There are a few dental health tips for teenagers that everybody should try and follow. It is during these years that a person transitions from being a child into an adult. So, it’s expected that most a teenager’s teeth are already permanent. By now, all of your baby teeth should’ve fallen out of place. With permanent teeth comes the right time to take responsibility for them. You don’t want to mistreat them and, in turn, have them extracted due to damage or decay. That’s why these dental health tips for teenagers are focused on the dental issues you have to look out for.

Dental Health Tips for Teenagers

Do know that these dental health tips for teenagers will cover a wide variety of issues and other improvements. The latter being an important part of a teen’s life because it can dictate whether or not your teeth get to stay. In addition, most of these tips are pretty easy to do. Essentially, these tips will help you keep your teeth by the time you reach adulthood. Most of them won’t cost anything that’s not worth paying for. So, here are five of the best dental health tips for teenagers.

Wisdom Tooth

The biggest issue that a teenager must face nearing adulthood is the eruption of his/her wisdom tooth. As mentioned above, you would already have a complete set of permanent of teeth. However, by the time you reach 17, you might start to feel something sprouting at the back of your teeth. This is your wisdom teeth. Although the tooth itself does take a few years or months before it’s fully felt, it helps to know when.

Now, if you’re lucky, your wisdom tooth may sprout at a right angle thus causing no complication. However, for most of the time, you may suffer from an impacted wisdom tooth. This happens when it erupts at an abnormal tilt causing it to come in contact with your other teeth. An impacted tooth spells disaster unless you have it removed. Here are a few symptoms you should be aware of.

• Swollen gums
• Difficulty to open your mouth
• Bad breath
• Bleeding gums

Luckily for you, most dental clinics today are fit to remove an impacted wisdom tooth. Just make sure to consult your dentist first.

Dental Plans

To properly care for your teeth, know that visiting a dentist is actually part of it. It is recommended for a teenager to see his/her dentist at least once every 3 – 4 months. Getting a routine dental examination will make sure that you’re in the know about your teeth. You get to plan out what you should do on any outlying problem. Practice prevention before things gets worse. This should be the mindset one must have going into a dental examination.

However, if you can’t visit your dentist every 3 – 4 months then do it every 6 months. Get a cleaning too while you’re at it. A professional cleaning ensures that any plaque and tartar buildup is effectively removed.

Braces

Now, braces may not sound too attractive for someone in their teenage years. But hear us out. Braces have seen a bit of a rise in popularity for their look. Wearing braces no longer grant a person the same negative impact as it did years ago.

However, why should you get braces? Well, you shouldn’t unless you have crooked teeth. The best way to find out if you are viable for a set of braces is through an orthodontist. “Why now?” you may ask. “Why not get braces during my later years?” well, there are a few reasons. The recommended age for a person to get braces is 12. Braces stay in your mouth for 12 – 24 months. Now, the sooner you start wearing braces the sooner their getting removed.

Of course, not everyone today can afford a set of braces. They’re a bit pricey and can cause discomfort for first time users. If you can’t afford them then the best thing to do is visit an orthodontist. Only your orthodontist can tell you what you can do to prevent it from getting worse.

Care For Your Permanent Teeth

Aside from adopting a dental routine lie brushing and flossing. You should also be aware of the things that come into contact with your teeth. The food you eat and the sodas you drink can greatly affect the outcome of your teeth.

First of all, try and avoid from snacking on too many sugary snacks. Chocolate, donuts, candy, cake, and all other sugar baits should be lessened. Why? Because all those things you hear them say about sugar is true. It does cause cavities because the bacteria in your mouth use it to produce acid.

Also, if you want to maintain the color of your teeth, try and stay away from too much soda and coffee. These two drinks are one of the biggest causes of yellow teeth.

However, if you can’t resist the taste of sugar or a cup of coffee then make sure to brush thoroughly. Brush twice a day, floss, and add mouthwash into your routine.

Smoking is BAD. Period.

Listen here kids, smoking may look cool at first but wait until that smoker beams down on you. You’ll get a good look at what nicotine and tobacco can do to your teeth.

Not only does smoking cause teeth to yellow and gums to darken, but it too promotes the worst kinds of tooth decay. If you haven’t smoked a single cigarette yet then good, keep at it. If you have then quit while you’re ahead. Nothing good will come from your smoking.

A Few Closing Words

Your teeth are permanent. They’re there with you unless you do something. Try and keep your teeth intact for as long as you can. The trouble of having it removed is not the service itself but what comes after. Crooked teeth and bone loss. These are the two things that everyone with missing teeth will experience. The cost to keep your teeth intact is so much less than to have to replace them.