Category: adolescents

Healthy Holiday Teeth

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In the Know for You to Know

During holiday time many parents are concerned because this is the season of temptation, filled with lots of sugary treats. Here are my 5 top tips for a healthy approach to the holidays~

Maintain a balanced diet of all the major food groups. This includes fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, milk, dairy, eggs, lean meat and fish. For non-meat eaters, do not forget about your proteins. There are so many plant based protein substitutes available in your supermarket’s fresh and frozen aisles that it can be difficult to choose which to try first.

It’s okay to allow a limited selection of special treats. This is what makes the holidays special. Moderation is the key. As always, remember to floss and brush those goodies away.

Avoiding sticky and chewy foods, like dried fruits or toffee is a good idea, since they have more cavity causing power.

If you have an infant or young child drinking from a bottle or sippy cup don’t allow holiday traveling and schedule changes to disrupt your good habits. Remember not to let your child fall asleep with the bottle or sippy cup since the liquids stay in their mouth and can cause cavities.

You are your family’s cheer leader. Encourage, remind and reinforce good flossing and brushing habits even with your hectic holiday schedule.

Enjoy a Healthy, Happy and Safe Holiday!

More Tips? We have lots. We’re here just for kids!

Dental Care for Adolescents

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In the Know for You to Know

What does a healthy mouth mean to you?

Is it a bright smile and fresh breath? OR

Does it mean you can talk and laugh with confidence?

Facts and tips on keeping a healthy smile

What you need to know about your own dental health —

FACT 1: You have not outgrown cavities. Cavities are more of a problem now.

FACT 2: Swollen and inflamed gums (gingivitis) is not the only risk to your oral health. It is also a threat to your appearance. Gingivitis causes red, swollen, painful bleeding gums and bad breath.

FACT 3: You are still growing. Your face and jaws are still changing. Even though you think you have all your permanent teeth, your wisdom teeth are going to start to come in. Being healthy and attractive during this time is as easy as taking good care of your teeth and visiting your Pediatric Dentist every 6 months.

How you can keep a healthy smile

Eat intelligently. Life is more hectic now with school, sports, studying, a job, new responsibilities. If you have to eat on the run choose fresh fruits and vegetables instead of junk food.

Snack smartly. Be careful of snack foods since they contain a lot of sugar and cause cavities. So read the labels.

Brush your teeth for 2 minutes 2x’s a day with a fluoride toothpaste and floss before brushing every night to help prevent gingivitis and cavities on the sides of you teeth.

Keep up with your dental checkups. Tooth cleanings, fluoride treatments, sealants are important for you.

Do not smoke, vape, or chew tobacco! The warnings you hear and see are true. Smoking, vaping, using any form of tobacco doesn’t only cause heart and lung problems. They cause mouth and throat cancer. Noticing any changes in your mouth? Call your Pediatrician or Pediatric Dentist now!

Wear a mouth guard for any sports or activities where your mouth can get hit.

Buckle up in the car. Doesn’t matter if you’re the driver or passenger. A seat belt with a shoulder harness can keep your face from striking the steering wheel, the dashboard, or windshield during an accident.

Your dental health and appearance are as important to your Pediatric Dentist as they are to you and your parents.

Let your Pediatric Dentist keep your smile healthy and sparkling.

More Tips? We have lots. We’re here just for kids!

Want Green Teeth and Purple Lips?

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Just Ignore these 6 Healthy Tips

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You can have all the gum or candy you want! For 15 minutes once a month! Have braces? That’s 0 minutes a month!

Brush your teeth in the morning and at night. Be sure to brush for 2 minutes or 120 seconds or 120000 milliseconds. It takes that long to get all the stuff out. And don’t forget to floss every night before you brush. How many minutes, seconds, milliseconds do you think that takes?

If water is good for a shark’s teeth, think what it can do for yours? Choose water when you can. Sharks don’t drink soda or sports drinks, so why should you?

If you don’t want to eat a puck (or a ball) use a mouth guard when you play sports.

If it’s sticky, it gets stucky and that’s so yucky! Stay away from fruity snack rolls, caramels and all chewy, sticky candy. Otherwise that’s the fast track to a cavity.

Two healthy snacks a day keep the fillings away! Limit snacking to twice a day and drink water to wash it down.

More tips? We have lots. We’re here just for kids!

Yesterday was Halloween, Do You know what Today is?

Nice Clean Teeth
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In the Know for You to Know

Yes today is the day after Halloween, and today is also a special day. Try to guess —

Think you know? You’re getting there. YES, today is NATIONAL BRUSH DAY

Happy National Brush Day

Every year we celebrate National Brush Day on November 1st. To make up for those extra sweet indulgences from yesterday we celebrate today so we can get back into our healthy routine including brushing our teeth.

2 Minutes 2 X’s A Day

How do we celebrate?

On this day it’s being especially mindful of how important brushing your family’s teeth for 2 minutes 2x’s a day is for everyone. Brushing is fun when you do it together and watch videos to make sure you get into all the nooks and crannies. Check out www.2min2x.org for fun brushing.

What equipment do I need?

So it’s game on. The 3 pieces of equipment you need are a soft tooth brush (age appropriate size), a “dab will do ya” size of toothpaste (fluoride preferred), and a flosser.

What comes next?

Remember to floss first. I know everyone says to brush and floss. Flossing first allows you to take out the yucky stuff that gets caught in between their teeth (there’s always stuff) and then you brush all that away at once.

If you floss second, you’ll have to brush again to take the in between teeth icky stuff away.

When do we do this?

Brushing for 2 minutes in the morning after breakfast and for 2 minutes before bed (and after flossing) is a great way to healthy teeth and gums.

Your child eats breakfast at school? Bring their tooth brush and tooth paste with you in a plastic bag and ask the Cafeteria Monitor which bathroom you can use to brush their teeth.

Your child doesn’t like to eat breakfast? We all know that although this is not a good idea there are some children who just can’t eat in the morning, BUT they still need to brush their teeth before going to school.

How often do we do this?

7 days a week/365 days a year. Yes even on school days, holidays, vacations and weekends.

When should we start?

If you haven’t already, today is a great day to start. So this way, National Brush Day will always be your anniversary for good oral health!

HAPPY NATIONAL BRUSH DAY from US to YOU!

More Tips? We have lots. We’re here just for kids!

Did You Know A Mouth Guard Can Really Protect Your Child From Sports Injuries?

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In the Know for You to Know

Play Sports?

Can you guess how many children are injured while playing sports every year? The number may surprise you.

More than 3.5 Million children under 14 years old are hurt while playing baseball, basketball, skateboarding, and other sports and recreational activities. What’s also surprising is that the majority of injuries are to the teeth, lips, tongue, face and jaws.

As a parent what can I do to help prevent this?

Making a simple addition to your child’s sports equipment can protect them from potentially serious face, mouth, and head injuries.

Soccer has shin guards. Hockey, T-ball, and football have helmets. A mouth guard can also be a part of their uniform.

Mouth guards aren’t only for contact sports like football and hockey. Face and mouth injuries are just as likely to occur in sports like gymnastics, basketball, lacrosse, karate, skateboarding, and bike riding.

Dental injuries during basketball mostly occur from an elbow to the mouth

Did you know that 20% of face and mouth injuries occur in basketball, 17% in baseball and 11% in soccer?

Any time you have potential contact with another person or surface, you will have accidents resulting in broken teeth, gum and tongue injuries, jaw fractures and even more serious trauma to the head and neck.

Concussion Risk

Mouth guards can actually help to prevent concussions and head injuries by preventing a chain reaction that can occur when injuries to the mouth travel upward into the brain.

Fit is key

Mouth guards are available in several options, from the off-the-shelf type that is boiled and molded at home to a customized guard made by a Pediatric Dentist that ensures a proper fit. Any mouth guard is better than none, the options offer varying degrees of comfort and protection. If your child has braces check with your Orthodontist about fitting a guard over their braces.

A properly fitted mouth guard will be comfortable, and will not inhibit speech or breathing or make your child feel nauseous. When it feels okay, it is much more likely to  be worn. 

Protective Sports Equipment

A mouth guard is a simple piece of protective sports equipment that can make a critical difference if an injury is sustained to the mouth or face. Nobody wants to miss half of their game to spend Saturday afternoon at the Dentist’s office or the emergency room. By taking this simple, protective step this scenario is a lot less likely to materialize. 

More tips? We have lots. We’re here just for kids!

Halloween Tips for Healthy Teeth

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In the Know for You to Know

Halloween will soon be here

What costume will you wear?

Will it be trick or will it be treat?

If you choose treats, what will they bee?

and what will you do to keep your teeth healthy?

If it’s sticky, it gets stucky and that’s so yucky!

Stay away from gooey fruities, caramels, and other chewy candy.

Drink water to help wash away the sticky chewies.

Water is really good for you and your teeth. Have you ever seen a vampire with a cavity?

Brush your teeth in the morning and at night, and remember to floss before you brush.

It takes 2 minutes of brushing to clean away all the candy that’s on your teeth and flossing to remove what’s gotten in between your teeth.

Smooth chocolate is the best. It sliddddes off your teeth.

Choose 5 pieces of candy, eat them all at the same time and you’re done.

No hiding those other candies for snacking later.

Follow these tips and your teeth will be Spooktacularrr!

More tips? We have lots. We’re here just for kids!

7 of our Favorite Books to read before your Pediatric Dentist appointment

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In the Know for You to Know

Our favorite books to read before your visit. By the way, parents and children LOVE them too!

Baby teeth are important and so are dental check-ups. These pearly whites help your child chew their food, speak, grow, and eventually guide their adult teeth into their correct positions.

20 Baby Teeth guiding all those Adult Teeth into position they must be super important

Keeping baby teeth healthy helps you keep your child healthy not just now but also for when they are the adults. Starting early, or as early as possible is the key to starting on this path.

So snuggle up, choose a good book (or two or three) and start on your dental journey.

The Tooth Book by Dr. Seuss A hilarious book about all things teeth.

The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist by Jan and Stan Berenstain Mama, Papa, Brother and Sister set out for their trip to the Dentist and learn about all the ways a Dentist helps keep teeth healthy.

Curious George Visits the Dentist by H.A. Rey Read about how George’s first visit to the Dentist is fun and a learning experience all in one.

Dentist Trip (Peppa Pig) by Scholastic George is going to the Dentist for his very first visit and Peppa is coming along to show him how much fun this will be.

Off We Go to the Dentist by Avril Webster Great book for helping children adjust to new experiences and potential sensory issues (bright lights, sounds, textures). Gently introduces what to expect at your visit for toddlers, children with special health care needs, and children for whom English is their second language.

Dora Goes to the Dentist by Randy Roper Dora describes her trip to the Dentist and involves the reader by asking you to look for things and do certain things (like opening your mouth wide). Just the right amount of detail.

Sesame Street Ready, Set, Brush! A pop-up book Elmo, Zoe, and their friends show how much fun dental visits and taking care of your teeth at home can be.

More tips? We have lots. We’re here just for kids!

Back To School Is Here – Are Your Child’s Teeth School Ready?

Brushing Our Teeth While Mom Watches Us
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In the Know for You to Know

A new school schedule, a new sports schedule, a new tooth schedule

What’s your new routine?

Re-energizing good oral health habits is easy when you add 2 Minutes 2X’s a day to your back to school routine. Brushing 2 Minutes 2X’s a day and flossing with Mommy or Daddy to watch, help, and set an example is always more fun. For more tips look at my post on Your nightly bedtime brushing routine.

Want your child to have the best and brightest smile

Mirror Mirror on the Wall Looking in the mirror to make sure you floss and brush away all the food and sugar that sticks to their teeth and tongue is a great way to reinforce healthy habits at home. With so many new brushing apps to choose from your 2 Minutes 2X’s a day routine can be a breeze. Checkout 2min2x.org for some helpful apps and videos.

With Sugar Less is More

With so many goodies at school keep an eye on snacking and drink choices, with sugar less is more. When preparing snacks and lunch to take to school from home it’s important to make food fun while encouraging your child to eat their vegetables, fruit, grains and protein. Remember to pack those water bottles. Water has Zero calories and Zero sugar. If your child must have juice pack one juice box every other day as a treat and encourage them to drink this only with their lunch. This way you can increase the days they drink water and decrease the days they drink juice so they don’t miss the juice. Same for any sugar sweetened beverages, fruit snacks and raisins, start them out as a treat and then quickly decrease how often they are in their snacks and lunches over the next two weeks. If your child is going to purchase school lunches or has access to vending machines at school talk with them about how to make healthy food choices.

Serious About Smiles

Is it time for a new tooth brush? The American Dental Association recommends your child’s tooth brush be changed every three months (and yours also). With routine brushing the bristles wear out so it is best to keep those pearly white teeth sparkling with a new brush. Your Pediatric Dentist will most likely include in a new brush in your take home goodie bag. For the times in between check-ups, remember a soft brush is best for your 2 Minutes 2X’s a day brushing routine.

This school year may mean a new fluoride prescription or change in your child’s fluoride dose. This is important to discuss at your child’s back to school check-up.

Back to school also means Dental Notes for your School Nurse. Remember, healthy teeth means fewer visits to the Nurse and less calls to you.

Play sports?

Protect their smile when participating in sports and physical activities. It’s important to talk about which type of mouth guard is best suited for your child’s sport.

FYI – stay tuned for my upcoming post on Sports and Mouth Injury Prevention.

Just like this school year may be a little different for your child and you, their back to school dental appointment will also have some changes. Read my post on Taking your child to their Pediatric Dentist in the World of COVID – It’s as Important as Ever, and see what your child’s dentist is doing to keep your family safe.

More tips? We have lot’s. We’re here just for kids!