Dental Concerns for Each Family Member, Part Two: Teens
Hello, Birmingham! Welcome back to the regular blog from the office of Perrigo Dental Care. This is part two of an ongoing blog series focusing on the importance of family dental care. At our office here in Birmingham, we love to see every member of the family smiling bright and happy with the way they look and feel. Dental care is one of the most important aspects of healthy living, and taking care of your teeth and gums is more fun and more effective when you do it as a family. Getting everyone, from baby sister to Grammaw, involved in the family oral hygiene routine will ensure that you all watch out for each other so you everyone is getting the dental care they need.
At the office of Perrigo Dental Care, we look forward to seeing each member of your family for dental health equally. However, we also know that everyone has their problems, different from the others. Age has a lot to do with how healthy your teeth are and what types of dental ailments you are likely to experience. Here at our office in Birmingham, we have the experience and expertise necessary to keep your whole family smiling about their oral health.
Teenagers/Young Adults
The biggest issues for teengaers is to soilidify those healthy oral hygiene routines. Especially when they move into the late teens, these young adults will be spending more and more time on their own and having their meals away from the family. Hopefully, they will make wise food choices and not try to live on a diet of Mountain Dew and jelly beans, but that is always a possibility. Even though teenagers are almost adults, they are not well known for their decision making skills. In fact, their brains are not even fully developed. So, parents still need to be there to pick up the slack when it come to teenage oral hygiene.
You may not be able to choose every meal for them, and it would be weird if you stood over their shoulders every time they brushed. But your teenaged children are still going to need quite a bit of guidance. Be sure to make regular appointment for them at Perrigo Dental Care. Coming in for professional cleanings and examinations will allows us to catch and minimize any dental damage that may result from your teenagers’ poor food choices.
Facial piercings are a common trend among teens, and unfortunately, this trend can lead to some disastrous outcomes for their oral health. Tongue and lip piercings are essentially a pretty piece of hard metal or plastic situated very near your teeth. This make tooth chipping fairly common among those with facial piercings, especially tongue studs.
Another, and potentially more serious problem, with facial piercings is that the jewelry becomes a haven for bacteria. Infections are incredibly common for any type of piercing, but an infection in your mouth or tongue could have catastrophic results for your dental health. While it is certainly possible to have a facial piercing and keep it clean and healthy, it takes a lot of work and diligence to do so.
The studs used in facial and tongue piercings and can also interfere with some imaging devices, so if you or your teenagers does have one, please be sure to let our staff know.
Unfortunately, the teenage years are when many bad habits are formed, including smoking and other forms of tobacco use. For a teen these habits seem harmless because they do not fully understand the cause and effect of their behavior. That is just part of being a teen. And while teenagers may be good at hiding bad habits from the rest of their family, they will not be able to hide the effects the habits have on their oral health.
Family Dentistry in Birmingham, AL
Teenagers may be getting used to a certain level of independence, but that doesn’t mean they are on their, and when it comes to dental health, you can be sure they will need some help and guidance. The health of their teeth and gums probably isn’t foremost on a teenager’s mind, but poor dental care at a young age will come back to haunt them when they get older.
So, don’t let the teenagers and young adults skip out on checkups from Perrigo Dental Care. We will provide the high quality family dentistry they need to keep that beautiful, confident teenage smile shining bright.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment for the teenagers in your family.