Attention parents! It’s time for a back-to-school-hack — schedule a dental check-up for your child a few weeks before school starts. Here are 3 reasons why it is just as important as picking out a new backpack.
1. Taking care of dental issues will help your child focus on academics.
Between sports, parent-teacher conferences, holidays and other extracurricular activities, once school starts up, finding time to go to the dentist is hard. While summer is busy in its own way, summer activities are usually more flexible which makes it easier to fit in a dental check-up.
Visiting the dentist a few weeks or even the month before school starts can be especially helpful if you have any issues that need a subsequent visit. Missing school for dental work can put your child behind the class, and those first days of the year are especially crucial. You don’t want to have to deal with making up homework or rushing to the dentist right after a long day of school with your tired child.
What’s more is that if you don’t go to the dentist at all, and then your child develops a painful dental issue, that discomfort can lead to distraction in class and missing out on important learning opportunities.
In fact, according to a study released by the American Journal of Public Health, children with poor oral health are 3 times as likely to miss school as a result of dental pain. That statistic is motivation enough!
2. We can help you protect your children’s teeth with a fitted mouth guard for sports.
Whether your child will be playing tackle football, basketball or even lacrosse, a mouth guard is a small investment that can yield big rewards. According to the Journal of American Dental Association, 13 to 19 percent of all dental injuries are sports related and males are twice as likely to suffer a dental injury in sports.
While you can pick up a standard mouth guard at your local sporting goods store, a custom model fitted to your child’s teeth offers extra protection and comfort. If your child’s mouth guard is bulky and uncomfortable, they will likely be less inclined to wear it and lose that protective measure.
3. Your oral hygiene habits probably took a dive this summer.
Let’s be honest, nobody brushed their teeth after eating those sticky s’mores around the campfire right? Summer vacations, sleepovers, family reunions and outdoor outings can throw us off our routine and result in less-than-perfect brushing and flossing. Which is why it is great idea to stop in and get your children’s teeth checked after a summer indulging in sugary treats. We can see if any cavities have started to form and get them taken care of ASAP.
