If you are a teenager or the parent of a teenager, today’s Alaska Premier Dental Group post is for you. Today’s post discusses dental issues of special concern to adolescents. Dental risks for Anchorage teens include both developmental and lifestyle-related factors.
At Alaska Premier Dental Group, we see cavities and gum disease far too often in teens. Possible causes and complicating factors include insufficient dental hygiene, unhealthy diet, malocclusion (misaligned bite), smoking, hormonal changes, tooth grinding, mouth breathing, eating disorders, and side effects of medications.
As children become more independent, some get lax about brushing and flossing. Additionally, some teens’ diets become worse when they have more freedom to choose what to eat. Few parents let their four-year-old drink an energy drink, but they are consumed frequently by Anchorage adolescents – presumably without their parent’s knowledge.
Malocclusion can make proper brushing and flossing challenging, leaving even vigilant brushers with decay from food particles that are almost impossible to remove. Malocclusion can also trigger TMD (Temporomandibular disorder). If you suspect that your teen’s bite is not aligned properly, or if your teen sees a clicking sound in the jaw joint, call Alaska Premier Dental Group at 907-337-0404 to schedule an exam.
In spite of numerous Alaska public service campaigns aimed at preventing teen smoking, many teenagers take up the harmful habit even before they graduate from high school. Smoking wrecks teeth as surely as it wrecks lungs.
Anchorage parents of adolescents are well aware that puberty has a significant impact on physical and emotional health. Puberty causes all sorts of changes in the body, and the mouth is no exception. Increased hormone levels (especially in females) can cause the body to react to a very small amount of plaque, triggering inflammation of gum tissue and an increased risk of the more advanced form of gum disease known as periodontitis. Your dentist can guide you if more frequent professional cleanings are needed to preserve gum health.
If you visit any soccer field or basketball court in Alaska, you will see that many young athletes fail to protect their teeth. If your adolescent participates in a contact sport, meet with us about custom athletic mouthguards.
One of the teen dental issues that impacts most young men and women is wisdom teeth. It’s best to start monitoring your teen’s wisdom teeth early so they can be treated before they result in problems with the jaw or surrounding teeth. And you certainly don’t want to send your high-school grad to an out-of-state college without addressing his or her third molars. If problems develop, your youth won’t be near their regular dentist, will probably miss class, and will either need to come home or use an out-of-network dentist or oral surgeon. If you don’t have a family dentist, Brian Kruchoski of Alaska Premier Dental Group can examine your teen and evaluate X-rays to counsel you on the best course of action for his or her wisdom teeth.
This article is by no means exhaustive on the important subject of adolescent oral health. Future posts will discuss orthodontia, oral piercings, eating disorders, and abnormal teeth growth.
If you are looking for a family dentist in the Anchorage area, I invite you to schedule an appointment at Alaska Premier Dental Group by calling 907-337-0404. We have been providing first-rate dental care to Anchorage families since 1997. For more information about teen dental health or family dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, or dental implants, call today.
Contact Alaska Premier Dental Group:
907-337-0404
Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):
6611 DeBarr Rd, Ste 100 and 200
Anchorage, Alaska
99504
