Good dental habits build healthy smiles: for Moms and Kids

Like building a fit body, creating a beautiful, healthy smile requires good dental habits and dedicated practice. Routines matter.

So, how can you build good dental habits that prevent decay and disease and promote a gorgeous, vibrant smile…even through pregnancy and beyond, and with your child, too? For Parents and Kids, routines make the difference!

Dental care habits before, during and after pregnancy

Myths abound about pregnancy. This incredible time is often unnecessarily treated with kid gloves, sometimes leading to unintended consequences. The hormonal flux and symptoms that occur during pregnancy ¹  increase the risk of oral health conditions, including inflamed gums (gingivitis) and tooth decay. Yet, some pregnant women receive less dental care.

Then, when baby is born, busyness can lead to reduced dental hygiene.

So, building good dental care habits before pregnancy is important. These will help support a healthy pregnancy, Mom’s wellbeing, and life after gestation.

Tongue scraping, flossing, and brushing form the basic routine. These, then, can be taught to your child when the time is right.

Model healthy habits for your child

As your child grows, they learn by your example. As they watch you, they will copy your behavior. This is a great way to effortlessly teach. Be sure you model healthy habits!

Set good hygiene habits for your child

Why is it so important to start habits early? Because the habits your child learns early in their little lives will protect them in the short-term and be carried on as they grow into adults. These habits include….

Tongue scraping

Once your child reaches approximately five years of age, teach them to tongue scrape. This removes bacteria from the large expanse of the tongue. Perform this step first, both morning and night. Our Stainless Steel Tongue Cleaner is our #1 selling choice. As children can be a little rough with items, this steel option is ideal.

Flossing

Gentle but firm flossing removes build up and gunk from in between the teeth. That means when two teeth touch, it’s time to add this practice to your child’s dental care routine.

Unfortunately, many flosses are heavily coated with petrochemical wax or made of a PTFE material (which may have toxic components). As they slip over the tooth, they glide past harmful bugs too. That’s one reason why our lightly-waxed Smart Floss® (vegetable/bees wax blend) has been shown to remove up to 55% more plaque than regular flosses.

Ionic Toothbrushing

It’s easy for children to push too hard with manual or electric toothbrushes. This can damage the teeth and gums. Our unique Ionic Toothbrush provides a better option.

Old fashioned toothbrushes require friction to work; they aim to force plaque from the teeth. DrTung’s Ionic Toothbrush changes this equation. Instead of demanding pressure, it temporarily switches dental polarity. This allows the plaque to literally fall off. That’s why research shows “48% better plaque reduction among ionic toothbrush users compared to manual toothbrush users.”

Before your child has the dexterity to use an Ionic Toothbrush, you can brush your child’s teeth. Make sure to keep a moistened part of the hand on the metal band and complete the circuit by using the other hand to hold the child’s cheek or face.

You can learn more about our world leading Ionic Toothbrush System here.

Maintain toothbrush hygiene

Did you know that a flushed toilet sprays its dirty water into the bathroom?  Politely called ‘toilet plume’ this fine mist of, ahem, ‘Eau de Toilette’ (