Why Wear a Mouth Guard for Playing Football

Photo | Torrey Wiley

The popularity of organized youth sports brings with it a sense of fun sportsmanship. However, with those team sports also comes the risk of dental injuries, which can really affect the dental development of kids and teens. Student athletes are 60 percent more likely to sustain these types of injuries than other kids.

According to the National Youth Sports Foundation for Safety, the best way to ensure that your child does not suffer from one of these injuries is to make sure your child or teen always uses a mouth guard. Mouth guards can greatly decrease the number of these injuries. It is important to make sure that your child’s mouth guard is fitted properly to their teeth shape and mouth size. This will increase the protection for your child.

Some of the injuries that can result from not using a mouth guard include dental fractures, which can be very painful and, in severe cases, can even cause fracture of the dental roots. If your child or teen does suffer this type of injury, it is important to recover the tooth fragments and to get to your dentist as soon as possible.

Avulsions are another severe type of injury that can be prevented with the use of a mouth guard. An avulsion is an injury resulting in the entire tooth, including root, being knocked out. This type of injury can be very painful as well as emotionally traumatizing for kids and teens who already have their adult teeth. This can result in extensive dental work, which is both expensive and stressful for your kids and for you.

Luxation is a severe dental injury that knocks a tooth loose and changes the position of the tooth in the mouth. This type of injury also creates the need for extensive dental work in order to reposition the tooth.

To provide your kids with the best protection, talk with your kids' dentist or your general dentist to find out the best type and size of mouth guard for your child’s mouth.

Caring for Baby Teeth: What You Need to Know

Teething is a difficult process for babies as well as for parents. When you have a baby who is teething, you want to make sure you know what needs to be done throughout the process to help with the overall development of your child’s teeth.

Signs that your baby is teething

There’s likely going to be some fussiness from your baby as he or she starts to teeth because of what’s going on. You may notice that your child is drooling more, becoming more irritable, or not sleeping normally. You can provide comfort with a cool spoon or a clean, cool teething ring.

When should I start brushing my baby’s teeth?

Even before a tooth breaks through the gums, there are things that you can be doing. Your baby’s mouth and gums can be cleaned with a soft cloth or an infant toothbrush. This helps to remove plaque and prepare your baby for the brushing that will come.

As soon as the teeth have broken through, you should brush twice a day. The brush and the toothpaste should be designed especially for infants.

If your baby sleeps with a bottle, we recommend making sure that there is only water or a sugar free beverage inside it. Milk, juice or anything that has sugar can create bacterial acid and which breaks down tooth enamel, leading to cavities.

When should I take my child to the dentist?

The moment that you notice the first tooth, you should schedule a dental visit. This can help to prevent any cavities from forming down the road. You can learn about how to introduce fluoride, which can slow the process of cavities that have started, and sometimes stop the process, as well as to prevent tooth decay.

How to choose a kids’ dentist

When choosing a dentist, make sure you choose one that loves kids. There’s a big difference in the approaches of general dentists who enjoy children versus those who don’t. Many people in the world fear the dentist all because of an unsatisfactory first dental visit. At Playtime Dental, we make sure that it’s a positive experience for kids from day one.

Kids should enjoy going to the dentist. Playtime Dental fosters a nurturing environment where kids are going to learn that going to the dentist can actually be fun, especially when they remember to brush and floss daily. We cater to families and accept various HMO insurance plans for your convenience.

Remember this formula: One plus one = Zero. One baby tooth + one dental visit = Zero cavities for your kids! Make an appointment to learn more about baby teething and get your child’s teeth taken care of today. 

Nutrition Tips for Babies and Kids

As parents, we want our kids to be healthy and happy, but if your kids are picky eaters, you know that getting them to eat healthy foods can be challenging at best and downright frustrating at worst. What you probably aren't aware of is that nutrition not only affects your child's health but also has a major impact on dental health. It also isn't just about what your kids eat but how often they eat it and how. For example, if they have a sugary piece of candy, the longer it takes them to finish it, the worse it is for their dental health. When sugar sits in their mouth for long periods of time, it leads to a much a higher rate of tooth decay then if they eat the candy quickly. The same is true for soda and other sugary drinks; if they sip on the beverage for hours, it leads to more erosion of the enamel on the teeth.

The good news is that you have several ways to help your child avoid dental problems that arise from improper nutrition and eating habits. Here are a few tips to help keep your child's smile as perfect as possible.

·         Limit snacking: Children should have snacks no more than three times a day. Make these snacks nutritious; items such as yogurt, peanut butter, chocolate milk, and cheese are kid- and teeth-friendly.

·         Save sugars and starches for meal times: Sugars and foods with starch, including bread and pasta, take longer to clear the mouth, but if eaten with meals, they break down faster, reducing the chance of decay.

·         Don't send your child to bed with a bottle: Sending your kids to bed with milk, formula or juice means that they can potentially spend the entire night with sugars from these drinks lingering in the mouth, leading to much faster decay.

You don't have to deprive your children of fun snacks; just be aware of what they are eating and when. When in doubt, speak to a pediatric dentist, who can advise you on what you are doing right and where you can improve.

How to Protect Your Baby from Tooth Decay

Think you need to wait until your baby has a mouth full of teeth to begin dental care? Wrong! In fact, the American Association of Pediatric Dentists recommends that you take your baby to see the dentist when he or she gets that first tooth. The first visit is primarily informational, but it could mean that you and your baby are one step ahead on the road to healthy teeth.

Baby Tooth Care

You'll want to make sure that you are instilling good oral care habits in your baby from as early on as you can. Pediatric dentists recommend that you don't send your babies to bed with bottles, especially when those bottles contain milk, formula or juice. Once your baby gets his or her first tooth, you'll want to gently brush their teeth gently with just a light smear of toothpaste to begin building proper hygiene and brushing habits.

Thumb Sucking

Do you have a thumb sucker? Pediatric dentists agree that a pacifier is their preferred choice in the pacifier vs. thumb debate. Ideally, your child shouldn't use a pacifier or a thumb for sucking, but if it has to be one or the other, dentists recommend the pacifier over the thumb. Keep in mind that you should never dip the pacifier in any kind of sweet liquid before giving it to your baby, because the sugar in the liquid will simply remain in the mouth, potentially leading to future decay.

Using Bottles

Finally, wean your baby from bottles by the age of one. By this time, you will want to encourage your child to learn how to drink from a cup as you continue to encourage a healthy and nutritious diet for your child.

You can easily teach your kids how to prevent the possibility of future cavities and tooth decay by practicing proper brushing habits and instilling the idea of not having sugary drinks right before bedtime.

Encouraging Healthy Teeth for Kids

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that children visit a dentist with the eruption of the first tooth, or at the latest, by age one. While some babies are born with one or two teeth, some won’t have their first tooth until after age one. The average age for the first tooth eruption is six months. The best way for us to prevent cavities in our children’s teeth is to address it at an early age.

Start Early

Children need to become comfortable with having their teeth and mouths inspected by parents and dentists. This can start in infancy, even before a tooth erupts. After meals, use a damp warm cloth to gently cleanse the gums. As your child grows, continue regular inspections.

As our children grow, we must be active and vigilant. We cannot simply ask our kids if they’ve brushed their teeth and hope they’re honest. Most kids don’t like to brush their teeth. Many lie about it! Some will run the toothbrush under water to “prove” they’ve brushed when they haven’t. Parents must actually inspect their children’s teeth. The best way to ensure our kids are brushing is for us to watch them brush.

Make Dental Hygiene Fun

Just by walking down the toothpaste and toothbrush aisle at the supermarket or drugstore, it’s obvious that marketers have figured out that fun products attract kids. Most general retailers carry a huge selection of kid-themed toothbrushes, toothpaste and mouthwash. Kids like to have fun. Commercial packaging is designed to be fun and appealing to children. Make it fun!

Purchasing dental products with popular animated characters is the simplest way to start the fun. Take it a step farther by finding tools available through various other outlets. Sesame Street, for example, has a wealth of tools on its site for parents, such as activities, games, and informational brochures. YouTube is a great source for kid-oriented dental hygiene videos. There’s no shortage of fun videos on YouTube instructing kids on dental hygiene!

Insurance Providers as a Resource

For families with health maintenance organization (HMO) dental insurance plans, check with your provider to see what resources are available regarding your child’s dental care. Many HMO plans offer resources on their websites that will help with caring for your child’s teeth.

Teaching your Kids to Floss

At Playtime Dental, we know that flossing is just as important for your child as it is for you, as it promotes healthy dental hygiene and prevents cavities and gum disease. Teaching your children how to floss will help them learn the importance of this habit as well as enjoy it. Here are a few steps to consider when teaching your little one how to floss.

1. Floss Length

Each time your child flosses, he or she should break off roughly 18 inches. A good trick to help you remember this is to make the floss the same length as the distance between your elbow and your fingertip. Once you have the floss in hand, you can either floss for your child, or if the child is old enough, you can teach him or her.

2. How to Hold Floss

Holding floss can be tricky at times, so it is important for your child to know the proper method. A best practice for this is to wind a good majority of the floss around one of the middle fingers. Then, the rest of the floss can go around the other middle finger on the opposite hand. After that, your child can firmly grasp the floss between his or her thumbs and first fingers to better control it and adapt it to the curves of the teeth.

3. Flossing Thoroughly

There are several steps involved when it comes to the actual flossing process. First, have your child gently guide the floss in between his or her teeth. After that, the child will need to make the floss into a C shape so that it can easily go into the spot between the tooth and the gum. Once the floss is in a good position, the child can hold it tightly against his or her tooth and then lightly rub the side of the tooth with the floss. This should be done in a slight up and down motion away from the gum. After this step is complete, the child can simply repeat the process until all of his or her gums are clean. It’s that simple!

Best Kid Books that Teach Oral Hygiene

When it comes to dental hygiene, teach kids often and start early. Parents and even teachers of young children who want to encourage proper dental hygiene, which includes brushing, rinsing, flossing and routine visits to the dentist, might rely on books to supplement their words. Here are some parents' and teachers' favorite books, many of which are recommended by dentists who know how important it is to get the word out to children.

Available on Amazon

Plenty of books exist featuring your child's favorite movie and TV characters. Spongebob and the Berenstein Bears know how important it is to brush and floss! Even Dr. Seuss has a book aptly titled The Tooth Book. We recommend the popup book Ready, Set, Brush, which features everyone’s favorite red muppet from Sesame Street. Elmo teaches kids all about brushing twice a day for two minutes each to keep their pearly whites, well, pearly and white! Elmo and friends also talk about visiting the dentist.

Kate Parkhurst is the author of The Invasion of The Cavity Creatures, which provides a fun look into what happens when you don't properly take care of your teeth. No one wants cavity creatures! And this book helps inspire children to keep on top of their brushing routine every day.

Available on Amazon

Brush, Rinse and Floss is a good book for children who are a little older and need motivation to take care of their teeth and mouth. Dads who want to teach their children how to brush correctly might like Pony Brushes His Teeth, which centers on a daddy horse teaching his little pony to brush for the first time. Junie B., First Grader: Toothless Wonder is ideal for children who are losing teeth and worried by it.

If your little one is worried about visiting the dentist, which can seem scary to children, try Teddy Visits the Dentist. This book explains routine dental visits in a way that isn't scary.

Parents may receive other recommendations or activity sheets from teachers and dentists. Children will identity with different artwork, stories and characters, so having plenty of sources to teach about oral hygiene is key to making an impression.