Getting your kids excited for the dentist seems like an impossible task. You can’t just force them to visit a kids dentist in Aldie and expect them to have buckets of fun. And while the Tooth Fairy isn’t above a little bribery, that’s not the best option for instilling lifelong dental hygiene habits in your youngsters.

But you can do a few things throughout the year to get them to at least think differently about dental hygiene. Although you can talk to them about the dangers of tooth decay and not taking care of their teeth, don’t focus too much on the negatives. Show them that taking care of their teeth actually can be fun.

Another important thing you can do is to stop buying damaging food and drink products and purchasing fun and healthy snacks instead. Sports drinks, for instance can be extremely harmful to your children’s teeth, but energy drinks are even worse. Sugary energy drinks actually cause 3.1% enamel loss (compared to only 1.5% from sports drinks). While we hope you aren’t giving your toddlers energy drinks, your kids will model your behavior, so try and keep these drinks out of the cabinet as much as possible.

Before your next family trip to pediatric dentists, consider getting your kids some fun items. Here are some fun things you can get that will really help your kids start having fun as they take care of their teeth:

Fun and silly toothpaste
If you only give your kids boring white toothpaste for boring grownups, they will likely never want to brush their teeth. If you’re serious about having your kids take better care of their teeth, they are going to need fun toothpaste — not plain white. So try letting your kids pick out a fun toothpaste and let them giggle away while brushing.

Animal floss products
If you’re the best parent in the world, you might be able to convince your children that plain white toothpaste is actually fun. But there is no way that you will have that same success with traditional floss. You need to purchase fun floss products if you ever want your kids to develop a flossing habit. Your kids can brush three, four, even five times a day, but if they don’t floss, they are going to experience some serious issues later on.

Finding a quality kids dentist in Aldie should be your first move, but you need to do all you can to help your children actually get excited about taking care of their teeth and their overall health. If you’re in need of an experienced and friendly kids dentist in Aldie, contact Smilez Pediatric Dental Group today.