Teach Children How To Floss Their Teeth

By: Christine Cox, The Choosy Mommy

Did you know that only about 50% of Americans actually floss their teeth daily, according to the American Dental Association? That leaves only half of the population to teach their children the importance of flossing and how to do it properly. Now is the time to make a change. 

When Can A Child Floss?

As soon as your child has two teeth beside each other, start a flossing routine. I personally have found the floss sticks to be a great help as they are easy to get in between teeth. After speaking with my dentist, he said they are wonderful, as long as you are moving them around once between the teeth. That got me thinking…how can I teach my children how to floss their own teeth?

Get Creative!

Hands-on learning is one of the many ways children can learn. By doing hands-on learning and experiments at home, children can dive deeper into their thinking and retention when doing whatever the lesson is in real life. I looked around my living room trying to think of a way to teach my daughter how to floss and then it came to me! Mega blocks and Legos!

In this example, I used the Mega Blocks to represent her teeth and put playdough in the space between to represent the plaque that can get stuck in between and on our teeth. I gave her the exact floss stick that I have always used to floss her teeth and explained to her the representation of teeth and plaque. 

After a quick lesson of how to properly insert the floss stick between the “teeth”, she went straight to trying it on the Mega Block. She learned quickly to move the floss stick up and down on the Mega Block to make sure she got all of the playdough out. I was so pleased with this activity and she really grasped a good understanding of how to floss her own teeth.

Not Just For Kids

Everyone should floss their teeth at least once a day. Daily flossing helps remove plaque from in between and on the teeth where it can easily create cavities. If your child is still drinking from a bottle, and has two teeth beside each other, flossing is even more important to make sure you get all of the excess milk off of the teeth. At the same time, removing plaque helps reduce the risk of gum disease or gingivitis which can result in bleeding and inflamed gums.

A great resource for additional information about keeping children's teeth health is from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.

Do your children floss with your help?? At what age did you introduce it?

About the Author: Christine Cox is the blog master for Choosy Kids and owner of The Choosy Mommy. She has always had a passion for writing and is honored to contribute her work to this blog. Most of her writing inspiration comes from her daughter, Capri, who is fun-loving and full of energy, and son Cam, who is learning new things everyday. Click here to learn more about Christine.

First Comes Brushing, Then Comes Flossing!

By: Amy Requa, MSN, CRNP

We have all heard about the key elements to excellent oral health and hygiene for young children: brushing their teeth twice a day, before bed and after breakfast, with a smear of fluoride toothpaste on a soft child-sized toothbrush; providing tooth-healthy drinks, such as water, instead of sugary beverages; flossing between teeth as soon as you see that they are touching each other; and taking your child for regular check-ups starting when the first tooth erupts. We’ve discussed creating good brushing habits with your children and starting regular check-ups when their first tooth appears, but what happens after they have been seen by the dentist and are on the way to mastering daily dental routines? 

On one of our recent posts, a mom mentioned that her little one likes to dip his/her toothbrush into a cup of mouthwash and rinse with that. It got me thinking, as I am sure many children would love to do that. What does it do to their teeth/mouth? Is it safe? 

The instructions on the label of mouthwashes is that children under six should not use the product. This is likely due to the fact that many, but not all, mouthwashes have a form of alcohol in their liquid and it is not safe to be swallowed in large amounts. This is something you will want to discuss with your child’s dentist. There’s no need to wait for your child’s next dental visit, just pick up the phone and call your dentist and ask for current recommendations! 

Also, it is important to understand that any ingredient that limits our normal production of saliva will actually be counterproductive and can even lead to more decay of our teeth. Saliva is very beneficial because it has a buffering effect on the “acid attack,” composed of acid waste products that are created when the bacteria in our mouths digest sugars and carbohydrates.

If your children are anxious to start copying your mouth washing techniques, my suggestion is to teach them how to floss instead. Flossing between two teeth that are touching is helpful because it breaks down the build-up of plaque between the teeth, which is essential to do because the toothbrush bristles cannot get in-between the teeth that are tightly spaced. It is important to help children with flossing because they do not have the manual dexterity to floss by themselves until they can write cursive. Be sure to move the floss gently under the gum line, where the germs causing decay are more likely to grow because that is where it’s dark and warm. The gum line is also where there are leftover food particles hanging out (which the germs love to eat). Flossing between our own teeth and our child’s teeth on a daily basis will disrupt the plaque traps and prevent the germs from building up. By demonstrating flossing between our own teeth on a daily basis, our children will want to copy us. 

The manufactured “flossers” for children are very helpful because they are easier to grasp for small fingers and they fit into small mouths more easily, plus they are colorful and animated looking! 

Have your children tried flossing? What age did they start? Remember to check out Choosy Kids CD and DVD collection for brushing songs and videos!

About the Author: Amy Requa, MSN, CRNP, CPNP-PC, is a board certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She has 20 years of experience in public health nursing, maternal and child health, family and community health promotion and has extensive health expertise in oral health, childhood obesity prevention and child nutrition. Click here to learn more about Amy.