In the Know for You to Know

You hear it every time you’re at the dentist’s office, whether it’s for you or your child. Remember to floss, floss, floss every night.

Yes flossing is an integral part of your nightly routine. Yes it will help with good breath. Yes you’ve heard it all before.

Flossing every night before you brush your child’s teeth teaches them something valuable. In a meaningful way you are showing them that this is their nightly normal, their routine, their habit.

The best time to introduce flossing is when your child is a toddler. That’s right, from the first time they have 2 teeth touching each other. Yes, when any 2 teeth are touching.

But why is flossing a healthy habit and why is it so important to floss your child’s teeth?

Why Is Flossing Important?

Flossing is important because toothbrushing alone can’t remove everything.

Floss goes where no toothbrush can go. The bristles on a brush may look like they can go everywhere. They can’t.

This is because the bristles are too thick (really they are, no joke, totally serious). Unlike a toothbrush, floss fits in-between their teeth and along the gum line under where the teeth touch.

3 Reasons Flossing Is Important

1. Not only does this help with cleaning all the tooth surfaces and helps reduce the risk of cavities,
2. Flossing helps reduce the risk of all ready formed small cavities which are in-between the teeth from getting bigger, and
3. Flossing helps control bad breath by removing bacteria and old food from in-between your child’s teeth.

Flossing Tip

You only want to floss 1 time a night, so keep this in mind.

Remember to floss first and brush second. This way you brush away all the stuff the floss takes out from between the teeth.

What To Remember

Don’t be discouraged if this is hard when you start.

Try starting with flossing 1 or 2 teeth a night for the 1st week. Then add flossing a 3rd tooth the 2nd week. Then a 4th tooth on the 3rd week. Keep adding another tooth to floss each week and before you know it you’ll be flossing all of your child’s teeth.

You can give your child a choice about which teeth to floss, like the top front or bottom right side. Then let the flossing begin.

Remember, Congratulate yourself on your success!

Does your child floss their own teeth or do you floss their teeth? What type of flosser are you? Are you a once a week flosser? An every night flosser? Somewhere in between flosser? An only when necessary flosser? A never flosser? How old was your child when you started flossing their teeth? Tell us, We’d really like to know! Email us at kidstoothhotline@protonmail.com, Like Us on Facebook

More tips? We have lots. We’re here just for kids!