Healthy Tips for Teenagers to Maintain Great Pearly Whites

[TeenHelp]

Healthy Dental Tips for Teenagers to Maintain Great Pearly Whites
By Sharon Williams (Guest author)

It is essential to maintain healthy teeth and gums at any age and teenage years are no exception. Every teen is conscious about their looks as they want to socialize and fit-in easily without having to worry about their appearance. Therefore, they must practice healthy oral habits to maintain healthy teeth that can build their self-esteem and confidence. You can help them achieve that by ensuring they develop the following habits:

Practice Good Dental Habits
First and foremost, make good dental habits a priority. It is very important to brush and floss regularly. It is normal for your teens to brush as soon as they get up but it is equally important they brush before bed. Encourage them to floss after every meal. If the teen uses teeth braces, brushing is essential to ensure that no food remains stuck behind the brackets.

Replenish Dental Care Supplies
Teens must develop the habit of keeping their dental care supplies well-stocked. Keep checking the supply of toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss in the bathroom. If they are running low, restock immediately. Having the supplies will ensure that dental habits are not compromised and orthodontic diseases are kept at bay.

Take Care of Gum Diseases
Gingivitis is a serious gum disease that affects the gums as well as the underlying bone and ligament and is mostly caused by an accumulation of plaque. Good oral habits remove the plaque regularly and help in preventing gum diseases.

More serious gum disease can cause the gums to swell, turn red and bleed, causing great discomfort. In case the gums bleed while brushing or flossing, schedule a dental appointment immediately.

Correct Misaligned and Crooked Teeth
Crooked and misaligned teeth can be fixed at any age using dental braces but they are more common during the teenage years. If your teen feels conscious about getting braces, taking them to an orthodontist may help as they would show them numerous options available. Options like Invisalign are virtually invisible, thus encouraging teens to put on braces to straighten their misaligned teeth at the earliest.

Schedule Regular Dental Checkups

Teens are usually busy with a number of things — school, homework, sports, extra-curricular activities and personal hobbies. While you must encourage them, it is equally important for them to take some time out for dental checkups. It becomes all the more important to follow oral hygiene tips if your teen uses teeth straightening braces to ensure the treatment is on track.

Quit Smoking or Tobacco
Smoking and chewing tobacco increase the risk of developing periodontal diseases and oral cancer. Additionally, they cause bad breath and a slew of other oral problems that include:

• Stained tongue and teeth
• Slow healing after a tooth extraction or oral surgery
• Dulled sense of smell and taste
• Tooth loss
• Difficulty in correcting cosmetic dental problems

Moreover, if your teen uses any of the numerous affordable braces available, smoking or chewing tobacco will stain them. This can affect the appearance as well as self-esteem of the teenager.

Avoid Sodas and Carbonated Beverages
Don’t keep soda and other carbonated drinks at home. They contain an excessive amount of sugar and acidic flavorings. When consumed on a regular basis, they will erode the tooth enamel which ultimately leads to tooth decay. The bacteria in the mouth take the sugar in the carbonated drinks and produce more acids, thus increasing the risk of decay substantially. Encourage teens to have water and fresh fruit juices over sodas and carbonated beverages.

A healthy and pleasant smile is important for your teen’s positive self-image and confidence. Maintaining a healthy diet and having regular checkups is extremely critical. There are different types of braces that your teen can choose from and straighten their crooked smile.

Author Bio: Sharon William's day job is to handle digital marketing for Koch Orthodontics in Lawrenceville, GA. With a flair for creating compelling content that clears the clutter and connects with the audience in an instant, she writes about dental topics to educate and help her readers. She truly believes that a genuine smile can win a million hearts and talks to her readers about improving their smiles and overall dental health, as well as enhancing their overall lifestyle. In her free time, she likes to organize small meets in her neighborhood where she brings people together to discuss various topics that she writes about.