Dental health is a major component of anyone’s good health, and in fact adults often consider the appearance and health of their teeth vital for their social skills, whether at mixer parties or going to a job interview. Major health issues with the teeth, such as cavities, lost enamel, gum loss, or cracked teeth can be very painful and expensive to deal with, and many people are very sensitive about their dental health as a result. However, a dentist can work with more than just adults who need crowns or dental work; a kids dentist is important for any child to have and maintain healthy teeth throughout childhood and well into adulthood. A dentist office is bound to have professionals ready and willing to take care of child patients, and parent are urged to find a good dentist for their kids and take them there every six months to a year. This can keep a child’s teeth healthy and attractive for years to come.

Teeth and Children

There are plenty of health issues that children may face if they do not have a kids dentist to visit regularly, and these problems can be painful and frightening for the child and expensive and stressful for the parent. However, visiting a good dentist regularly and promoting good tooth care in everyday life can minimize the odds of developing a serious dental problem.

There are many health hazards that parents should help their kids avoid. Today, unfortunately, one in five kids goes without dental care, and children without kids dentists have higher risks of tooth problems. In fact, it has been found that 40% of children will have developed cavities by the time they reach kindergarten, and kids with dental problems are three times more likely to miss school due to tooth pain. Tooth decay in kids is twenty times more common than diabetes in kids, and five times more common than asthma, so parent would do well to promote good dental are in their kids to help reduce this statistic. Sometimes, dental damage in kids comes not from cavities or tooth decay, but from injuries while playing sports. 10% to 39% of tooth damage comes from sports, the AAPD has determined, so kids are urged to use mouth guards and play more carefully to help avoid this. Chipping or knocking out a tooth can easily ruin the game and require an emergency visit to a dentist for kids.

Routine Dental Care

Barring serious health issues such as chipped teeth or tooth decay, a kids dentist should be visited regularly, starting at age one to maintain good dental health and to stay on top of developing problems. At a pediatric dental exam or other appointment, a pediatrician can carefully look over a kid’s teeth to check for any problems, and report anything of interest to the parents and recommend various home dental care of future visits to a kids dentist for other work. Otherwise, if no problems are present, visiting a kids dentist may entail a routine examination and cleanup, and at home, a child can do a lot to prevent tooth problems. Brushing teeth right after every meal is critical to keeping plaque from building up, since sugars sitting on the teeth or in the saliva are a major food source for bacteria that secrete plaque and damage enamel. Fluoride is important for toothpaste in kids aged two and up, and it helps promote strong teeth resistant to decay or cracks. As for injury, kids should be careful when playing sports or otherwise engaging in physical activity, and mouth guards should be used whenever possible, and kids should not put hard objects in their mouths or bite on anything hard, whether for fun or any other reason. Even chewing on ice cubes can quickly damage enamel and put cracks in teeth (this applies to adults as well) so kids should be taught what habits to avoid so good dental health is maintained.