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To promote good dental habits in your children, you should begin flossing their teeth as soon as the first baby teeth pop up. Then, when they are around two years old, start teaching them how to floss on their own—with supervision, of course. By the age of ten, most children possess the ability to floss properly on their own. According to the family dentists at Katz Family Dentistry in Webster, NY, when your child practices good oral health care habits at an early age, it will help to prevent serious and costly dental conditions as they grow older.

If you are trying to teach your child how to floss on their own, here are a few helpful tips from this family dentist:

  • Keep A Chart: Placing a flossing chart in the bathroom is a great way to remind your kids to floss until it becomes a daily habit. Give them stickers to mark every day that they floss. You might even come up with some type of reward for each time they reach a certain goal, like flossing every day for a month.
  • family-dentist-webster-nyPlay Some Music: To make flossing less dull, play some music your kids move around to while they floss. Just make sure you play something with a relatively slow beat so they don’t get caught up in the rhythm of a fast song and hurt their gums. This will make flossing an enjoyable time for your kids to look forward to.
  • Give Them Special Tools: Traditional flossing requires parents to wrap a long string of floss around their child’s fingers. This can get overly complicated for young children, but fortunately, there is another option. You can buy packs of floss sticks that are great for children to use, and make it more likely they won’t give up on building this important oral hygiene habit.

While visiting the dentist for teeth cleanings is not a problem for many children and adults, more serious procedures are usually dreaded. The family dentist office of Katz Family Dentistry wants to help your children avoid that. Schedule a dental checkup for your child today by calling (585) 671-2340. You can also learn more dental health tips by visiting them online or by following them on Facebook.

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