Are you happily sun-kissed and water-logged from the long hot playful days with your kids? Looking for any “shade activities”? This has been a record hot summer. Here is a thought. Why not take your kids to their 6 month dental check up before they go back to school? OK we feel your exaggerated eye roll, but give us a chance.
One thing that the office will do that you can’t do, is teach the kids how to take care of their own teeth. Every time you go into our office, your child is trained on brushing and for the right age they are given lessons on flossing. Kids listen better about brushing when it is not mom or dad. As you know this is especially true as they get closer to being a teenager. We see the kids puff up with pride when they know they are cavity free. After their dental visit they are a bit more motivated to brush and this regular check up time teaches them from an early age to take pride in their smile.
If you have a young 9 to 12 year old with pretty crowded teeth or already a noticeable overbite, this may be time to start some orthodontic interventions. There are things like a palatal expansion appliances, that helps to make room for the teeth. Sometimes this can eliminate full orthodontic treatment later but sometimes it does not. It will however cut down the time and intensity of full ortho and therefore the cost since the more complex the treatment, the more expensive the treatment.
Do you have a teen that is graduating this year or next year? They need to look their best at prom. It is the most important time for any teenager, a passage of life. Teen Invisalign works! It may be less expensive than you think and most dental insurance with ortho coverage will cover any child under 19. At our office, you can take advantage of the special on Invisalign with interest free monthly payments. It is possible your teen can perfect their smile for as little $199 a month. Find out with an Invisalign consult. There is still time for this coming year’s prom. A lot of movement can be accomplished but the sooner you start treatment the more chances that the smile is closer to perfection by next May 2016.
Empowering your child’s oral health might just benefit you as well, according to the Canadian Pediatric Society, Children who had early preventive dental visits were more likely to use preventive services subsequently and to incur lower dental-related costs over time. We know anything that can help a family’s pocket book is a good thing.
And the one thing more finite than money? Time. According to Health Canada _an estimated 2.26 million school-days and 4.15 million working-days are lost annually due to dental visits or dental sick-days._ We know that one six month check up during the summer won’t make a huge dent in those numbers, but if your kids do have cavities and need more appointments, why not get them done before your child needs to possibly miss school and you miss work.
What about grades? As Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC states: _Children who reported having recent tooth pain were four times more likely to have a low grade point average. Physical discomfort can’t make learning easy, but a lower grad point average due to oral health issues can have unnecessary long term effects._ We offer an easy side step, summer dental appointments. Make going to the dentist an easy fun experience, at least that’s our intention.
Your child’s oral health is taken care of, they’ve gotten out of the sun for a while and you can now relax knowing you’ve done your super parent duty. We can’t wait to see you. Book your summer appointments today!
