Whenever teens see an adult with missing or discolored teeth, they may think it can’t happen to them. But as you know (maybe even firsthand), it can—perhaps sooner than they think.
In adolescence, a poor dental regimen carried over from childhood can combine with new risky influences to create a perfect oral health storm.
It may be difficult to coax your teenager to develop good habits that avoid painful and costly dental treatment in early adulthood and beyond.
Yet certain elements of adolescent psychology, with all its pressures and uncertainty, also offer an excellent opportunity for you to direct a child towards better oral care.
Activities, habits, and behaviors that contribute to tooth decay:
*Bleaching teeth: In an endless quest for perfect white teeth and smiles, some teens misuse and abuse whiteners. If your teen exhibits this addictive behavior, or “bleachorexia,” make sure they follow the manufacturer’s guidelines. While whitening is only temporary, enamel breakdown from over-bleaching can increase teeth sensitivity for a long time. If this obsession persists, have a dentist monitor your child weekly until this condition improves.[1]
*Wearing mouth jewelry: Fixed or permanent mouth jewelry, bonded to the teeth, can’t be removed by the wearer. Bacteria can penetrate the opening of the piercing and cause infections. In the case of tongue piercings, it can also cause gum recession.[2]
*Overscheduling and neglect: If your children are on busy schedules, they may be tempted to crunch on ice to avoid hunger. But ice chewing can fracture teeth. Unfortunately, meals aren’t the only routines they skip—daily flossing and even brushing teeth may go by the wayside for kids who are overscheduled, disorganized, and impulsive. The good news is that activities centered on mindfulness and prioritizing can make a difference.[3]
*Bulimia: This eating disorder plays havoc with teens’ teeth as well as with their bodies and emotions. Sugars consumed during high-carb food binging break down tooth enamel. The tooth decay that follows can lead to bleeding gums, yellow, brittle teeth, swollen salivary glands, mouth sores, dry mouth, and sensitivity when eating hot or cold food.
*Sugary drinks: Citric and ascorbic acid, combined with sugar, can erode enamel, particularly among adolescents who chug lots of sports drinks. Though dietary guidelines issued in 2010 called for limiting added sugars to less than 10% of daily calories, only 31.3% of youngsters aged 12-19 years old do so.[4] Encourage your teen to turn to water as an alternative. But, if you do decide to stock your refrigerator with citrus fruits and sports drinks, keep these to a minimum.
*Vaping: E-cigarettes produce formaldehyde through their high voltage lithium batteries. This chemical causes a large risk for mouth and face injuries due to explosions. Most people are aware of nicotine’s addictive properties, but they may not know that it also restricts blood flow in the mouth—decreasing the ability to ward off common infections, leading to gum issues and rotting teeth.
*Cannabis: Legal in a growing number of states in both recreational and medicinal forms, cannabis is more potent than in previous years—and more likely to impact oral care as well as overall health. The trouble is, cannabis smoking is associated with periodontal complications, dry mouth, and white patches in the mouth, as well as increased risk of mouth and neck cancers.[5]
*Chewing tobacco: If your child thinks this is a risk-free alternative to smoking—or a way to take nicotine in class with nobody the wiser – they’d better think again. Smokeless tobacco has been linked to oral cancer, as well as throat, mouth, and tongue infections. In particular, high school athletes are less likely to smoke cigarettes but more likely to use chewing tobacco than their non-athletic peers.[6]
*Sports-related injuries: Particularly in sports like basketball or baseball that offer less facial protection, the possibility of a mouth injury is high. Make sure your student-athlete wears a mouth guard—and, even before that, schedule proper dental screenings to decrease the chance of teeth being knocked out.[7]
Persuasion through teen psychology
It can be hard to convince teens of the far-off consequences of neglecting their oral health. It’s not much easier to make them recognize these impacts in the near future.
What can persuade them, however, are emotions that surface during adolescence.
Anxieties about personal appearance, for instance, may lead your child to heed advice that regular, careful oral habits are the best way to prevent yellow, misaligned or missing teeth that can embarrass them.
What’s more, concerns about dating or other social interactions might lead them to be more aware of poor oral hygiene’s effects (like bad breath) and their impact on how others perceive them.
As with other areas of life, teens may give their teeth less thought than they should. Reinforcing their dentist’s oral health advice can help them avoid or reduce the risks they take with their oral health.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5930221/
[2] https://creating-smiles.com/is-mouth-jewelry-safe-for-my-teeth-and-gums-heres-what-you-need-to-know/
[3] https://www.theottoolbox.com/tag/impulse-control/page/2/
[4] https://stateofchildhoodobesity.org/sugary-drinks-harm-kids-health/
[5] https://www.ada.org/resources/research/science-and-research-institute/oral-health-topics/cannabis-oral-health-effects
[6] https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0903-athlete-tobacco.html; https://warrpda.org/tobacco-teen-dental-health/.
[7] https://www.childrenscolorado.org/conditions-and-advice/sports-articles/sports-safety/tooth-injuries-in-sports/
