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A Guide to Maintaining Your Family’s Dental Health

Maintaining Your Family’s Dental Health

In your busy everyday life, it can be easy to forget about your family’s dental health. You have so much on your plate between work, school, childcare, and doctor’s appointments, that it’s easy to ignore your kid’s teeth.

However, oral health is important for people of all ages. Some parents think that children can neglect dental health because baby teeth fall out anyway, but damage now can cause lasting oral health problems for your child even after their permanent teeth come in. When they’re young is also the best time to model healthy behaviors that will last them a lifetime.

Here are a few tips from expert dentists to help you maintain your family’s dental health without compromising your busy lifestyle.

1. Teach Good Dental Habits at Home

dental visitRegular dental visits are important, but teaching your family to take care of their dental health regularly is even more crucial to lifelong oral health. Teach your kids early that brushing their teeth at least twice a day is important. Be sure to emphasize proper brushing techniques and teach them to brush for two minutes at a time.

Besides brushing, flossing is also important. Cambridge dental services provider says “flossing is a critical hygiene habit that not only cleans and dislodges food particles stuck between your teeth, it also reduces the amount of bacteria and plaque in your mouth that can cause cavities and gum disease.” Teaching your family proper flossing techniques will help them with lifelong health.

2. Practice Good Nutrition

Healthy, balanced meals are important for the whole family. They are particularly crucial for children, who need proper nutrients to grow. Feeding your family unhealthy food could also cause lasting damage to your child’s oral health.

The Family Dental Center of East Texas advises parents to give kids plenty of fruits and vegetables. The vitamins and nutrients promote dental and gum health, while some nutrients such as fiber act as natural tooth cleansers. While you cannot eliminate sugar (and you shouldn’t since children need treats as part of a well-balanced diet), you should limit your family’s consumption. Too much sugar causes cavities and helps build bad habits that are harder to let go of later in life.

3. Understand the Full Extent of Oral Health

Oral-Health-of-kidMany people think that oral health only matters as long as your teeth are cavity-free, white, and straight. However, oral health encompasses a much broader range of conditions. Often, the mouth is one of the first places where common diseases show symptoms.

Regular dental checkups for you and your children can help improve your family’s overall well-being. You never know what conditions your dentist could catch, and what solutions they could offer. For example, some dentists such as Inglewood Family Dental in Calgary can treat sleep apnea, which causes dangerous obstructions of breathing passages in children.

Understanding the full range of conditions your dentist could treat can help you explain the importance of regular visits to your family and advocate for them in the clinic.

Article Submitted By Community Writer

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