If you are a teenager or the parent of a teenager, today’s Mark A. Miely DDS post is for you. Today’s post discusses dental issues of special concern to adolescents. Dental risks for Upper Arlington teens include both developmental and lifestyle-related factors.
At Mark A. Miely DDS, we see 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. 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 Upper Arlington youth – presumably without their parents’ knowledge.
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 sees a clicking sound in the jaw joint, call Mark A. Miely DDS at 614-451-2100 to schedule an exam.
In spite of numerous Ohio public service campaigns aimed at preventing teen smoking, many teenagers take up the detrimental habit even before they graduate from high school. Smoking wrecks teeth as surely as it wrecks lungs.
Upper Arlington 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 (especially in females) can cause the body to react to a very small amount of plaque, triggering inflammation of gum tissue and an increased risk of the more advanced form of gum disease known as periodontitis. Your dentist can guide you if more frequent professional cleanings are needed to preserve gum health.
If you visit any soccer field or basketball court in Ohio, 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 lead to dilemmas 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 appear, 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, Mark Miely of Mark A. Miely DDS can examine your teen and evaluate X-rays to advise you on the best course of action for his or her wisdom teeth.
This article is by no means exhaustive on the critical 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 Upper Arlington area, I invite you to schedule an appointment at Mark A. Miely DDS by calling 614-451-2100. We have been providing unmatched dental care to Upper Arlington families since 1983. For more details about teen dental health or cosmetic dentistry, 6-month smiles, or Inman aligners, call today.
Contact Mark A. Miely DDS:
614-451-2100
Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):
1840 Zollinger Rd
Upper Arlington, Ohio
43221