I was in disbelief when our children’s pediatrician told us that she has encountered many children who already show poor oral health at such a young age. Naturally, little ones cannot clean their teeth so it is the parents and guardians who should be responsible for doing so.

Apparently, those parents did not know that taking care of their children’s teeth begins at the first sign of teething. Yes, it starts that early and the lack of knowledge about it among most parents is the cause of poor dental health in children.

Thankfully, we had known early on from our pediatrician that it is a must to take care of our children’s teeth even if they were not yet permanent. That set the very core in our discipline to keep our children’s teeth and gums clean and healthy.

Our eldest son is already turning three years old soon and we are grateful that his teeth are all healthy, clean, and intact. We were eventually able to set a brushing routine for him and he seems to be happy with it. Of course, it was not without its challenges at first. We had to go through several convincing and a lot of crying fits before our baby finally got used to it.

Here are some of the techniques that we did to instill the value of oral hygiene to our toddler and make it part of his daily routine:

Understandably, visiting a dental pediatrician is not really part of our everyday routine but we introduced our toddler early on teeth cleaning as soon as he turned one year old.

While we were told that it is good to visit as early as possible or when all of his teeth have erupted, a year old is still a good age to start. The advantage of early dental pediatrician visit is that they can clean hard-to-reach spaces in between teeth plus they can recommend brushes and toothpaste that are effective and age-appropriate.

Furthermore, visit your dental pediatrician regularly. While we are unable to return because of the pandemic, we might pay our dental pediatrician a visit soon when all clinic safety protocols are put in place.

The only way to get your child to brush his teeth is to do it daily. There will be some resistance at first but that is to be expected. He will eventually get used to it and will come to enjoy it as part of his bath time ritual. We brush our baby’s teeth at least twice a day and we are happy because his teeth are pearly white and healthy.

For our second baby, we are also introducing the habit to him by using a soft toothbrush, similar to a teether, to make it a fun and enjoyable experience for him.

We also found out from our dental pediatrician that using the right toothpaste plays a big role in successfully creating a brushing routine in our baby. Flavored toothpaste such as Colgate for kids with natural fruit flavor is something that my two kids enjoy plus it is also safe when swallowed so no worries for us there (GET YOURS HERE).

Starting our little boy early

We are currently using the 0-2 years variant of Colgate for our two kids but as soon as our firstborn turns three, we will start him with the 3-5 years Colgate kiddie toothpaste variant.

Again, this is an indirect part of the oral hygiene routine for our kids but a good diet contributes to a healthy mouth, gums, and teeth. Fruits that are high in Vitamin C like apples, oranges, and lemon are extremely advantageous for mouth health, both for kids and adults.

Vegetables like broccoli (which our children love) and green leafy vegetables, as well as milk, cheese, and eggs, are also advised to keep toddlers’ teeth healthy and strong.

Forming the habit of good oral hygiene in children is not at all complicated and hard but it does take hard work and patience. In the end, though, the effort is very much worth it. Start your kids young so that they will grow up to be mindful of the health of their mouth, teeth, and gums.