Your Dentist in Norman Says Make Oral Care a Back-to-School Priority

As summer draws near its end and your children prepare to head back to school, your dentist in Norman says this is a great time to help them revamp their oral hygiene habits. As you read on, you’ll learn why this is so important, how your children’s return to school can be used as a means to encourage better oral care and how to prevent oral maladies from occurring.

Why is Oral Hygiene So Important?

The simple tasks of brushing and flossing at least two times a day serve as two main contributors to excellent oral health. Brushing helps to agitate and then remove leftover food particles and the bacteria that cling to them. Because it can only cover about 60% of the surface of the teeth, though, there’s a need for flossing. By probing the tight spaces between teeth, the latter helps to clean the remaining 40% of the surface.

The combination of these two hygienic practices prevent a host of oral maladies that parents have to worry about, such as cavities, gum disease, toothaches and other problems. Thus, practicing excellent oral hygiene is one of the ultimate forms of prevention.

Going Back to School Encourages Better Oral Hygiene?

Can going back to school encourage better oral hygiene? Your dentist says it can and lists two factors that contribute to improvements:

• A Strict Schedule – For many kids, summer is a time when there is no rush to wake-up by a certain time each morning. Thus, their oral hygiene schedules can be knocked off course. When school restarts, though, children are once again required to get on a schedule, which is an excellent way to reintroduce proper dental hygiene to their daily routines.
• Greater Self-Awareness – Another benefit of your children heading back to school is that as they get older, they become more self-aware, Thus, they feel the pressure to be more cognizant of their personal hygiene. The last thing they want to do is be the person with the worst smelling breath in the school.

As a parent, you can use positive reinforcement to support your children’s dental hygiene habits to ensure that they continue this productive trend throughout the year.

A Final Way to Encourage Excellent Oral Hygiene

Finally, scheduling your children for preventive care visits is a great way to encourage excellent oral hygiene. Then, by setting up the appointments to coincide with the end of summer and then six months later during the winter break, you’ll make life a lot easier for yourself and your kids. That’s because they won’t have to miss school, and you’ll be able to better schedule these appointments without adding any extra stress to your life.

With the help of your dentist’s care and by taking the above information into account, you can rest assured that your children will have a healthy and beautiful smile for the entire year!

About the Author

Dr. Bobby J. Carmen earned his dental degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry. Throughout his career, he’s remained steadfast about learning more and further honing his skills, which is why he takes continuing education hours annually. Additionally, Dr. Carmen maintains membership in several professional organizations, which helps him stay abreast of the latest changes in the world of dentistry. He helps children experience the absolute best in oral care at his private practice and can be reached for more information through his website.