Short Answer: Yes.
Long answer: Mouthwash has been proven to be an effective addition to brushing and flossing. The additional rinse helps to eliminate bad breath, harmful bacteria, and other problems from arising. Parents must realize that even though they will be lost in a few years, your child’s baby teeth are extremely important and should be properly taken care of. Healthy dental habits need to be established at an early age to protect their adult teeth in the future. Even so, you shouldn’t use mouthwash until your child is old enough to understand how to use it.
Children’s Mouthwash
For when your child is first ready to start using mouthwash there are brands carried that are specifically designed for children. Adult mouthwashes contain alcohol for getting a deeper clean, while these children’s mouthwashes contain different cleaning agents. It is important to start with children’s mouthwash in case your child accidentally swallows some.
Learning how to first gargle can be difficult at a young age, and should be monitored by an adult. For most kids, start trying to work with mouthwash around six years old. This is long after they should be flossing and brushing their teeth. Get your child into this habit while they still have baby teeth to encourage them to continue into adulthood.
The advantages
There are many lifelong advantages that come with using mouthwash from an early age. Your teeth will be healthier, stronger, whiter, and less susceptible to cavities over the course of your life. Although these long term benefits are important, it is the short term ones that children will notice the most.
There are some types of children’s mouthwash that will coat the teeth in a different color where food particles and bacteria have been left behind after brushing. This can be the best lesson for kids who hurry through the brushing, not paying attention to how well they are getting the job done. This will show the exact spots they have missed, and give them a chance to fix the problem, getting rid of the color, and the food particles that are still there.
Besides this, children’s mouthwash is often flavored just for kids. While it contains fluoride for strengthening teeth, the taste is one that kids will enjoy more than other kinds of mouthwash. This will encourage them to use it on a daily basis.
Visit Your Dentist at an Early Age
Before teaching your kid to use mouthwash, make sure they are able to handle it. By getting them the kid friendly brands, and teaching them at the proper age, mouthwash is not only safe, but very healthy for kids to use. At Burg, we take great care to ensure that every child understands the importance of good oral health, as well as the best ways to achieve it, all in a safe and kid-friendly environment. By bringing your child in for their first visit at the proper time we can help you instruct them on proper mouthwashing techniques, as well as provide you with mouthwash brand options. Come visit us at any of our Burg Children’s Dentistry locations to help your child learn the best brushing and flossing techniques, and when to start using mouthwash!
