Harmful Dental Habits Your Child Should Avoid

When babies start crawling, toddling, and even running we safeguard table corners and try to make all parts of the home a soft place for a baby to prevent injury. However, it is impossible to keep children safe from all potential dangers. What we can do is be aware that accidents may occur and be prepared to handle them, knowing how to reach your children’s emergency dentist in the event of one of these accidents could mean the difference between tooth loss and preserving your child’s dental health.

Your kid’s dental care is the responsibility of the caregivers that interact with your child every day. Posting and making available the contact information about your dental provider during office hours and when the office is closed is a great step toward preserving your child’s dental health.

Your guidance and supervision is a critical step in helping your child to maintain their oral health. Kids don’t think things through – biting their fingernails is just a way for them to pass the time while sitting in class or watching TV. But this habit presents the potential for chipping their teeth, and even altering their occlusion if continued.

Kids drink lots of cold drinks that contain ice. Dental enamel is very strong, but so is ice. Discouraging biting and chewing on ice by informing your child of the potential damage they could be doing might go further than just telling them not to do it!

Teeth grinding and jaw clenching is a habit that often starts subconsciously during periods of sleep, and it is not restricted to stressed out adults. Kids feel stress and anxiety for many reasons such as school, peer pressure, their complexion, weight, their possessions (or lack of them), fashion … so many things are important to kids. Grinding can wear down dental enamel leading to broken teeth and dental decay.

Kids like to show off. So they might try to learn to do things that could damage their teeth like opening bottles or packages with their teeth.

Parents and caregivers can take proactive action through supervision, education, and example. Make sure children are brushing and flossing correctly daily, and make sure they see the dentist every six months for cleaning, polishing, and dental exam. Your children will reap the benefits of your efforts with great oral health for their lifetime.

Call our office today to set up an appointment with our caring team at Fort Worth Children’s Dentistry!