If you are a teenager or the parent of a teenager, today’s Prestige Dentistry post is for you. Today’s post discusses dental issues of special concern to adolescents. Dental risks for Palm Harbor teens include both developmental and lifestyle-related factors.
At Prestige Dentistry, we see dental caries and gum disease far too often in teens. Possible causes and complicating circumstances include insufficient dental hygiene, unhealthy diet, malocclusion (misaligned bite), smoking, hormonal changes, tooth grinding, mouth breathing, eating disorders, and side effects of medications.
As children become more independent, some get lax about brushing and flossing. In addition, some teens’ diets become worse when they have more freedom to choose what to eat. Few parents let their four year-old drink an energy drink, but they are consumed frequently by Palm Harbor adolescents – presumably without their parents’ knowledge.
Malocclusion can make proper brushing and flossing difficult, leaving even vigilant brushers with decay from food particles that are almost impossible to remove. Malocclusion can also trigger TMD (Temporomandibular disorder). If you suspect that your teen’s bite is not aligned properly, or if your teen sees a clicking sound in the jaw joint, call Prestige Dentistry at 727-789-1980 to schedule an exam.
In spite of numerous Florida public service campaigns aimed at preventing teen smoking, many adolescents take up the harmful habit even before they graduate from high school. Smoking wrecks teeth as surely as it wrecks lungs.
Palm Harbor parents of adolescents are well aware that puberty has a significant impact on physical and emotional health. Puberty causes all sorts of changes in the body, and the mouth is no exception. Increased hormone levels (especially in females) can cause the body to react to a very small amount of plaque, triggering inflammation of gum tissue and increased risk of the more advanced form of gum disease known as periodontitis. Your dentist can advise you if more frequent professional cleanings are required to preserve gum health.
If you visit any soccer field or basketball court in Florida, you will see that many young athletes fail to protect their teeth. If your adolescent participates in a contact sport, talk to us about custom athletic mouthguards.
One of the teen dental issues that impacts most young men and women is wisdom teeth. It’s best to start monitoring your teen’s wisdom teeth early so they can be treated before they result in troubles with the jaw or surrounding teeth. And you certainly don’t want to send your high-school grad to an out-of-state college without addressing his or her third molars. If problems appear, your youth won’t be near their regular dentist, will probably miss class, and will either need to come home or use an out-of-network dentist or oral surgeon. If you don’t have a family dentist, Prestige Dentistry of Prestige Dentistry can examine your teen and evaluate X-rays to advise you on the best course of action for his or her wisdom teeth.
This article is by no means exhaustive on the vital subject of adolescent oral health. Other posts will discuss orthodontia, oral piercings, eating disorders, and abnormal teeth growth.
If you are looking for a family dentist in the Palm Harbor area, I invite you to schedule an appointment at Prestige Dentistry by calling 727-789-1980. We have been providing trusted dental care to Palm Harbor families since 1986. For more details about teen dental health or dental implants, sedation dentistry, or restorative dentistry, call today.
Contact Prestige Dentistry:
727-789-1980
Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):
4140 Woodlands Pkwy Ste A
Palm Harbor, Florida
34685
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