If you are a teenager or the parent of a teenager, today’s Felton Dental Care post is for you. Today’s post discusses dental issues of special concern to adolescents. Dental risks for Missoula teens include both developmental and lifestyle-related factors.
At Felton Dental Care, we see tooth decay and gum disease far too often in teens. Possible causes and complicating factors include insufficient dental hygiene, unhealthy diet, malocclusion (misaligned bite), smoking, hormonal changes, tooth grinding, mouth breathing, eating disorders, and side effects of medications.
As children become more independent, some get lax about brushing and flossing. Moreover, some teens’ diets become worse when they have more freedom to choose what to eat. Few parents let their four year-old drink an energy drink, but they are consumed frequently by Missoula teenagers – presumably without their parents’ knowledge.
Malocclusion can make proper brushing and flossing challenging, leaving even vigilant brushers with decay from food particles that are almost impossible to remove. Malocclusion can also trigger TMD (Temporomandibular disorder). If you suspect that your teen’s bite is not aligned properly, or if your teen observes a clicking sound in the jaw joint, call Felton Dental Care at 406-728-0896 to schedule an exam.
In spite of numerous Montana public service campaigns aimed at preventing teen smoking, many youth take up the harmful habit even before they graduate from high school. Smoking wrecks teeth as surely as it wrecks lungs.
Missoula parents of teenagers are well aware that puberty has a significant impact on physical and emotional health. Puberty causes all sorts of changes in the body, and the mouth is no exception. Increased hormone levels (especially in females) can cause the body to react to a very small amount of plaque, triggering inflammation of gum tissue and increased risk of the more advanced form of gum disease known as periodontitis. Your dentist can counsel you if more frequent professional cleanings are needed to preserve gum health.
If you visit any soccer field or basketball court in Montana, you will see that many young athletes fail to protect their teeth. If your adolescent participates in a contact sport, speak with us about custom athletic mouthguards.
One of the teen dental issues that impacts most young men and women is wisdom teeth. It’s best to start monitoring your teen’s wisdom teeth early so they can be treated before they bring about problems with the jaw or surrounding teeth. And you certainly don’t want to send your high-school grad to an out-of-state college without addressing his or her third molars. If problems ensue, your youth won’t be near their regular dentist, will probably miss class, and will either need to come home or use an out-of-network dentist or oral surgeon. If you don’t have a family dentist, Brett Felton of Felton Dental Care can examine your teen and evaluate X-rays to counsel you on the best course of action for his or her wisdom teeth.
This article is by no means exhaustive on the important subject of adolescent oral health. Future posts will discuss orthodontia, oral piercings, eating disorders, and abnormal teeth growth.
If you are looking for a family dentist in the Missoula area, I invite you to schedule an appointment at Felton Dental Care by calling 406-728-0896. We have been providing premium dental care to Missoula families since 2007. For more details about teen dental health or restorative dentistry, laser dentistry, or dental implants, call today.
Contact Felton Dental Care:
406-728-0896
Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):
1750 Brooks St
Missoula, Montana
59801
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