Making Oral Hygiene Fun For Teens

MANY PARENTS mention how difficult it can be to get their teenagers to practice good oral hygiene. The teenage years are rife with junk food, soda consumption, and in some cases, an indifference to daily brushing and flossing.

Although it may be challenging, motivating teens toward better oral health care is extremely important. For the teenagers of this generation, a parent’s best bet of making oral hygiene more fun may be technology!

Oral Health Tech Can Pique Your Teen’s Interest

Motivate your teenagers to engage in good oral hygiene by showing them these gadgets for their morning and nightly routine!

Oral Irrigator: Flossing the old-fashioned way can seem tedious. Using a water flosser is quicker and more fun! Even teenagers seem to love the idea of power washing their teeth.

Shower Flosser: A spin on oral irrigation, the shower flosser makes it even more convenient to floss your teeth. Simply attach an oral irrigation unit to your shower head for mess-free flossing!

Power Flosser: With a flexible nylon tip that slips easily in between teeth, a power flosser will floss your teeth with up to 10,000 gentle tip strokes per minute. It’s fast and fun!

Air Flosser: Another alternative to conventional flossing, the air flosser cleans out debris and plaque by shooting quick bursts of air and water in between teeth.

Natural Sweeteners: Many trendy new snacks and candies contain non-sugar sweeteners. Xylitol, for example, is effective in fighting off plaque and cavities. Research shows that xylitol protects teeth from decay by preventing bacteria from sticking to teeth and keeping a neutral pH level in the mouth. Buy your kids some sugar-free, xylitol-sweetened gum or mints and encourage them to use them after eating.

Start Good Habits When They're Young

Dental decay is the most common chronic disease in young people between the ages of five and 17, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Good oral health habits should be taught early so that when your children do become teenagers, they have already established an oral hygiene routine and have a sound understanding of why it is important.

After all, if they keep up good dental habits, they could end up like this hip grandma who still has all of her teeth!

Partners In Promoting Oral Health

As your trusted dental professionals, we are your partners in promoting the oral health of your whole family. We're here to help motivate children and teenagers toward better oral care so that your family can remain happy and healthy!

Thank you for reading our blog and for trusting us with your family's dental care!

*Image by Flickr user Teeejayy used under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.
The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

Ice Cravings: A Sign Of Something More?

DO YOU EVER WONDER WHY many people enjoy chewing their leftover ice after finishing a nice refreshing drink? It may surprise you to learn that the cool crunch of the ice may not be the only thing drawing people to chew those last few cubes.

Chewing Ice Is Not Cool For Your Teeth

Many enjoy chomping down on those last few ice cubes at the bottom of their glass, but is it really that bad for your dental health? Absolutely!

Ice is an incredibly hard substance, and when pitted against teeth it can do serious damage to our enamel. Repeated grinding against ice and other hard substances can result in enamel cracking and erosion. Because enamel has no living cells, the body cannot repair any chips or cracks on its own—they will require enamel restoration treatments.

Ice Cravings May Be Caused By More Than Preference

Ice cravings are fairly common–especially among expecting mothers–but not all of these cravings are driven by enjoyment alone. The compulsive consumption of ice, known as pagophagia, has recently been linked to anemia—a lack of iron in the blood.

Anemia can lead to serious health complications if left untreated. But don’t worry, if diagnosed by a doctor, anemia is easily treatable with daily iron supplements. Scientists still aren’t sure why the link between chewing ice and anemia exists, but many suspect it may the body’s natural response to relieve oral inflammation caused by anemia.

We Care About Your Whole Body Health

Excessive ice cravings affect far more than just your teeth. We care about far more than just the health of your smile! If you or someone you care about has questions about ice cravings and how they affect your health, feel free to set an appointment or leave a comment below! We’d love to work with you to ensure that not only your smile is healthy, but your whole body as well.

Thank you for being a valued patient and friend!

*Image by Flickr user Simon_sees used under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.