Adolescent Oral Health in Oceanside | Oceanside Dental Excellence

If you are a teenager or the parent of a teenager, today’s Oceanside Dental Excellence post is for you. Today’s post discusses dental issues of special concern to adolescents. Dental risks for Oceanside teens include both developmental and lifestyle-related factors.

At Oceanside Dental Excellence, we see cavities and gum disease far too often in teens. Possible causes and complicating factors include insufficient dental hygiene, unhealthy diet, malocclusion, smoking, hormonal changes, tooth grinding, mouth breathing, eating disorders, and side effects of medications. As children become more independent, some get lax about their oral health in Oceanside. Furthermore, 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 Oceanside youth.

Malocclusion can make proper brushing and flossing difficult, 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 experiences a clicking sound in the jaw joint, call Oceanside Dental Excellence at 760-439-3400 to schedule an exam.

In spite of numerous California public service campaigns aimed at preventing teen smoking, many teenagers take up the harmful habit even before they graduate from high school. Smoking wrecks teeth as surely as it wrecks lungs. Oceanside parents of adolescents 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 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 guide you if more frequent professional cleanings are required to preserve oral health in Oceanside.

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 result in troubles 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 emerge, 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, Stephen and Kimberly Dankworth of Oceanside Dental Excellence can examine your teen and evaluate X-rays to counsel you on the best course of action for his or her wisdom teeth.

If you are looking for a family dentist in the Oceanside area, we invite you to schedule an appointment at Oceanside Dental Excellence by calling 760-439-3400. We prove premium dental care to Oceanside families and help them improve the state of their oral health in Oceanside. For more details about Invisalign, implant supported dentures, or porcelain veneers, call today.