•  

               

    Message from the School Dental Hygienist….  

    Back to school …A good time for a dental check-up!  

    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 19 percent of children ages 2 to 19 years old have untreated tooth decay. Dental pain or disease can lead to difficulty in eating, speaking, playing and learning as well as millions of hours of missed school.

    Your child's back-to-school “dental 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.

    ·         Brushing teeth twice a day, in the morning before school and at night before bed.  Try to brush for 2 minutes with fluoride toothpaste.  Also get in habit of flossing once a day. 

    ·         Throwing away an old toothbrush and using a new one every three months or so, or after an illness. If it's hard to remember when to change a brush, you could try to change it every time report cards come out.

    ·         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, soft drinks and sports drinks and  drink lots of water instead.

    ·         Wearing a properly fitted mouthguard while participating in organized sports.