KEEPING YOUR FAMILY’S TEETH HEALTHY: A GUIDE
Regular visits to your dentist near Belmont are essential to keeping your whole family’s teeth healthy. Dentists can keep tabs on issues like bruxism or teeth grinding. Additionally, only professional cleaning can help you avoid gum disease, tooth decay, and more serious oral health problems. Kids and adults should also brush at least twice per day and floss every night. Finally, parents should consider investing in dental sealants for younger children. Keep reading to learn more about how regular dentist visits, good oral hygiene, and affordable dental sealants can preserve your family’s oral health.
Schedule Regular Dental Visits
One of the best things you can do for the whole family is visit your dental office twice per year. Dentists can recognize bruxism and tooth alignment problems in children and recommend Invisalign or other braces early on. Only a dentist can diagnose gingivitis before it develops into more serious periodontitis. This condition is extremely painful and is also irreversible.
Practice Good Oral Hygiene
One in four children develops signs of tooth decay before they start school. This serious problem is largely due to the fact that some parents inadvertently begin brushing and flossing teeth too late. As soon as a child’s first tooth appears, a dentist recommends that parents begin cleaning the teeth and gums with a soft, damp cloth. When more teeth come in, begin brushing with regular toothpaste and a toothbrush. Each member of your family should brush their teeth twice each day with fluoride toothpaste and floss before bedtime to prevent gum disease and cavities.
Purchase Affordable Dental Sealants
To keep kids’ teeth healthy, dentists advise investing in dental sealants. Sealants are thin protective coatings applied to the chewing surfaces of back teeth. Because sealants fill up pits and fissure, they make it hard for bacteria and plaque to accumulate. When plaque builds up, cavities can form and gum disease can develop. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sealants are highly effective in preventing caries—and are also very affordable.
