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A good night’s sleep is absolutely important for your children’s health and academic performance. Unfortunately, most teenagers do not get adequate sleep during the week. Here’s what parents need to now about teenager’s sleep patterns, and how they can help their children get the sleep they need to succeed.

The Facts about Teen Sleep 

During adolescence, a person’s biological sleep pattern naturally shifts later for both going to sleep and waking up. Additionally, teenagers are notorious for having irregular sleeping patterns that change with their schedule. According to the Sleep Foundation, teenagers and adolescents need 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night. Unfortunately, only about 15% of American teenagers actually get this amount of sleep during the school year.

Why Do Teens Miss Out on Adequate Sleep? 

Teenagers have a variety of external and internal factors that can negatively affect their sleep patters. Teens tend to stay up later on weeknights and sleep in on weekends, which can throw off their biological sleep patterns. Additionally, teens are more social and connected than younger children, and spend a lot of their time hanging out with their friends on social media and video games.

Parents can help their children get more sleep by taking a few easy measures at home. 

Establish a Sleep Schedule – and Stick to It! 

A sleep schedule can improve your quality of sleep, and help you feel more rested after a full night’s sleep. A sleep schedule also helps people fall asleep more quickly, and allows the body’s biological patterns to get into sync. 

Ease off of the Screen Time 

Television, computer, and phone screens constantly surround us, and they can actually prevent us from falling asleep. That’s because screens typically engage our mind and stimulate thoughts. Try limiting their TV, videogames, computer and cellphone usage to a time period that is at least one hour from bedtime. This will help calm their minds, and make it much easier for them to fall asleep. 

Cut Back on Late Night Sugar 

Consuming sugar and caffeine in the two hours before bedtime can hinder your body’s ability to fall asleep. If your teen isn’t getting enough sleep, look at their diet to see if there is too much sugar or caffeine before bed. 

Visit Our Office 

Sometimes, a lack of sleep is not due to behavioral patterns, but actually something more serious like sleep apnea. If you suspect that your child has sleep apnea, then visit our office to discuss treatment options that may be available.

When it comes to raising children, parents have a lot on their plates. In order to help parents prepare for their rigorous duties, we’ve outlined a few common dental emergencies, and how you can handle them.  

How to Handle Your Child’s Dental Emergency

First, stay calm and assess the severity of your child’s injury. Any blow to the head should be taken very seriously, and you should thoroughly evaluate your child and decide if they need to go to the hospital.  

Toothache

A toothache is a common problem that people of all ages experience. The best to way to treat them is by cleaning the affected area of the tooth. Rinse out their mouth with warm water, and floss near the tooth to dislodge any debris. If their pain persists for more than a day afterwards, then contact us at the office.  

Knock out Baby Tooth

Contact us! Unlike a permanent tooth, the baby tooth should not be replaced due to possible damage to the developing permanent tooth.  

Knocked out Permanent Tooth

If possible, locate the tooth and rinse it with water only. Do not clean the tooth with soap, and only handle it by the crown, not by the root. After you have rinsed it off, store it in a plastic bag  or cup filled with milk, or your child’s saliva, not water. After storing the tooth, take your child to their pediatric dentist so that they can reinsert the tooth. If you want to keep the tooth, it is important that they see us as soon as possible. 

Tools needed: cool clean water, Ziploc bag/cup, milk, clean gauze.  

Chipped or Fractured Permanent Tooth

Time is an important factor to restore a chipped or fractured permanent tooth. Have your child rinse out their mouth with water to reduce the chance of infection. If you have a piece of the fractured tooth, keep it in a bag or glass of milk and bring it to our dental office as soon as possible.  

Tools needed: cool clean water, Ziploc bag, milk, clean gauze.  

Oral Cuts

First, rinse out their mouth with cool, clean water. If there is bleeding, apply gentle pressure with a gauze or cloth. If the bleeding can’t be controlled, then call the doctor or visist the emergency room. 

Tools needed: cool clean water, clean gauze or clean cloth.  

Blow to the Head

If your child suffers any sort of head injury, it is important that you call 911 immediately. Take your child to the nearest hospital or emergency room to get them the necessary medical treatment. 

Tools needed: clean warm water, floss.  

Visit Our Office 

Dental emergencies happen, but the best way parents can prepare is by establishing a reliable dental home for their family. We would love to have your family join ours, so schedule an appointment with our office! We offer stress-free first visits that help ease anxious young children that are new to visiting the dentist.  

You’ve heard of cavities and tooth decay, but there’s a more subtle oral health ailment afflicting nearly 30% of children today – bruxism. Here’s what parents need to know about the problem, and how they can help their children beat it.

What is Bruxism? 

Bruxism is more commonly known as teeth-grinding, and a surprising number of children suffer from it – around 3 in 10. Teeth-grinding usually occurs while children are asleep, and it can become a dental problem if left unchecked. Regular teeth-grinding can wear down tooth enamel, reinforce improper bite patterns, and leave teeth more susceptible to cavities and decay.

What Causes Bruxism?

Bruxism can be caused by a number of external factors, including stress, anxiety, hyperactivity, and reaction to medication. Some children grind their teeth to relieve anxiety, and most are often unaware of it until the next morning. 

Symptoms of Bruxism 

Bruxism can cause headaches, earaches, facial pain and bite and jaw problems. Continual teeth-grinding can also lead to tooth enamel loss, and leave teeth more susceptible to cavities and tooth decay. Those suffering from bruxism will often report jaw and tooth pain, particularly in the back molar area.

How to Treat Bruxism 

Since the root of bruxism is varied, it can be hard to locate the exact cause. If your child is particularly stressed or anxious, try to decrease their stress right before bed by doing some stretching, or yoga. Or, encourage them to take a relaxing shower, or hot bath to help them ease into bedtime. 

If your child’s teeth-grinding is ongoing, then their dentist may prescribe a night guard to protect their teeth and mouth. A night guard helps ease the pain of tooth grinding, and protects tooth enamel from being worn away.

Does Your Child Have Bruxism? 

If you’re concerned that your child has bruxism, then visit our office. A trained dentist will evaluate your child’s mouth to determine if they suffer from bruxism, and provide a treatment plan based upon their findings. Untreated bruxism can harm your child’s oral health, and cause them to lose sleep, and negatively affect their performance at school.

Flossing is an important part of a proper oral health routine, but most people would rather go shopping for groceries than floss! To help make flossing fun, we found some of our favorite facts about floss to share with you! 

1 – Flossing removes food debris and plaque that is wedged in the hard to reach areas between teeth. This plaque buildup can lead to cavities and cause bad breath. 

2 – To floss properly, you need to use between 18 and 20 inches of floss. This helps ensure that you have enough clean floss to use, and that it is firmly grasped while in use.

3 – Irregular flossing can lead to bleeding sensitive gums, but keep flossing! If you floss consistently, the bleeding will eventually subside.

4 – Did you know that you can buy floss in just about any flavor? The most popular flavors are mint, cinnamon, and bubblegum, but you can buy more obscure flavors like wasabi or even bacon!

5 – Brushing only cleans around 70% of the surface area of teeth, leaving the cracks and spaces between teeth uncleaned. Flossing helps scrub the remaining spots, and gets teeth 100% clean!

6 – The two main types of floss are monofilament, and multifilament floss. Monofilament floss is made of plastics and rubber, while multifilament is mainly composed of nylon and silk. 

7 – People with orthodontic devices like braces can floss too! Floss threaders and proxabrushes are great ways to helps people wearing braces remove food debris from between their teeth, and stuck in their brackets or orthodontic equipment.

8 – Waxed floss is easier to slide between closely spaced teeth. If your teeth are very close together, we suggest flossing with thin waxed floss. 

Visit Our Office 

Summertime is the perfect time to bring your family into our office for a quick oral checkup. We’ll evaluate the state of your children’s teeth, and provide a treatment plan that works for them and prepares them for a mouth-healthy school year. Call our office today to schedule your appointment.