The school year is almost here! Are your kids completely ready? All supplies bought? Vitamins and other supplements in the house? Healthy lunches planned or packed? What about their dental health? This should be part of your back-to-school prep! Dental health is a huge part of your child’s overall health as the mouth is the gateway to the body.
Healthy teeth can keep your child healthy
Physically, healthy teeth help your child eat well, leading to better digestion and nutrition. Kids with teeth problems can refuse some types of food– like nutritious fruits, and meats like beef and chicken rich in B vitamins and protein– because of tooth or gum irritation! You’ll be surprised how often pickiness can be traced to a dental problem.
…and vice versa. Kids indulged in sweets and other less healthy treats and snacks end up with tooth decay that can lead to gum problems, which can lead to dental and orthodontic problems down the line.
Speaking and confidence
Properly aligned teeth and jaws assist in your child’s speech development. Being able to communicate clearly gives your child a great sense of accomplishment! Our pediatric dentists and orthodontists commonly work with children to assist them with these problems.
For older kids, confidence can come from brighter smiles. While you can’t avoid adorable gaps where the baby teeth have left to make way for your child’s permanent teeth, you can avoid tooth decay and crooked teeth with timely dental and orthodontic care.
Keep a good dental hygiene habit and visit the dentist
Stock up on toothbrushes, not just socks! Change your child’s toothbrush after any encounter with viruses. Regular brushing not only keeps teeth healthy– it also gets rid of germs!
Visiting the dentist at the beginning of the school year helps give your child the confidence of a healthy, happy smile while protecting your child from tooth decay. Our pediatric dentists can also look at the grooves on the back teeth and recommend protective sealants when appropriate.
Contact fall sports require mouthguards and our team is also adept at making custom mouthguards for our serious athletes. These can significantly reduce the chance of sports contact related injury.
We offer convenient hours including after school, on Saturdays, and coordinate appointments between our pediatric dentists, hygienists, and orthodontists to allow you to limit the number of visits required for dental care appointments.
About Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan, the offices of Drs. Plunkett, Ralstrom, Makowski, Thanasas, Ker, and Associates
Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan have specialized in pediatric dentistry and orthodontics since 1968. Our family-friendly and newly renovated office gives patients and families a more comfortable and consistent experience with dentistry from the very beginning. Our pediatric dentists treat children from newborn to 18 years of age while our orthodontists provide care for both children and adults and are proud to be Premier Providers of Invisalign and Invisalign Teen services. The ability to treat all patients with compassion and individuality, including those that may have special needs reaches beyond our facility, which has treatment rooms available for children who require additional privacy and customized care options. We pioneered valued hospital affiliations to allow dental services to be performed at DMC Children’s Hospital and St. John Macomb Hospital, when appropriate or necessary, and our specialists are also proud to be on staff at Henry Ford and Beaumont hospitals.
