How to Floss Your Child’s Teeth: Our Top Tips

If you have not been flossing your child’s teeth, now is the best time to start! Flossing is a critical part of preventive dentistry for kids. It helps prevent common oral health issues like gum disease and cavities and ensures your child’s teeth stay bright, white, and healthy. And while kids can usually start brushing their own teeth at around the age of 6, they usually can’t floss on their own until they’re about 10 years old.

Know When to Start 

While you should start brushing your child’s teeth as soon as their first tooth erupts, you don’t need to start flossing until your child has the majority of their primary (baby) teeth, which is usually around the age of 2-3 years. If your child still has big gaps between their teeth, you may not need to floss. We recommend consulting with a pediatric dentist like Dr. Sal or Dr. Yasi  to find out when you should start flossing your child’s teeth.

Use Proper Flossing Technique – Follow These 5 Steps

If you are not using the right flossing technique, trying to floss your child’s teeth can be frustrating. The proper flossing technique for both children and adults consists of the following steps:

1. First, unspool a length of about 18-24 inches of floss. Then, wrap each end loosely around your middle fingers, leaving about an inch of floss between your middle fingers.
   
   
2. Next, grasp the inch of floss with your index fingers and thumbs, to hold it taut, and give you better control of the floss.
   
   
3. Gently guide the floss between your child’s teeth. If it is a tight fit, you can move it gently from side-to-side to help it get into the tight area. Make sure you do not “snap” the floss against your child’s gums, as this can be uncomfortable.
   
   
4. Curve the floss around each tooth in the shape of a “C”, then gently move it up and down to remove plaque and bacteria from each tooth. Remember to press down into the gum line to remove the plaque that sits between the gum and tooth.
   
   
5. Remove the floss from your child’s mouth, and unspool another inch of floss from between your middle fingers. You want to use a fresh section of floss for each tooth so you do not spread bacteria and plaque between the teeth. Continue flossing each tooth until you have cleaned all of your child’s teeth.
   

At first, flossing your child’s teeth may be difficult, but as you get more used to the technique, you’ll be able to do it in just a few minutes. As an added benefit, you’ll get better at flossing your own teeth, too! For a video demonstration of this technique, you can take a look at this video. 

Keep Your Child’s Smile Healthy – Make Sure You’re Flossing! 

Flossing your child’s teeth may seem daunting, but it’s quite easy once you get the hang of it. Practice with your child and make sure that your little one’s smile is protected! Involving them in the process of brushing and flossing from an early age can be a fun activity that helps to instill good oral hygiene habits.

For more information, or to schedule a pediatric cleaning and exam for your little one, feel free to contact The Little Royals: Dentistry for Kids now! Give us a call at (561) 510-1450, or stop by our office at 600 Heritage Drive, Suite 110, Jupiter, FL 33458 to set up an appointment for your child.