Why Should You Include Dental Plush Among Your Kids Toys?

Everyone agrees that establishing a regular oral care regimen from an early age is essential, and for a good reason. The CDC notes that dental caries is present in a staggering 21% of children between the ages 2 and 5 and 51% of children ages 6 and 11, which surely is a cause for concern. 

Discouraging as they sound at first, these figures could be significantly lowered with something as simple as your child being consistent with their home dental care. But having your kid stick to their daily oral hygiene is everything but a cakewalk, and you often must get super creative when providing them with much-needed motivation. If you’re constantly seeking new ways to inspire them to brush twice a day, let’s see how including a dental plush among your kid’s toys might just be what you need in your life right now.

What are Dental Plushies?

Dental plushies are educational toys whose main purpose is to help you explain to your child all the benefits of proper dental care hygiene, including the best brushing and flossing techniques that will ensure they have a happy and healthy smile they will proudly show to the world. They come in various colors and models, including all-time kids’ favorite animals, to be able to suit everyone’s tastes and preferences. As such, they’ve proven to be great companions for the little ones who are just setting off on their dental care journeys.

How to Use Them?

You can use a dental plush to teach your kid how to brush and floss step-by-step thanks to their specific design that emphasizes teeth and gums. Keep in mind that children won’t be able to perform their dental hygiene entirely on their own until they are capable of tying their shoelaces, which typically happens around the age of 8 or when their manual dexterity fully develops. This means that you have to ensure they brush as efficaciously as they can until that moment arrives. You can use the plush to teach them all about perfect brush strokes, the angle and the pressure they need to apply, as well as the amount of time they should dedicate to various areas in their mouth.

Pretend Play That Yields Tangible Results

Having a dental plush allows you to arrange pretend play sessions where you can have your kid repeat everything you’ve just taught them on a plush. Make it clear that plush is happy every time they brush its teeth because it can’t fight off harmful bacteria on its own and don’t forget to praise them for their efforts as well. 

Dental Puppets Will Inspire You to Tell Them Stories

Having a dental puppet offers a vast potential for coming up with your own educational stories about bacteria and how brushing and flossing help keep them at bay. Remember, one of the main reasons why a child refuses to brush is because they don’t think that much about their teeth and don’t know anything about cavities-forming mechanism. You can use dental puppets to offer them age-appropriate explanations and engaging stories about tooth decay (the ones with happy endings, of course!) so they become more emotionally invested in their dental care routine.

Why a Dental Plush and Not Just Any Toy?

While you are entirely free to use your child’s favorite doll or their action hero figure to play a pretend game where you will brush or floss its teeth, keep in mind that this might not have the outcome you’re hoping for. For one, chances are this toy doesn’t have teeth at all! This means that you will grab your kid’s attention, but won’t be able to explain to them how to brush or floss because you simply won’t have a possibility to do that. Sure, you can still play this game and have your kid brush the toy’s “teeth“ but it will be just that, a game, and they won’t learn how to do it right.

Final Thoughts

With figures regarding dental cavities and other forms of tooth decay constantly being on the rise, we should make sure we do everything in our power to instill good dental habits in our children to ensure they have a lifetime of healthy smiles. If you’re not sure what else to do to make them brush and floss consistently, perhaps you should include a dental plush in your playtime routine to be able to thoroughly explain to them all the necessary dental hygiene steps. You can also improvise and get creative when you devise your own educational stories about cavities, plaque, and tooth decay to help them understand why regular brushing is so critical. 

Have you already included a dental plush among your kid’s toys? How did he or she respond to it? We’d like to hear all about it in the comments below!