As a just for kids dentist, our goal is to keep your children in the best possible oral health. We are experts at what we do and help kids to stay comfortable during their entire appointment. This is important because when children like visiting the dentist, they are more likely to keep good oral health habits and come in for regular teeth cleanings.
All of your children need to have good oral health in order to prevent tooth loss and pain. When teeth fall out prematurely, it can create problems with how adult teeth come in and make it more difficult to eat and speak clearly. While this is important for everyone, it is even more important for the athletes in the family. The American Dental Association says that anywhere from 13 to 39 percent of tooth loss is due to playing sports. Precautions are needed to ensure that this doesn’t happen to your child. In order for your son or daughter to have strong and healthy teeth, they need to eat a good diet that contains green leafy vegetables, nuts, lean protein, and dairy in addition to drinking plenty of water. They also need to brush their teeth and floss throughout the day.
Our just for kids dentist office will also provide them with regular teeth cleanings in order to prevent cavities and gum disease. This is extremely important because when a tooth is infection free, it is less likely to become damaged or fall out during a game. If, however, the tooth is infected, the force of a ball or elbow hitting it will likely make the tooth break or fall out. Think of it as a bed. If your kids’ bed frame has a small crack in it, they can probably sleep in it just fine without any problems. If they decided to start jumping on it – the force of them jumping will cause the bed to break. Similarly, if a tooth has a small infection, your child can still eat with minimal discomfort but if that same tooth connects with an outside force it will break and create a painful problem for your child. By having teeth cleaned twice a year, you can ensure that your child is infection free and that their tooth is as strong as possible.
We also recommend that kids wear a mouth guard since this has been proven to reduce tooth damage. In fact, according to the American Dental Association, over 200,000 injuries are prevented on an annual basis from college and high school athletes wearing a mouth guard while playing football. This research doesn’t even include the number of injuries that are prevented when children wear one or when they are worn while playing other sports. As a parent, you can have your child wear a guard regardless of which sport they are playing.
As a just for kids dentist, we understand that the best way to protect your child is to keep their teeth healthy and strong. Give us a call today and schedule a teeth cleaning for the little athlete in your family.