Dr Kami Hoss – Tips to Get Your Kids Involved With Their Oral Hygiene

One of the biggest challenges which my twins and I have had of late is trying to get them to be more conscious and more aware of their oral hygiene, and why they should be looking after their teeth as much as possible. Now here in California, specifically around LA and SD, there is a really positive dental community of people who want to look after their teeth and how to pride themselves on a great smile, and this is something I’m trying to get the kids to understand. Things were better under our old dentist Dr. Kami Hoss, who sadly moved from Los Angeles to San Diego, so to try and fix things I took the trip down there to get some tips from him on how I could get the kids more involved, and those tips worked a charm.

Buying a Brush

Of all the tips that Dr. Hoss gave me, this was the one that I least expected to work, giving the kids some money and allowing them to choose their own toothbrush. In the past, I had always bought the brush for them, and they never complained so I figured everything was alright. I was quite taken aback then when the kids charged in through the front door, tearing at the packaging and running up the stairs to clean their teeth. Kids love having something of their own, and this was certainly proof of that.

Scare Tactics

Caring for your teeth is not just about having a Beverly Hills smile, it is about ensuring that they are healthy and strong. With this in mind, I wanted to explain to the kids why I am always banging on about them cleaning their teeth and watching what they eat, and so I decided t resort to some scare tactics, a bit of a risk, but I do think that it has paid off. I showed the kids some of the worst photos I could find of people who hadn’t looked after their teeth, and they made it through just 2 photos before running away screaming, job done.

Competition

My twins are incredibly competitive and so I decided to use that to my advantage. I decided that the best thing for us to do was to continue making the journey down to San Diego to see Dr. Hoss because I just know that he is the best with the kids. I asked Kami whether he could do me a favor and grade the kids’ teeth when he checked them over, 10 for one and 9 for the other, like the boxers do. This started slow but after Thomas got 2 10s, Max was not prepared to let that go and the pair of them have been on an oral hygiene mission ever since.

These three tips only work if you keep on talking about teeth and oral hygiene, they may look simple but they have worked very well for me and the kids.