This past month, our weekly articles have focused on preventing tooth decay and establishing good dental habits for you and your family.  In earlier posts, we discussed the good habits that lead to better dental health for you and your family, and also the habits that can be introduced to children at different ages.  Today, we will examine in greater detail how the new habits can be reinforced for you and your children so they become life-long habits that help to ensure good health.

The Challenge

"I know I should change, but I've tried before and failed."

Does this sound familiar? Many of us have tried to change habits but have failed.  Often, we simply don't have enough motivation to change our habits in a way that would truly affect our health.  In fact, we sometimes see these 'bad" behaviors as short-term rewards, without reflecting on the long-term consequences of these behaviors.  Or we forget to follow up on a new behavior because we trivialize the importance of the changed behavior.

What It Takes To Change a Habit

The good news is that there has been a lot of research to examine what it takes to change a habit or establish a new habit.  Here is what you need to know:

• It Takes 30 Days To Set A New Habit--In order to ensure behavior change, experts agree that it takes a minimum of 30 days to change a behavior.  If you or your family member can practice a new habit for that period of time, the new habit will likely become part of your daily behavior.  So, start you effort by marking a calendar to reflect your start and end date and get started!
• Start By Writing--Experts have found it is very helpful to commit to your new habit by writing it down in positive terms, and list the reasons you want to change.  State "I want to have excellent dental care habits and practice them daily."  Then list the reasons, such as "a healthy smile supports a healthy life," "my smile is very important to how I and others feel about me," etc.  Throughout the 30 day period, review the goal and reasons for change daily.
• Visualize Success--Create mental pictures of yourself as having already succeeded with your habit change. Imagine how it feels to have a healthy, beautiful smile that others admire.
• Make It Fun--Do the new behavior with a cheery attitude.  Hum a song, smile, do the new behavior with a loved one.  Afterward, congratulate yourself or each other for another day of doing the behavior.  Make this cheery demeanor part of your new habit.
• Do It With Others--It is always helpful to practice your new behavior with others, if possible.  Brush and floss together, eat healthy foods together, and review your goals and reasons together.
• Chart Your Progress and Use Rewards--Write a short list of the new desired behaviors on a chart and mark the chart with a star each time you see the good behavior.  After a set number of stars, give yourself or your family member a reward. Suitable rewards for an adult might include purchasing a little gift, taking some time for yourself, seeing a movie, etc.
• Take One Day At A Time--Stress, daily pressures, boredom, depression, fatigue, and forgetfulness can all appear at any time and make it difficult to reach your goal.  But don't focus on the failure, just continue the new behavior.  Get out your goal and reasons list and begin again.
• Special--Helping The Child In Your Family--A child can begin to learn new behaviors from very early on (over two years of age).  Of the above steps, practicing the new habits with your child helps set a good role model which he/she will follow.  It is also helpful to positively reinforce new behaviors with rewards.  Examples of appropriate rewards might include staying up an extra hour, going out for a walk, a new toy, etc.  It can take longer for a child to make the new habit a part of their daily behavior.  It may take up to 2 months to work. Being patient and keeping a diary of behavior can be helpful to parents.

Summary

While difficult to change habits or set new ones, the benefit of new dental habits will include a healthier smile and life, greater self-confidence and acceptance by others, and a greater feeling of accomplishment.  Setting the new habits defined in earlier articles can be accomplished through the tried and true steps identified above.

Have any suggestions for what you'd like to see us write?  Place your comments and suggestions in the comments section.