Dental Tips for Back To School

Your children may have the latest clothes, school supplies and sports equipment for the new school year, but do they have a healthy mouth and the tools they’ll need to maintain it?  Dr. Elzbieta W. Basil, DMD, a dentist with offices in West Hartford Center and Downtown New Britain recommends a few things for back to school.

To start, according to the American Dental Association, a dental examination is as important as immunizations and booster shots and should be a regular part of back-to-school preparations. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that tooth decay affects U.S. children more than any other chronic infectious disease and about 1 in 5 children ages 2 to 19 years old have untreated tooth decay. 

Moreover, dental pain or disease can lead to difficulty in eating, speaking, playing and learning as well as millions of hours of missed school.  In a recent study published in the Journal of Public Health, it was found that between 58 and 80 hours of school were missed due to dental pain and toothaches out of every 100 students between the ages of 5 and 17.  The parents of those students missed an average of 2.5 work days to take their child to their pediatric dentist. 

Therefore, Dr. Basil suggests that your children’s back-to-school checklist should include:

• Regular dental examinations to diagnose and treat or prevent dental problems-Parents and teachers may not realize there's a dental problem, so regular checkups are important. Your dentist may suggest fluoride treatments or sealants to prevent decay and can diagnose and treat dental problems to save your child pain and lost school time.
• Regular brushing with fluoride toothpaste and flossing-Head for the dental care isle when you're out shopping for notebooks, binders and pencils. If parents buy several toothbrushes they could have their child change to a new one every three months or so, or after an illness. If it's hard to remember when to change a brush, try this: change it every time report cards come out. Ask your dentist for a recommendation on how often to change toothbrushes.
• Eating healthy lunches and snacks-Include portable healthy lunch items and snacks in your child's sack lunch, including grains, milk, cheese, raw vegetables, yogurt or fruit. If your child eats in the school cafeteria, review healthy, balanced food choices with him before the first day of school. Cut back on sugary foods and soft drinks.  An apple a day actually cleans the teeth, and is low in sugars and acids that could cause tooth decay.
• Wearing a properly fitted mouthguard-while participating in organized sports or activities where it is possible for the mouth to contact something hard (including the ground).  A custom mouthguard from a dentist is inexpensive, and is much better than anything you can find in a blister pack in the sporting goods aisle.
• Know how to handle Dental Emergencies-Occasionally, you will encounter a dental emergency.  Teeth can get knocked out or cracked due to falls or rough play, resulting in the need to provide emergency dental care. If your child accidentally knocks out his or her tooth, carefully pick up the tooth without touching the root.  The primary concern is keeping the tooth moist.  This can be accomplished by temporarily putting the tooth back in its socket or placing it between your child’s check and gum while enroute to your pediatric dentist.  If neither of those options are viable, pour a small glass of milk and place the tooth in the glass.

Keep smiling,

Dr. Elzbieta W. Basil, DMD is a private practice dentist with offices in West Hartford Center and Downtown New Britain, Connecticut.  She is a Clinical Instructor at the UConn School of Dental Medicine, and has won several awards naming her regional “Best Dentist” and “Top Dentist.” She is an active member of the Connecticut State Dental Association and the American Dental Association. Tel: 860-561-2121