IT IS NEVER TOO EARLY TO START
How to Explain Oral Hygiene to 3-Year-Olds
Because oral health is so crucial to your health, it's critical that you teach your children how to take care of their teeth at an early age. If you make the process of brushing, flossing and visiting the dentist fun and explain oral hygiene in simple, easy-to-understand terms, the children in your life will have a better chance of growing up with clean and healthy teeth and gums.
Simplifying the Basics
For your child to understand why she needs to take care of her teeth, she must understand the basics of oral hygiene, tooth decay and gum disease. Because the science behind these concepts is too complicated for 3-year-olds, reduce the concepts to bring them down to a preschool level. Explain that when sugar sticks to teeth, tiny sugar bugs form and eat away at the teeth, leaving small brown holes called cavities. Let the children know that cavities are both unhealthy and painful. This simplified version is enough to get most children interested in taking care of their teeth.