4 Poor Dental Habits Your Kids Should Be Avoiding

As a parent, you, want to be sure that your child is exhibiting good oral hygiene habits that will keep them healthy and save you money on healthcare problems in the future. A number of issues can arise from poor dental habits that can end up costing you big time. Here are four common poor dental habits seen in kids that children should avoid:

Not Seeing a Dentist: Many parents don't take their kids to a pediatric dentist at all. Many parents believe that because children still have baby teeth, it doesn't really matter if they are taken care of since they will fall out eventually anyway. However, this is a common misconception about how dental care works for children. Just because your child may still have all their baby teeth doesn't mean that their gums don't need to stay healthy. A dentist wants to be sure that the gums are staying strong enough to hold the adult teeth once they begin to come in. A dentist will also ensure that your child's baby teeth aren't causing any issues like keeping the adult teeth from growing in. Sometimes a baby tooth will need to be removed early in order to allow space for some aggressive adult teeth to come in properly. 

Swallowing Toothpaste:  Toothpaste contains fluoride, a natural cavity fighter, which is important for children, especially for those who snack on sugary treats. However, too much fluoride is not a good thing, since it can cause white spots on the teeth. If your child isn't good about not swallowing the toothpaste, then you may just opt for non-fluoride toothpaste until they are older. 

Chewing on Pencils: Once your child starts school, you may find that they develop the poor dental habit of chewing on their pencils. You should try and prevent them from doing this and help them break the habit quickly. This is because chewing on pencils can wear the surface of the teeth. Plus, it can even introduce harmful bacteria in their mouth, especially if they are sharing the pencil with other kids. 

Biting Nails:  Biting nails is not only a bad habit but one that can be harmful to the teeth. Many people don't realize this and some won't try to stop the habit. When trying to bit off the nail, the teeth will grind together to do it. This can lead children to grind their teeth, which can lead to pain and tooth sensitivity.

Knowing some of these bad habits will help you, as the parent, help to stop your child from starting to take these up. This will also help you to better understand how important their dental care is even at their young age.