As your children become teenagers, you may start to notice that you have less control over them, including their overall physical care and their dental health. Teenagers have busier schedules, more need for social interaction, and heavier homework loads, leaving less time for dental and oral healthcare.

Dental Hygiene Tips for Parents of Teens

Even though you may not have as much influence over how your teenager cares for his or her teeth, there are a few things you can do to help make sure that oral hygiene continues to be a priority for your teen. These include:

• Keeping stocked up on dental supplies – Because teenagers aren’t likely to be purchasing their own dental healthcare supplies, make sure that your teen’s bathroom is kept stocked with everything he or she needs to keep up with oral hygiene. These supplies include toothpaste, mouthwash, and floss.
• Making sure your child uses a mouth guard – If your teenager is involved in sports or other physical activities, it’s important that he or she is fitted with a custom mouth guard to protect their teeth and oral tissues if they suffer a blow to the face. Mouth guards have also shown to decrease the risk of a concussion in these instances.
• Avoid oral piercings – While we’re seeing less and less tongue and lip piercings in teenagers these days, they are definitely still out there. Here at Severance Dental, we strongly recommend that teenagers avoid these types of piercings as they can lead to infections in the oral tissues and cracked or chipped teeth.
• Visit the dentist every six months – Lastly, it can be easy for teenagers with busy schedules to miss their dental cleanings and checkups. But we encourage parents to make sure that these regular appointments are still kept and that teens are reminded of how important their oral health is.

Here at Severance Dental, we know that the teenage years can be rough, but they don’t have to be hard on your child’s teeth. To schedule an appointment for the whole family to get a dental cleaning and a checkup, please contact our Severance, Colorado general dental office today.