Healthy Living - Children's Dental Health Tips

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February is National Children's Dental Health Month

Children's Dental Health Tips

Three of the most important habits parents can encourage to increase a child's oral health are: brushing teeth twice a day, visiting the dentist every six months and wearing a mouthguard during sports.

Ensure Children Brush Twice A Day
Brushing twice a day is minimum - everyday, for both children and adults. Parents should lead by example and introduce brushing by age two to familiarize your children with brushing. To encourage school-age children to brush after every meal, allow children to pick out their own travel toothbrush and toothpaste to take to school.

Visit the Dentist Six Months After Eruption of the First Tooth
The dentist can examine the oral cavity to ensure the teeth, jaw and bite are developing properly. In addition, tooth decay is still the most common chronic childhood disease-five times as common as asthma. Tooth decay can occur at any age and left untreated can impair a child's ability to eat, speak, sleep and learn. Bi-annual check-ups throughout childhood help ward off decay preventing cavities and gum disease that may lead to serious health complications.

Make Mouthguards a Part of Sports Uniforms
Five million teeth are knocked out each year. Many of the injuries result from baseball or hockey accidents and could be prevented by wearing a mouthguard during these activities. Mouthguards help protect teeth from being knocked out, chipped or broken and can save a child from needing oral surgery to replace a tooth or implant a false tooth.

From the Academy of General Dentistry

Need a dentist?

Visit www.agd.org and click on the "Find a Dentist" link or call 1-800-2X-A-YEAR to get up to three referrals in your area.

Dental questions?

Post your questions on SmileLine Online where they will be answered by a general dentist. (Enter as a guest to post your question then check back. To receive an email notification when someone replies, you will need to register.)

About the Academy of General Dentistry

The Academy of General Dentistry is the only organization dedicated solely to the general dentist. Committed to providing quality care and patient education to the public, Academy members are required to take 75 hours of continuing education courses every three years. However, most members average more than 40 hours each year.