Why Should Your Child Floss and How Can You Help Them with it?

Do you know why your child needs to floss? Is there a reason they might not want or can’t do it themselves, such as having braces or some other type of dental issue that makes manual cleaning difficult for them? Learn tips to combat these obstacles so all sides of your child’s teeth get cleaned!

Start Good Habits Early

Establish good flossing habits early with your children to encourage the importance and routine of the task while helping your child’s teeth stay free of cavities and tooth decay.

By starting the flossing step of dental hygiene early with your child, you help to prevent gum disease while creating a solid foundation of oral health they can build on.

Gum Disease – The Silent Disease

Gum disease leads to bone loss which can cause teeth to fall out. Gum disease is often painless until it has progressed to a point of real concern. That is why it is so essential to safeguard your child from gum disease with regular dental care and professional cleanings/exams with the team at Li’l Smiles Dentistry.

Tools for Flossing

To floss effectively, you need the proper tools. Floss comes in both waxed and unwaxed forms; flavored and unflavored forms. Try out the different options with your family to see which works best for each.

Some children who are under orthodontic care can benefit from a Waterpik. Waterpiks work to remove food debris and bacteria from between the teeth with the power of water. This method can be an effective treatment strategy for children who struggle with using a floss threader to floss teeth.

Steps to Help Your Child Floss HIs Teeth

Children need help flossing teeth. Parents, here are some tips to help you help your child master flossing!

• Stand behind your child and start by flossing from left to right, over top of the tooth, and between.
• Wrap floss around each tooth once or twice. If your child can do this on his own, that is fine. Just supervise.
• Hold the floss taut while gently sliding floss down along the side each tooth and up between each tooth with an up and down motion.
• Floss all of their upper teeth using steps 1 through 3 above, then move on to the lower teeth using the same steps.

Flossing before your child brushes his teeth will ensure that all disengaged food particles are removed from the mouth when the teeth cleaning process is over.

Other Flossing Tips

It is important to remember to floss gently. If you floss to hard you can damage the gum tissue and lead to bleeding and discomfort.

Flossing works best when you do it at least once a day. Some children can use floss sticks or floss picks more easily than floss string so this might be a good tool to introduce as well.

The Benefits of Flossing are Far-Reaching

Your child’s teeth may look healthy but if you are skipping flossing, they aren’t healthy enough!  Flossing daily is an essential part of dental health and provides the following essential benefits:

• Improves gum health by removing bacteria and food particles from between the teeth, resulting in a cleaner mouth.
• Prevents tartar build-up which can lead to plaque accumulation and gum disease.
• Improve your breath.
• Improves your overall health.

Helping your children to  develop good flossing habits  is a skill that they will use their entire lives! Encourage your entire household to floss daily for better dental health and combat gum disease together.

Let’s work together to safeguard your children’s dental healthy and to keep teeth happy! Call Li’l Sunshine Smiles at 813-576-0200 today to schedule a dental exam today!