How to Keep Kids Smiling with Braces

Smiling with braces may be challenging when your child feels awkward and conscious about showing them. However, the benefits of braces far outweigh the self-consciousness and awkwardness he/she may experience while wearing them. The American Dental Association (ADA) said that having a crooked teeth or a misaligned teeth increase the risk of getting gum disease, tooth decay and other oral problems.

Give your child’s confidence a lasting boost by trying these tips:

Focus on the Good

Focus on what your child is good at. Encourage them to pursue the things that they love doing like going out for the basketball, auditioning in a school play or joining a school club. Don’t focus on the outward appearance like his or her clothes or hair as this way turn the other way around and lower his/her confidence. When you tell him/her to get a new haircut or clothing, he may not hear it as ‘bringing out the best you’ but instead ‘because you are not attractive’.

Push him/her to do all the thing they love while wearing braces. With every instance of success, their smile will be much more justified.

Support your child

Despite the expected times of insecurity, be a rock to your child while he/she is still adjusting to the braces. If you had braces when you were younger, share it right away, especially those when you are smiling. Then show him/her your current teeth and stress the fact that you are thankful that you had braces when you’re younger, even if you likewise hated them.

Your child may still complain, and will surely do once they found out that they will keep them for many months. However, do not ignore your son or daughter’s concerns. Lister to him and let him know that you feel it’s not easy too.

Dress 'Em Up

Today’s braces are a little more stylish compared to those of the past. In the past, options are limited to clear rubber bands and metal brackets. But today, children can choose from different colors – blue, pink, purple, black, even green, when choosing the rubber band for their braces. If your child is able to choose a color, smiling with braces may become more encouraging for your child.

Smile

Finally, get your child smiling with braces by smiling too. Be the best role model when it comes to oral care. It can have a huge impact on how your child feels about themselves.

How to Care for Your Child’s Braces

One factor why your kid is self-conscious with braces is that fact that braces can be tricky to clean. Depending on how old your child is, you can help him or her brush and floss with their braces.

Mint Kids Dentistry’s top priority is bringing children and adolescents on the right path to dental health and proper oral hygiene. Dr. Soo Jun believes that early education will prepare kids to a lifetime of optimal dental health. Hence, she educates the importance of routine dental checkups and proper oral care.

Schedule an appointment as http://www.mintkidsdentistry.com/.

Why Do Kids Need to Go to a Pediatric Dentist and to Visit Regularly?

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, tooth decay is one of the most common chronic childhood conditions in the US. If left untreated, tooth decay can be a painful and uncomfortable experience for children and it can lead to infection, creating problems with learning, speaking and most especially, eating.

• Nearly 1 out of 4 children between 5 and 11 years have at least one decayed tooth left untreated.
• Thirteen percent of adolescents between 12 and 19 years have at least one decayed tooth left untreated.

Importance of Early Childhood Dental Visits

The earlier children started going to a pediatric dentist, the healthier their teeth and mouth will be throughout their lives. Doing early dental visits help prevent tooth decay and cavities – conditions that can lead to pain, loss of appetite and other medical issues. Children with healthy teeth learn to speak clearly, chew their food thoroughly and smile with confidence!

The American Academy of Pediatric recommended that every child must visit a dentist at the age of 1. This visit also teaches caregivers and parents how to take good care of the child’s teeth and help keep them cavity-free.

For instance, pediatric dentists often see numerous children with tooth decay due to falling asleep with a bottle of juice or milk. Your pediatric dentist can teach the parent or caregiver why it causes cavities, why is it important to introduce drinking from a cup once they approach their first birthday and the proper way of brushing young teeth.

Your dentist can also explain why you need to stop on-demand bedtime feeding once your child’s first tooth emerges.

Another reason why early childhood dental visit is important is that your pediatric dentist can provide treatment procedure that can help prevent decay and cavities. Your children’s dentist may apply dental sealants to the chewing surfaces of the molars to prevent tooth decay. Studies show that sealants can reduce decay of permanent molars by about 81%. Flouride varnish is also another preventive dental treatment that is painted on the teeth to prevent decay.

What Parents Should Do

It is important to bring your child to his/her dentist by age 1 for checkup, as advised by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Consult your paediatrician or pediatric dentist about applying fluoride varnish as soon as first tooth appears as well as dental sealants.

If you are living in a community that has water not fluoridated, consult your dentist if your child needs fluoride supplements in the form of tablets, drops or lozenges.

Why Parents Should Understand Preventive Dental Care to Their Kids

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For children, dental health is as important as general health. As parents, understanding that your kid’s teeth, even their baby teeth, require utmost care is the first crucial step. Parents should know what dental care is proper and timely to make sure their children maintain a healthy mouth.

 

What is Preventative Dentistry?

Preventative dentistry refers to the process of maintaining oral health in order to prevent disease. For kids, this includes:

• A healthy, balanced diet

• Brushing and flossing

• Routine visit to a dentist for children

• Oral health education

• Flouride dental visits

• Protection against dental injuries

• Checking risk for developing cavities

• Managing oral habits

• Guiding an erupting teeth

A pediatric dentist can provide these measures, in addition to routine dental check-up that require parental assistance.

In a report published by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, the incidence of dental caries has been lowering in the US, primarily because of better prevention, patient attitude towards tooth preservation and improvements in dental treatment technique.

The Role of Parents in Preventive Dentistry

We know that oral health can influence overall health. Oral problems can affect a child’s speaking, eating and other daily activities. Children suffering from tooth pain may not be able to concentrate on their studies. Moreover, a healthy smile looks more attractive, and it can positively affect a child’s confidence level. And the most important – preventive dentistry results in less expensive and less extensive dental care.

As parents, you must strive to be the best role model for your kids. You need to reinforce proper oral hygiene habits such as flossing and brushing at home. But the most important influence would coming from you seeing your own good habits. Demonstrate how vital your kid’s teeth are to their health and lead by example.

How to Prevent Childhood Cavities

The American Dental Association defines early childhood caries as the presence of one of more missing, filled or decayed tooth surface in a baby or primary tooth. Dental caries is an infection disease that should be controlled through prevention.

Your child’s first visit to a pediatric dental office must take place within six months after the first tooth appears. The baby’s mouth will be assessed for any abnormalities or decay. In addition, you will get instruction on how to maintain proper dental hygiene to prevent further oral bacteria in the oral cavity.

You will also learn how to ‘brush’ your baby’s teeth, either by using a specialized brush intended for infants or by wiping them with a cloth. Parents will also learn to limit intake of milk, juice and other fermentable carbohydrates as sugar liquids are often the cause of tooth cavities among children.

Visiting a pediatric dentist Bellevue will involve a thorough cleaning and examination, review proper nutrition, fluoride treatments, fissure sealants on molars and make recommendation on the use of mouth guards to protect your child’s teeth when playing sports. Visit your pediatric dentist today to ensure your child gets the best outcome in terms of dental health.