Oral Health Can Be Fun, Too!

Celebrate National Children’s Dental Health Month with Your Kids

It’s finally National Children’s Dental Health Month, one of our favorite times of year. (We are a dental health organization, after all.) How are we celebrating? By giving you the tools to teach your kids how to take care of their tiny teeth.

Saying, “If you keep your mouth clean and healthy, you won’t get cavities. It may even cut down on your orthodontia time!” probably isn’t the best way to get your kids to start caring about their oral health. But how do you get kids to understand? That’s where we come in.

Play games

What do kids love more than games? Nothing! (Okay, maybe sugar, but don’t get us started on that.) So how about turning brushing into a game? All you super-parents out there know how to make up a good game, but our favorites are pretty simple. One idea: just set a timer for two minutes. If they brush their teeth until the timer dings, they win! You could also get them to hum their favorite song while they brush. Or if you really want to get creative, make up a little tooth-brushing dance to do with them while they brush. The options are limitless!

But there’s much more to pediatric oral health than brushing. The American Dental Association has that covered with printable activity sheets including information on everything from flossing to plaque.

These printouts are available in English and Spanish:

Crossword Puzzle: English, Spanish
Coloring Sheet: English, Spanish
Calendar Activity: English, Spanish
Maze: English, Spanish

Decorate

Playing and learning is even more fun in a decorated space. Download this poster from the American Dental Association in English or Spanish. Bonus points if you can make a song out of it.

Pick your flavor

As we can all remember from childhood, brushing our teeth is just a little more fun when you get to pick out the coolest toothbrush in the store—not to mention the craziest flavor (or color) of toothpaste to match. As long as that toothpaste has fluoride in it, we’re giving it the greenlight. So let them go wild!

Here’s the moral of the story: kids like to have fun. If you can turn oral health into fun, they’ll love it too. They may even end up being the ones reminding you when it’s time to brush. Make it entertaining. Add a little whimsy. Because there’s nothing more fun for parents than their kids growing up with strong, healthy teeth.