Resolving To Improve Little Smiles In 2026
Our team wants to help kids enjoy good oral health, and that means making sure they improve their oral health in 2026 and beyond! From better brushing and flossing to visits with our team, we can help kids of all ages. In today’s blog, your Dallas, TX, pediatric dentist talks about improving little smiles in 2026.
Taking Time to Really Brush and Floss
When you make your New Years resolutions with your family, be sure to include your smile! Kids need to brush their teeth as soon as they erupt. For babies and young toddlers, you can clean these teeth with a cloth or a toothbrush that fits over your finger. As they grow, you can pick up age-appropriate toothbrushes. We also suggest a toothpaste with fluoride, kids three and under should use a rice-sized amount, and kids over the age of three need a pea-sized amount. This helps keep their tooth enamel strong!
Kids should brush in the morning and at night for two minutes. As soon as there are teeth sitting side-by-side, we suggest flossing between them to remove what a toothbrush alone cannot. Flossing is essential for fighting tooth decay and gingivitis, and should happen every evening before they brush the second time.
Watching What Your Child Snacks On
What your child eats and drinks can also impact their oral health! We recommend cutting back on options high in sugar and starch, as these two ingredients can make a meal from harmful bacteria and create plaque and tartar in the process, buildup that can boost the risk of tooth decay and infection. Be sure they drink more water instead of selections with sugar and acids, like sports drinks, fruit juice, energy drinks, and soda. Be sure to offer more fresh fruits and veggies too.
Making Time for Two Checkup Visits
Each year, we want to see your kids for two checkup and cleaning visits, one every six months. You can schedule the first one for the beginning of 2026. With a dental checkup, we will examine the teeth with digital imaging systems, so we can identify issues like tooth decay and other concerns in the early stages. We also make sure baby teeth arrive and fall out on time, and that permanent teeth have a clear path to eruption, so your kids have a lowered risk of dental misalignment.
Our team also cleans their teeth in the same visit, a process that removes all plaque and tartar gently and thoroughly, so we can lower the risk of cavities, bad breath, and even teeth stains.
Addressing Major Oral Health Issues
If your child has a serious oral health issue, we can offer relief. When a tooth develops a cavity, we can provide a filling to stop the decay and protect the tooth from infection. Speaking of infection, if a tooth is infected, we can offer a conservative root canal alternative known as a pulpotomy to bring relief and keep the tooth in place. We could also discuss extraction should teeth become severely damaged or infected, protecting the rest of the smile. This can also allow us to remove baby teeth that don’t fall out as they should. For cavity prevention, we could offer fluoride treatments and dental sealants, which lowers the risk of cavities for kids of all ages, often for months and years at a time.
If you have any questions about how we protect smiles and how you can safeguard your child’s smile in 2026 and beyond, then contact our team today to learn more. You can also see us now before the holidays are here for a checkup and cleaning, scheduling your last one of 2025 for your child. This is also a chance to use your remaining 2025 dental insurance benefits and health savings account funds before they expire at the end of the month.
Children deserve good oral health and shining smiles, and we want to make it possible, so contact our team today to get started!
PDC Kids Wants to Help Little Smiles in 2026
Our team wants to help children enjoy better smiles in 2026 and beyond. This starts with a simple checkup and cleaning visit, and includes better homecare habits too. We would love to help your children enjoy better oral health, so reach out to our office today to start the process. To find out more about protecting smiles during a new year, call Pediatric Dental Care at Casa Linda in Dallas, TX, today at (214) 321-4880.
filed under: Children's Dental Services