Struggling to get your children to brush their teeth?

More and more parents are losing the battle to protect children’s teethIt’s a frightening statistic, but according to a new national survey, almost one in three children in Britain under the age of 12 refuses to brush their teeth at bedtime. The shocking survey also reveals how desperate parents describe the nightly battle they face as they try to persuade their children to brush their teeth. Even worse, the survey highlights that a staggering 71 per cent of parents have admitted that they sometimes give up the fight to protect their children’s teeth in order to avoid a major meltdown. It is an alarming situation that is putting the health of children’s teeth at serious risk.At Carisbrook Dental we place huge importance on looking after children’s teeth. Our policy is that preventative dentistry is far better than restorative dentistry, which is why we always emphasise the importance of arranging a dental appointment as soon as a child’s first teeth begin to appear. An early connection with their dentist helps to build a child’s confidence and also gets them used to visiting their dentist without fear. It also enables us to keep a close eye on the development and health of the child’s teeth and we can help to educate children about the importance of regular brushing and daily dental hygiene.We cannot stress enough just how important regular brushing is to protect your children’s teeth. The good dental hygiene habits they adopt at an early stage will serve them well for the rest of their lives.Parents do have to be vigilant though because the survey showed that if left to their own devices only 22 per cent of children would do any brushing at all. Even with parental pressure children only pick up a brush nine times a week … slipping five sessions. Even when they do brush their teeth they are likely to spend just 76 seconds compared to the two minutes recommended by dentists.British children also indulge in too many fizzy drinks, sweets and chocolate. All enemies of young teeth. It is little wonder that almost every parent interviewed wanted dental hygiene to be taught in schoolsWe would go further than that. The best people to instruct children about the importance of daily dental hygiene - and why brushing their teeth twice a day using fluoride toothpaste is so vitally important - are dentists or dental hygienists. That is why making regular appointments for children to visit their dentist is so vital for the health of your children’s teeth.At Carisbrook we always take things slowly and easily. We never pressure children and we place lots of emphasis on gaining a young child’s confidence so that they will feel comfortable with us.We know that this slowly, slowly approach really does work and we have seen so many children react positively to our cleaning advice on teeth brushing and dental hygiene.So if you feel that you’re fighting a losing battle to protect your children’s teeth and would appreciate some expert assistance from Manchester’s leading children’s dental specialists, please make an appointment for your child to visit us as soon as possible. You can call us on 0161 951 7295 or alternatively you can contact us by using the online form on our Appointments page.