Back to school time is just around the corner, and at Treasured Smiles Adult and Cosmetic Dentistry, we want to make sure you and your teens are ready to go back to school this fall with rested minds and healthy smiles! Just before school starts is a crucial time for families to get reset for the new school year – and that includes ensuring optimal dental health for a smooth start. From healthy foods to dental cleanings, our team has set up a list of expert tips on how to set your teen and their smile up for success this school year.
Empower Your Student’s Smile
There is a wide array of tips our experts recommend to help your teen achieve good oral health and great self confidence this school year. Having a healthy and self confident student is important so they can focus on their studies and extracurriculars, leading them to ultimate success. Follow these next few tips for your teen to have a successful and enjoyable school year:
- Schedule your student’s dental cleaning appointment as soon as possible: As the school year gets started, schedules and extracurricular activities ramp up, leaving students with little time to prioritize their oral health. The summer is typically the busiest time of year for dental practices with limited availability, so schedule your appointments well in advance for the summer season. Regular cleanings are recommended to be scheduled every six months to make sure your student’s dental health is prime. When your teen visits us, our hygienists will be sure to prevent gum disease, check for cavities and diseases, remove plaque, and keep your teen overall healthy. Another reason to visit your hygienist before the school year starts is to keep your teen confident. Poor oral health can lead to low self esteem, and with your hygienist fixing these issues, your student will have a secure self-image and is more likely to do well in school this year.
- Receive fluoride treatments: Although it’s still a recent advancement, our experts highly recommend fluoride treatments. These treatments ensure strong and clean teeth with little to no decay. In fact, fluoride is used to strengthen the enamel, make it resistant to acids, and prevent future cavities and decay by putting minerals back into the teeth. It is recommended that your student receive a fluoride treatment consistently (every 6 or 12 months) to ensure their teeth are strong and ready for any sort of damaging circumstances they may encounter.
- Pack healthy lunches and avoid sugar: Unfortunately, yummy and sugary treats are great for the taste buds, but not so great for your teeth. Your teeth have a natural bacteria that turns sugar into acid, damaging your teeth if it’s not washed off. To avoid sugar in your student’s diet, consider opting out sugary treats for nutritious snacks that benefit oral health. In fact, wholesome foods like carrots and apples have healthy acids and nutrients, like fiber, that benefit the enamel, the mouth’s ph, and saliva production. Even making sure your student is simply drinking water after snacks and meals can help benefit oral hygiene. Just by staying hydrated, your teen is able to rinse out their mouth, washing away food particles or staining pigmentations that may be stuck in their teeth after enjoying a meal or snack.
- Stay consistent: Having a consistent brushing and flossing routine is ideal for your student maintaining good oral health. Getting into a daily habit of brushing twice a day and flossing at least once a day is optimal for dental health. If your teen is struggling to remember to take care of their oral hygiene, we recommend setting alarms for the morning and night to remind them to brush and floss accordingly. Having this consistent routine will not only ensure good health, but also a high self esteem. Having your student take care of themselves not only gives them a sense of empowerment, but it also gives them a self confidence boost. They will know they are healthy and don’t have to be self- conscious about common issues such as bad breath.
- Send them with a hygiene pack: To help your teen stay even more consistent, our experts recommend sending them to school with a hygiene pack. This pack doesn’t have to be anything fancy – just a traveled sized mouthwash, a few flossing picks, and a foldable toothbrush will suffice. Sending this with your teen will ensure they have access to floss in case food gets stuck in their teeth or even a toothbrush to do a quick brush after eating a sugary snack. Just like many of the other tips, this tip doesn’t just help boost dental health. It also promotes self-confidence due to a lesser chance of bad breath or stuck food particles. If your teen is confident, they are much more likely to do well in school, so we highly recommend this tip for their overall well-being.
Set Up The School Year For Success
With back-to-school time coming up, we know that families are looking for the best way to be prepared. With our expert tips, we believe that your teen will be set up for success with good dental hygiene. In fact, the best way to kick off the year with prime hygiene is by setting up a dental cleaning appointment. Start off the school year on a good foot by calling us at (815) 426-0016 or filling out an appointment form here.