Family Dentistry Contributes to Overall Health
Family dentistry is a huge asset to have in your arsenal as a parent. A family dentist can diagnose periodontal problems before they start. Family dentists are an important member of your healthcare team. You might be asking yourself, “Do I need a family dentist? The statistics don’t lie.
Dental health is a leading health concern for young people. By the time they are in kindergarten, more than 40% of children have dental cavities. It’s very important to see family dentists at this age. Aside from the fact that dental issues are extremely painful oral health problems help contribute to child absenteeism. Children who don’t see the dentist and consequently have underlying dental issues are three times more likely to miss school.
Fortunately, there are ways to combat this problem. A regular trip to family dentists for cleanings will help prevent tooth decay. Teaching your children to adhere to healthy dental habits will prevent problems later in life. Help your children to brush their teeth until they reach the age of five, and then monitor their brushing after that. By the time they are around the age of eight, they should be able to do it by themselves unsupervised.
It’s important to teach children about good dental habits. Poor tooth maintenance as a child can lead to problems later in life. These include loss of teeth, cavities, and periodontal disease. Once this process starts it’s hard to stop. Family dentists will be required to fix any unwanted problems. This can lead to cosmetic dental procedures. A cosmetic dentist is different from a regular dentist. A cosmetic dentist is someone who improves the aesthetic quality of someone’s smile. This profession is especially relevant considering nearly one-fifth of people say they hide their teeth while taking pictures. Thirty-two percent of people say they are worried about “the look of their teeth.”
A dental emergency can happen at any time. Some examples of a dental emergency include cracked, broken, or knocked-out teeth. This can happen from biting down too hard on food, a sports injury, or some other type of mishap. Some emergencies require immediate care at the dentist while others can wait until normal business hours. If a tooth is broken or knocked out completely, this requires immediate care.
Tooth extraction can happen in adulthood. There are many different reasons why a tooth might be extracted. A common reason is that a tooth might be too badly decayed to fix. Other problems include trauma or an overly-crowded mouth. To prevent the spread of infection, a tooth might be removed. All of these problems require a trip to the family dentist.
It’s very important to take good care of your teeth. A myriad of problems can persist through childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood. Tooth decay is preventable. Regular trips to the dentist can prevent a lot of problems.
