Healthy Dental Habits For Teenagers




Your children are growing up and now they are teenagers. This change can be difficult but it is still important for their dental health that you continue to provide guidance. When should your teen get evaluated for orthodontics? How do you help your child make positive decisions about food choices that help their teeth, and how can you shape their dental habits? Here are 4 dental tips that can help keep your teen on the right path for their smile.

1.     Start young. Once they are a teenager some of these habits are deeply ingrained. The younger they are when you start, the more likely they are to continue to carry them over even when they are teenagers.
2.     Limiting the amount of soda you have in your house is a great way to have them reaching for the water or non-caffeinated drinks.
3.     Provide healthy snacks that are always around. Your child will reach for what is convenient. If they do not have easy access to chips, cookies and other high fat foods, they will be more likely to reach for the healthy foods.
4.     Provide opportunities for them to visit the dentist on a regular basis. Keeping up on their regular dental checks can help to make sure they get any dental or orthodontic appointments taken care of when needed.

It can be hard to keep your teen on track, but by following these 4 tips it will help them to learn and keep healthy dental habits for a lifetime. For more information on your teen and their smile, contact Dr. Cameron Fuller and his team today.

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Your comment will be approved after it has been read by one of our staff.

Popular posts from this blog

A gap between the teeth

Image
When your baby’s teeth first begin to come in and you notice that gap between their teeth when they smile, the family may coo that it’s cute. "However, it is very important that if your child has a gap in their teeth due to a maxillary frenum, or another reason, that it be corrected," says pediatric dentist Dr. Cameron Fuller. Your child’s education, speech and self-confidence is dependent upon it being corrected at an early age.             As your child gets older they are working on saying certain sounds. Children who are younger than five should be developing the ability to say all of the sounds. After five if these sounds are not solidified it will make it much more difficult for them to learn to correctly speak. “And by age seven if the sounds are not correct they run the risk of never being able to say them correctly,” says Dr. Cameron Fuller . By age five and six your child should be able to say their S’s and R’s correctly which are some of
Read more

What is a dental abscess?

Image
One of the most common conditions affecting children's teeth are dental abscesses.  Children with severe cavities often have teeth that abscess.  Abscess of lower left primary tooth.  NOTE the tissue swelling on the tooth. Radiograph of abscess on middle tooth.  Note the dark outline of the short root. Dental abscesses often start out as large cavities on the teeth. Once the cavity invades the pulp of the tooth the infection spreads to the bone. At that point the tooth is no longer salvageable. A dental abscess is a swelling of the tissue around an infected tooth. The following symptoms may result from a dental abscess.  Children can often present with facial swelling, fever,  altered eating habits, poor concentration, poor sleep patterns, breathing problems, and general malaise. The treatment that is always recommended is antibiotics and extraction. 
Read more

Do You Have Time For a Dental Emergency?

Dental emergencies for your children can crop up at any time and while some of them may not be able to be prevented, some can. For example, dental decay that damages the root, causing a need for a root canal, can be prevented with routine cleanings, regular brushing and flossing and ensuring that your child consumes healthy food. While dental emergencies are stressful, we can help decrease that stress. Dental emergencies can be anything from a cracked or broken tooth, dental pain or toothache. For a toothache we recommend rinsing the area with warm water, if there is food or another item stuck between the teeth, remove it immediately to see if that reduces or decreases the pain. If there is swelling you can apply a cold compress. If the toothache does not subside, it is recommended that you contact Dr. Cameron Fuller and his team in order to schedule an appointment right away. Sometimes trauma can cause a tooth to be pushed up through the jawbone. If this happens
Read more