Teenagers seldom think about their health-related habits, especially their oral health. During these years, teens try to have the time of their lives by going out with friends, attending parties, or engaging in school activities. As a parent, you may have done everything you could to keep your child on track with taking care of their teeth and gums. But once they enter the teenage years, a lot can go wrong with their oral health.
They become more exposed to unhealthy snacks, sugary drinks, and sometimes even tobacco. The more often they consume unhealthy foods and sugary drinks, combined with the frequent engagement in risky sports or activities, the higher they’re at risk of dental damage and oral health problems.
As teens get more wrapped up with their responsibilities in school or their social life, they may neglect their dental hygiene. Teenagers rarely think of dental habits as “cool.” Although they may regularly brush their teeth, that’s about it. Poor dental hygiene can lead to yellowing teeth, bad breath, tooth problems, and red gums. But the good news is, preventing dental issues for teens is still manageable, and it’s not too late to encourage them to develop proper oral health care.
Here are some tips to help you promote oral health care for teens:
Get Regular Dental Cleaning
It’s important for teens to visit your trusted family dentist, such as Familydentalhealth.com, at least twice a year to have their teeth cleaned and checked. This way, you can ensure that the dentist will detect any early signs of potential tooth decay, gum diseases, and other oral health illnesses. They’ll also perform oral x-rays to detect any erupting wisdom teeth before they even begin to feel pain.
Regular dental appointments play a crucial role in your teenager’s dental health. Even if they brush daily, the only way for them to have optimal dental health is by working with your family dentist. Your dentist can remove any tartar and dental plaque buildup that can’t be removed by brushing alone. They may also suggest your teenagers to wear braces or retainers if necessary.
So, don’t let them get used to purposely skipping their dental visits. Even if you or your teen’s schedule gets busy, make sure they find time to make way for dental appointments. Most of all, never use a dentist as a form of punishment for their poor oral hygiene. Ensure you portray a positive attitude about dentists and how important they are for your teen’s dental health.
Encourage Them To Wear Mouthguards
During the teenage years, adolescents become more active in joining sports and other physical extracurricular activities. They may sign up for high-octane sports like football, soccer, basketball, ice hockey, and more. As they reach high school, these sports will become more extreme to play, putting them at risk of physical injuries, specifically, dental or oral injuries. They’re at risk of chipped or broken teeth, gum or mouth injury, and broken jaws. These are too expensive to fix, and cracked teeth can cause mouth infections or abscesses when left untreated for too long.
Thus, dentists always recommended to teens, especially those who are active at sports, to always wear mouthguards every time they join sports activities. Tell them the importance of mouthguards in reducing the chances of getting oral injuries. They can have it custom-fitted from your family dentist, or they can simply buy it at a store if their size is available. Moreover, don’t forget to remind your teens to keep their mouthguards clean by rinsing them with water and storing them in a clean, ventilated container.
Remind Them Of The Importance Of A Beautiful Smile
Another way to promote oral health care for teens is by reminding them that good oral hygiene leads to a beautiful smile. People at this age are more conscious of their appearance. After all, these are the years where they start exploring the idea of dating or liking someone from their class or school. This is also when they’d start making changes in their appearance to help them stand out more in school. Thus, this can be the perfect time to encourage your teens about the importance of good dental care habits in achieving a beautiful and appealing smile.
However, during the puberty years, teenagers, especially girls, are known to be at risk of gum diseases. That’s because as they undergo puberty, their estrogen and progesterone level increases, causing an uptick in blood circulation in their gums. Their gums become sensitive and susceptible to irritation, which means you’ll have to encourage your daughters to be more careful about dental care habits.
Daily brushing and flossing routine are the cornerstones towards a beautiful smile and healthy teeth. Tell your teens to brush twice a day, every morning and night, as well as floss before they go to bed. These simple dental care habits will ensure that their oral health is in top shape.
Promote Healthier Food Choices
Aside from dental care habits, your teens’ eating habits can also greatly impact their oral health. As mentioned earlier, it’s in the teenage years when they’re most exposed to unhealthy snacks and drinks. They become more active in exploring food choices on their own, eating outside with their friends, getting quick meals and fast food to stay alert in school, or joining parties that are filled with unhealthy chips, crackers, snacks, and of course, alcohol. Plus, sporty teenagers also consume lots of sugary sports drinks and fruit juices that are bad for their dental health.
Thus, as parents, make time for their healthy habits. Make sure your teens have easy access to healthy foods like carrot sticks, apples, and cheese at home. This way, whenever they feel the need to eat a snack, they can grab something from your fridge and not call the pizza delivery guy. It may be hard to force your teens to bring the healthy packed lunch you’ve made for them, but if they do, take advantage of it and ensure it’s filled with dental-friendly foods.
Discourage Oral Piercings
As some of you may already know, teenagers can be rebellious. Most often, they’ll do anything that they haven’t tried before, even if their parents won’t allow them. They often do this to make sure they don’t feel left out by their friends. One of these things is getting oral piercings. For them, oral piercings are cool, making them feel brave for doing such an uncommon thing. However, oral piercings are dangerous for their oral health.
Piercings in the mouth or tongue can easily chip into their teeth while they sleep, eat, talk, or chew their food. Aside from that, your teens could be at risk of oral infections. The tongue might swell after being punctured, leading to an illness so severe that it could interfere with their breathing. So, as much as possible, do everything you can to prevent your teen from having oral piercings.
Wrapping Up!
Teens are susceptible to dental health problems and gum diseases. But these dental maladies can be avoided by following the oral health care tips above, with the help of parents and the dentist. So, remind your teens about the importance of dental hygiene as these will improve their smiles and boost their self-confidence.
