Tag Archives: parenting

Top Five Best Oral Health Practices at School

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It may seem like a mindless matter, but packing an apple instead of a sugary snack in a child’s lunch this fall can help improve oral health and educational performance. After all, children eat more than 20 percent of their meals at school during the academic year. So Delta Dental, the nation’s largest dental benefits provider, reminds parents to make good decisions when packing a child’s school lunch.

Overconsumption of sugar harms a child’s oral and overall health. Snacks like cookies, candy and chewy fruit snacks mix with bacteria in the sticky plaque that constantly forms on teeth to generate acid, which can wear away enamel and cause tooth decay. While sweets may provide a temporary jolt for kids, that sugar rush soon turns into a crash and kids are left feeling lethargic. That is not the kind of mental state kids need to prepare for an afternoon of classes.

Instead, Delta Dental recommends these top five oral health best practices:

• After breakfast, before leaving for school, make sure your child brushes well with a fluoridated toothpaste. Brushing immediately following a meal helps clean teeth and eliminates halitosis (bad breath).

• Fill a child’s lunch box with healthy lunch food and snacks such as lean meats, whole grain breads, low-fat yogurt or cheeses, apples, bite-size carrots and baked chips or whole-grain crackers. Besides being packed with nutrients, certain fruits and veggies can even help clean the teeth and gums. Make treats a treat. Serve sugary sticky snacks like cookies, cake and brownies and candy only in moderation. Room parents should discuss bringing in healthy snacks along with sugary treats for birthdays and other classroom parties.

• If a child chews gum and the school allows it, chewing sugar-free gum for a few minutes in between lunch and afternoon classes can help stimulate saliva to buffer the acid and help dislodge food particles from the mouth. Gum containing the natural sweetener, Xylitol, is a particularly good option since studies have shown that consistent exposure to Xylitol can reduce cavity-causing bacteria in the mouth.

• Children with braces should try to brush or rinse well with water after lunch. Children who wear removable retainers should clean them well after each meal and rinse out their mouths.

• Before the school year starts, schedule a dental visit to make sure there are no problems to distract a child during the school year. Ask the dentist about sealants as a way to protect children’s teeth from cavities. Sealants – a thin coating of bonding material applied over the chewing surface of molar teeth – act as a barrier to cavity-causing bacteria.

Make Dentist Visits the Rule for Back-to-School

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Along with an annual physical, clothes and backpacks, Delta Dental suggests adding a visit to the dentist to your child’s back-to-school list this fall. Dental professionals recommend biannual visits for most children, and the end of summer is an ideal time because it follows a season in which kids have indulged in treats like soda, ice cream and cotton candy.

A dental visit is important because a dentist can diagnose potential oral health problems such as tooth decay or gum disease and apply preventive measures as needed, including teeth cleaning, fluoride treatment, dental sealants, and instruction on good dental hygiene habits. Making sure children get a clean bill of oral health before the school year allows them to return to class flashing a happy and healthy smile. Conversely, untreated dental problems can be painful and embarrassing, and can harm a child’s educational and social development. In 2007, for example, the State of California estimated that seven percent of their more than seven million schoolchildren (504,000) missed at least one day of school because of a dental problem. 1

Unfortunately, access to sufficient dental care is not nearly what it needs to be for children from poor and uninsured families. A study from the Pew Center on the States found that two-thirds of states in the U.S. do not have adequate policies in place to ensure access to proper preventive dentistry, particularly for those children that lack appropriate access to care. 2 Instead, programs like mobile dental units that visit schools and school-based dental sealant programs are playing a critical part in improving the oral health and quality of life of low-income, American children.

Ultimately, good oral health for children starts at home with proper dental hygiene and diet. The daily one-two punch of brushing twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste and flossing once is still the foundation for maintaining healthy teeth and gums. Very young children (ages one to five) are particularly prone to tooth decay and parents should supervise (or actually brush) to make sure they do a good job. A diet light on sugary snacks and drinks and rich in fruits and vegetables goes a long way toward maintaining good oral and overall health.

1(Source: 2007 California Health Interview Survey) UCLA Health Policy Research Brief – Unaffordable Dental Care Is Linked to Frequent School Absences, 2009 Pourat N and Nicholson G. http://www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu/pubs/files/Unaffordable_Dental_Care_PB_1109.pdf

2The Cost of Delay: State Dental Policies Fail One in Five Children. Pew Center on the States. http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/Cost_of_Delay_web.pdf.

Five Ways to Help Your Children Brush Better

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Poor and infrequent brushing may be some of the biggest obstacles preventing children in the United States from having good oral health. That’s one of the key findings from a recent survey1 of American children’s oral health, conducted on behalf of Delta Dental Plans Association, the nation’s leading dental benefits provider.

While nearly two out of five Americans (37 percent) report that their child’s overall oral health is excellent, more than a third of survey respondents (35 percent) admit their child brushes his or her teeth less than twice a day.

Among those who rate their child’s oral health as less than excellent, only 56 percent say their child brushes his or her teeth for at least 2 minutes, which is the amount of time dentists typically recommend spending on each brushing.

While the American Association of Pediatric Dentistry recommends daily flossing, nearly half (48 percent) of the survey respondents whose children have teeth say they have never been flossed; only 22 percent report their child’s teeth are flossed daily.

Getting small children to brush properly can be a challenge, but here are some ideas that can help:

• Trade places: Tired of prying your way in whenever it’s time to brush those little teeth? Why not reverse roles and let the child brush your teeth? It’s fun for them and shows them the right way to brush. Just don’t share a toothbrush. According to the American Dental Association, sharing a toothbrush may result in an exchange of microorganisms and an increased risk of infections.

• Fun Toothbrush Holder/Toothbrush: Another way to get children brushing is by utilizing oral health gifts like robot, tree or animal-shaped toothbrush holders that stick to walls. Kids like the characters and the holder provides a sanitary storage spot for their toothbrushes and toothpaste. Remember to apply just a small dab of toothpaste to the brush since the amount of fluoride in children’s toothpaste is still adult strength.

• Take turns: Set a timer and have the child brush his or her teeth for one minute. Then reset the timer and brush their teeth for the final minute.

• Call in reinforcements: If children stubbornly neglect to brush or floss, maybe it’s time to change the messenger. Call the dental office before the next checkup and let them know what’s going on. The same motivational message might be heeded if it comes from a third party, especially the dentist.

1 Morpace Inc. conducted the 2011 Delta Dental Children’s Oral Health Survey. Interviews were conducted by email nationally with 907 primary caregivers of children from birth to age 11. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of error is ±3.25 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Before Your Due Date, Schedule a Date With a Dentist’s Office

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Most pregnant women recognize how important their own overall health is for their baby’s health, but may ignore a critical component – their oral health. In fact, a survey of American children’s oral health conducted on behalf of Delta Dental found that nearly 4 out of 10 American mothers neglect to visit a dentist during pregnancy, which is significant to helping prevent harmful oral and overall health problems for themselves and their babies. Dentists can identify and treat teeth and gum problems, lowering the risk for more serious, ongoing health problems for both a mother and her baby.

While having a healthy mouth is always important, pregnancy can intensify dental problems. Hormonal changes during pregnancy can exaggerate the way gum tissue reacts to plaque, increasing the risk for gingivitis, the first stage of periodontal (gum) disease. Some studies have suggested that pregnant women with moderate-to-severe gum disease may be more at risk to give birth to low-weight or pre-term babies, who are at risk for many serious diseases.

Dental hygiene habits are controllable, but some pregnancy side effects may wreak havoc on a woman’s oral health. For instance, nausea and vomiting affect 80 percent of all pregnant women.2 The stomach acid from vomiting can erode tooth enamel – making teeth sensitive and more vulnerable to decay. A woman may also feel less willing to follow her usual pattern of regular brushing and flossing.

Most moms-to-be also experience cravings. The additional snacking can lead to increased tooth decay. Giving into cravings for sugary foods can be worse for expectant mothers’ teeth, since sugar is a major cause of tooth decay.

Along with visiting the dentist, Delta Dental offers the following tips to help prevent oral health complications during pregnancy:

• Brush your teeth twice daily with fluoride toothpaste and floss once daily.
• Limit foods containing sugar to mealtime only. If you do indulge one of those cravings, drink a glass of water while snacking and brush your teeth once you’re done.
• Choose water or low-fat milk to drink and avoid carbonated beverages.
• Opt for fruit rather than fruit juice to meet the recommended daily fruit intake.
• If you suffer from “morning sickness,” rinse your mouth out with water and baking soda solution afterward. The combination will neutralize the acid. Also brush your teeth gently and if you chew gum, use the kind with xylitol as the main sweetener.

1 Morpace Inc. conducted the 2011 Delta Dental Children’s Oral Health Survey. Interviews were conducted by email nationally with 907 primary caregivers of children from birth to age 11. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of error is ±3.25 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

2 American Academy of Family Physicians, Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy, 2003.