Getting your children to brush and floss can be like pulling teeth. There is nothing fun about it, unless you make it that way. The best way to get your children to do anything is to make it fun. Teach your children about good dental hygiene by making games out of it. Below are just a few ways to make brushing teeth more like a game and less like a chore.

Brush It Right!

Pretend you are the host of a game show about brushing teeth and your children are the contestants. Ask them dental related questions like "what is the proper way to brush your teeth", "how often are you suppose to floss" or "what happens when you don't brush your teeth regularly?" These are all simple questions that your children can answer. Award your children points so that after, whoever wins the game will get a healthy, teeth friendly treat.

Where Is The Cavity?

Play a game of memory with your children by playing Where Is The Cavity. Take a few plastic bottles and cut off the bottoms. Soda bottles work the best because the bottoms look like tooth roots. However, you may not want to use soda bottles because it goes against proper dental health. Paint the bottom of the water bottles white so they look more like teeth. On one or two of the bottle bottoms, paint a small yellow dot. Mix the bottoms up and have your children take turns guessing which one has the yellow dot, or cavity. Once your children find the tooth with the cavity, explain to them how cavities are formed and how to prevent them.

Dental Bingo!

Dental Bingo is a great way to not only get your children excited about the health of their teeth, but also what foods are good for their teeth. Make a few Bingo cards out of scraps of construction paper. Draw little pictures like an apple, a healthy tooth, tooth brush, dental floss, anything that promotes dental hygiene on the squares. Call out images until one of your children calls out Bingo! When the game is over, you can point to the images and have your children explain why that picture helps protect their teeth and how they make their teeth healthy.

Children don't really like to do anything unless there is some fun involved, and that includes taking care of their teeth. To teach your children the importance of good dental care, make it fun for them. By playing one of more of the games listed above, your children will be jumping at the bit to brush their teeth.

For more help, contact a group like Cobbe Dental & Orthodontics.