It may not be the most wonderful time of the year, but a lot of parents are counting down the days. The first day of school will be here sooner than you realize, and it’s time to start checking your list:
- Clothes
- Shoes
- Backpack
- Pens and pencils
- Paper and notebooks
- Dental checkup
That last item may be more important than you realize. A healthy mouth can make a real difference in how well (or how poorly) your kids do when classes resume. If you live in or near Birmingham, MI, we encourage you to call 248-972-8720 today to schedule back-to-school dental cleanings and exams for your whole family.
We would much rather you soon at Newingham Dental Center than get a call in a month or two about a kid with a toothache. After you read more, we think you’ll agree.
Dental Health & Attendance
It’s been said before that 80 percent of success is just showing up.
If that’s the case, then it’s in your kids’ best interest to have the healthiest mouths that they can have. Each year, kids miss more than 51 million hours of instruction in the United States as a direct result of oral health problems.
Many dental problems can be prevented or treated easily when they are found in the early stages. On the other hand, tooth decay can lead to cavities and toothaches. Gum infections can lead to gum disease.
By scheduling a checkup before classes begin, our team of dental professionals can examine your children’s mouths and let you know if there is anything that should be done now. At the same time, we can remove tartar and plaque with a professional cleaning, which will reduce your kids’ risk of cavities.
To take things one step further, we also offer fluoride treatments and dental sealants.
Tooth decay occurs gradually as a result of demineralization of teeth. Fluoride can help repair minor damage to teeth through remineralization. Fluoride is a mineral. When it is applied to teeth, it helps to make them stronger and more resistant to decay.
Sealants work more like armor for your teeth. With sealants to protect your kids’ smiles, bacteria have a more difficult time getting to the enamel, much less causing cavities to form.
Success in School & Cavities
Being in school will help your kids’ with their education, but they also need to stay focused. This is easier for some kids than others, but any child would struggle to pay attention if she or he was dealing with a toothache while sitting in class.
According to a study of teenage students, those who reported recent dental pain were four times more likely to have lower grades than their peers. Another survey found that roughly 1 in 7 children ages 6 to 12 reported having a toothache in the six months prior to the survey.
As a parent, you never want your kids to be in pain. If that painful is preventable or treatable, we are sure you would rather do something about it sooner than later.
Even if your child has decay today, it may not be causing her or him pain. In a month, however, it could be something else entirely.
By scheduling a dental visit now, we can fill cavities before they start to become a distraction for your daughter or son.
Protecting Smiles
Many kids are also getting ready for the fall sports season. And most, if not all, of those athletes should be wearing proper protection when they take the field or the court.
We don’t just mean helmets, knee pads, and shin guards, either. According to the ADA and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, every athlete who plays a high-impact sport also should be wearing a custom-fitted athletic mouthguard.
Mouthguards can’t prevent every possible dental injury, but they can greatly reduce your child’s risk of injury. Research has shown that athletes who don’t wear mouthguards are 60 times more likely to suffer oral injuries than athletes who do wear them.
How do you know if your child should wear a mouthguard? Ask yourself these questions:
- Does your child have to run often, changing speeds or directions, to play her or his sport of choice?
- Does your child’s sport involve a lot of running?
- Does your child come in physical contact with other athletes as a normal part of his or her chosen sport?
- Does the sport include the risk of getting hit in the mouth by a ball or some other piece of sports equipment?
If you answered yes to one or more of those questions, then your daughter or son is playing a high-impact sport. That includes football, but it also includes cheerleading, soccer, tennis, and volleyball, among many other activities.
So why should you get a custom-fitted mouthguard? First and foremost, it provides the best possible protection for your kids’ teeth.
This is similar to how a seat belt can minimize injuries under normal driving conditions. It’s also why professional race car drivers use a more secure system (five-point harness) while they are racing. They understand there is a higher risk of an accident in those conditions, and they want the most protection possible.
Custom-fitted mouthguards are also smaller than the bulky boil-and-bite kinds you can buy in stores. As a result, the custom-fitted guards are more comfortable to wear. They also allow your daughter or son to speak and to drink water without taking their mouthguards out.
Start the School Year Healthy
Your kids may not be excited to get back to class, but you know how important education can be for their futures. We can’t make your kids’ study or do their homework, but we can help take away an obstacle to their success in school.
Keeping their teeth as healthy as they can be is good for them and good for you. Besides, you want them to smile big on picture day, don’t you?
Call 248-972-8720 or fill out our online form now to request appointments for your family at Newingham Dental Center. We hope to see you soon!