We all know flossing is important, but how many people really do it?
According to this article, only about 30% of the population floss their teeth daily, compared with 32% that don’t do it at all. Adults can make their own decisions about flossing, but it’s so important to teach our children why flossing is important.
You should never ignore your child’s dental hygiene. Most kids will probably put up a fight when you tell them to floss, but as you’ll see, there are numerous reasons why you shouldn’t relent to their wishes. In this post, we’ll look at five of the benefits of flossing for children, so keep reading and understand more about your child’s teeth.
1. Avoiding Gum Disease
If you neglect flossing your child’s teeth, they’re going to be more likely to develop sensitive gums and gum disease. In the case of sensitive gums, it can actually become painful to brush one’s teeth. When your child has bloody gums after brushing, this is an early sign of gum disease.
Gum disease that isn’t treated can lead to other health issues, like heart disease and diabetes. Flossing now can help you avoid far more serious issues down the road.
2. Stop Smelly Breath
When food and plaque are left to gestate in your child’s mouth, it’s going to start to cause bad breath. This might not be a serious health issue like gum disease, but it’s going to be a source of embarrassment in social situations.
Remember, your child is going to follow your lead when it comes to oral health. If you don’t instill the good habit of daily flossing, they’re far less likely to do it. When they’re young, do it for them and when they’re old enough to do it themselves, make them do it once per day.
3. Preventing Cavities
Plaque is the sticky bacteria that builds up between your teeth.
Regular flossing can help to remove the plaque, but when it’s left alone, it almost always leads to cavities. It can also break down tooth enamel and lead to gum disease.
4. Expensive Dental Procedures
The longer your child avoids flossing, the more plaque buildup they’ll have and the more difficult it will be to establish healthy teeth and gums. For you, this will mean expensive dental procedures on a regular basis.
If you’re having trouble getting your children to floss, a pediatric dentist like growpediatricdentistry.com can help them understand its importance.
5. Building Habits for Later
Most importantly of all, your children need to floss now because it’ll establish good dental hygiene as they get older. When adults have poor dental health, it’s usually because they didn’t have someone making them brush and floss enough as children.
If flossing daily becomes a habit for your kids, it’s far more likely that they’ll carry that over into adulthood. The work you do now to make them floss will help them down the road.
Now You Know Why Flossing Is Important
Now you know why flossing is important for your kids. Not only is it important to stave off plaque, gum disease, and cavities right now, but it’s going to build better dental hygiene habits when they grow up. Good dental hygiene is important for everyone.
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