Motivating your child with special needs to brush

Motivating your child with special needs to brush | Kids Toothbrush Club

For many parents, brushing their child’s teeth can be a challenge. At Kids Toothbrush Club, we have introduced positive reinforcement and motivational tools to help motivate your child to want to brush their teeth and build a lifelong routine of oral health habits. But for millions of parents of a child with special needs, some of these techniques may not always work so easily.
April is Autism awareness month and Kids Toothbrush Club hasn’t forgotten about the challenges parents of children with special needs face when it comes to their child’s oral health. Some of the same motivational techniques may not work with children with special needs, but we have found other techniques that may be helpful.
Most children with special needs have sensory issues, and their mouth is hyper-sensitive. Avoid minty toothpaste that might “sting” their mouth. It’s better to use one of the fruitier flavors that are more pleasant to their palate.  Also using a soft toothbrush ensures that rough bristles won’t scratch your child’s gums. Every monthly Kids Toothbrush Club kit comes with a new soft toothbrush so your child will have a “Fresh” new brush each month.
Children with special needs love routines! Once you have established that brushing is a fun activity and not a chore to be regretted, tooth brushing should not only become a routine, it should be ritualistic. Be sure to never skip a day or you may have to start over again. Or even better, they will remind you that you missed their routine! Then you know you’ve succeeded!
A trip to the dentist can be stressful enough for any child. But when children with special needs are outside of their elements, even a trip to the grocery store can cause angst. But there are dentists who specialize in working with children with special needs. These dentists are knowledgeable with the acute sensory and behavioral challenges that many children with special needs face.
With these subtle differences, some things that are the same with children with special needs; they love to be praised, motivated and have fun brushing their teeth. A monthly subscription to Kids Toothbrush Club will provide them with motivational activities, a calendar with sticker chart to track their progress, colorful star stickers and a new toothbrush each month. With these tools we will be your partner in establishing good oral health habits with your child. “Because every child deserves a healthy smile.”

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