with their teeth. They don’t realize that this is so harmful that it can chip their teeth severely. If you see your child doing this at any time, stop the process immediately.
Those are just a few of the bad dental habits that you can help to stop if your kids are doing them. Start today and try to get them on a straight and narrow path of dental wellness. Give them rewards for stopping if you have trouble dropping the command.
