Simple Tips for Students’ Dental Health
- Posted on: Sep 15 2017
This is the time of year when families are thinking about upcoming schedules and how they will manage carpools and bake sales and sleepovers and more. Students are thinking about their new teachers and classes, about whom they may meet and what new interests await. Nowhere in the hubbub of back-to-school time would we be able to expect any student – or parent, for that matter – to be thinking about dental needs.
We like to simplify dental subjects for the families who visit us. Here, we suggest a few ways to protect students’ oral health that you may not have seen elsewhere.
Basic Oral Hygiene
- Get back to basics. The beginning of a new school year, in the classroom, starts with the basics. This mindset can also be applied to dental care. Getting back to basics will likely require parent-involvement. Students should be expected to forget! Brushing and flossing that is. Parents may create a brushing and flossing chart for young students, and offer rewards for maintaining good habits every day. Older students also need to be reminded that, if they forget to brush and floss, they will face problems like bad breath and toothaches.
- Get your head in the game. This is typically a statement for student athletes, but parents also need to be thinking about the welfare of children who play sports. Dental injuries are commonly attributed to not wearing a mouth guard during a sporting event. Students are provided with these pieces, so why would they not be worn? Because they are bulky and uncomfortable! Custom-fit mouth guards allow athletes to breathe freely and are much more likely to be worn regularly.
- Get ahead. Who doesn’t like the idea of being ahead? As it pertains to oral health, being ahead means a lot. It means protecting your child from unnecessary tooth pain and stressful dental treatments. The way to get ahead is to schedule mid-year checkups and cleanings now. Waiting often results in missing the opportunity to see the dentist during a school break.
Schedule A Consultation
We would love to see you in our Oak Grove, Warrensburg, or Windsor office. Contact us today at 660.747.9117 to schedule dental checkups for your family.
Posted in: Dental Health, Pediatric Dentistry